stars of Tanabata

小林一茶　1818年
しゃんしゃんと虫もはたおりて星迎
shan-shan to mushi mo hata orite hoshi mukae

David’s English
chirr-chirr! insects also
work their looms...
stars of Tanabata

by Issa, 1818
The Tanabata Festival takes place on the seventh day of Seventh Month. According to a romantic legend, two celestial lovers--the stars Altair and Vega--are separated by Heaven's River (the Milky Way). One night a year (Tanabata night), they cross the starry river to be together. Vega is the "Weaver Star," working diligently at her loom. Lewis Mackenzie translates the opening phrase onomatopoetically: "clap! clap!" See The Autumn Wind: A Selection from the Poems of Issa (London: John Murray, 1957; rpt. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1984) 67. Since shan to can denote a ringing sound as well as a clapping sound, the first seems more fitting in this case; Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 827. Shinji Ogawa translates the phrase, hoshi mukae, "welcome to Tanabata stars."
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sakuo haiga.

evening smoke

小林一茶　1809年
夕けぶり鳩吹人にかかりけり
yu^ keburi hato fuku hito ni kakari keri

David’s　English
evening smoke--
on the man playing pigeon flute
it hangs
.
by Issa, 1809
Shinji Ogawa explains that there is a flute called hato-bue ("pigeon flute") used to call birds for hunting; it is similar to an ocarina.
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sakuo comment and haiga.
Issa 1819, age 57.
Sixth Month, his first daughter Sato dies of smallpox.
Evening smoke form chimney climb up. It shows dinner has been
prepared.
Pigeon flute is for children. The sound is simple but a little sorrowful.
A man, Issa was playing the flute for his daughter.
His wife called him for the evening meal.
Pigeon was crying for a while in the evening

seaside temple

小林一茶　1818年
磯寺や座敷の霧も絶え絶えに
iso-dera ya zashiki no kiri mo tae-dae ni

David’s English
seaside temple--
the room in the mist
grows faint

by Issa, 1818 . http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

sakuo comment.
It was at seaside and evening.
The air is getting cooler and mist move up from sea.
Gabi san has suggested me the above.
The mist faintly comes up like a fairy creep up into the room.

sakuo renga.

soot-grimed straw mat

小林一茶　1806年
煤くさき畳も月の夜也けり
susu kusaki tatami mo tsuki no yo nari keri

David's English
on a soot-grimed
straw mat too...
moon gazing


by Issa, 1806
The original haiku ends with the phrase,
"it's become a moonlit night" (tsuki yo nari keri).
The moon-gazing is implied. Other moon watchers sit on fine tatami mats,
but one poor participant (Issa?) sits on a soot-stained one. For all, it's the same moon.
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sakuo comment.
1806 aged 44, staying in Edo, at this time his best haiku teacher was Natume Seibi who was
who was a big banker and helped Issa's daily life.
A soot-grimed straw mat is placed besidde Irori (fire storve) that is located in living room or
kitchen. Issa stayed there, but gust room were filled with moon watchers.
Their gay voices might sound to solitary Issa.

sakuo haiga.

purification font

小林一茶　1818年
みたらしやすみ捨てある後の月
mitarashi ya sumi sutete aru nochi no tsuki

David's English
purification font--
thrown in a corner
the Ninth Month moon

by Issa, 1818
The font holds water for hand-washing purification at a shrine--
and a reflection of the full moon of Ninth Month, 13th day.
In the old calendar, there were two harvest moons:
the 15th day of Eighth Month (this is the more important meigetsu)
and the 13th day of Ninth Month.

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sakuo haiga.

morning Fuji

小林一茶　1818
朝不二やとそのてうしの口の先
asa fuji ya toso no cho^shi no kuchi no saki

David’s English
Mount Fuji dawn--
a New Year's sake toast
at my lips
Or: "at his lips" or "at her lips." Spiced sake (toso) is a New Year's drink.
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sakuo comment
1818, Issa　age 56.
Fifth Month, 4th day, a daughter, Sato, is born.
It was his happiest New Year in his whole life.
second line
とその　てうしの＝　bottle of happy sake
口の先＝ at the tap of
Fuji mount is not real existence but lovely wife’s forehead
that was alike to Mt,Fuji. We call it Fuji forehead, fujibitai in Japanese.

sakuo’s translation
morning Fuji Mount ---
at the tap of bottle
New Year’s sake

sakuo renku
杯受ける　その富士額
sakazuki ukeru sono fuji-bitai

receiving with cup
her Fuji forehead

back to my garden

To all.
After 20 days I have returned home from the hospital.
My heart surgery has succeeded.
I have got new refreshed engine. I can walk around freely.
A few months need for rehabilitation.
Thank you for your great encouragement.
Haiku and Photo
生還す緑豊かな我が庭へ
seikan su midori yutaka na waga niwa he

being alive
back to my garden
rich greens

I will be back on August.

Yesterday the gardener took care of my garden trees.
He cut and treats leaves for coming summer.

Tomorrow I am going to the hospital and am received surgery operation
held on 23 June.
It is 99% safety operation, but need the time for recovering.
My blog close today and will be open on the mid of August.

My haiku and haiga.

術受けし 木緑にならん 八月に
jyutu ukesi ki midori ni naran hatigatuni

operated tree
will be green again
on August.

Toh-ji Temple

小林一茶　1792年
to^ bakari miete to^ji wa natsu kodachi
塔ばかり見へて東寺は夏木立

David's English
Toh Temple--
just its pagoda shows
over the summer trees

by Issa, 1792
The haiku refers to To^ji, a Buddhist temple in Kyoto. Shinji Ogawa comments, "[Issa] skillfully depicts the vigorous green foliage in summer without mentioning anything about the foliage itself."
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sakuo　haiga

bloody clams

小林一茶　　1804年　42歳

赤貝を我もはかるよ梅の花
akagai wo ware mo hakaru yo ume no hana

David's English

surveying also
bloody clams...
plum blossoms

by Issa, 1804
Or: "a bloody clam." Akagai, literally "red shell"
or "red shellfish," refers to a "bloody clam" or "ark shell."

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sakuo renku

何を如何してはかるかしら
nani wo dousite hakaru kasira

what do you survey?
how do you mesure?

the muddy road

小林一茶　1822年
泥道を出れば卯の花なかりけり
doro michi wo dereba u [no] hana nakari keri

David's English
leaving the muddy road
and the blooming deutzia
behind

by Issa, 1822
In Shinji Ogawa's interpretation, Issa has left the muddy road (a good thing) but has left behind the blooming deutzia (a bad thing).
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sakuo renku
あるのは空と雲ばかり
aruno ha sora to kumo bakari

only existing
sky and cloud

kindly the wind

小林一茶　１８２０年
庵の煤風が払ってくれにけり
io no susu kaze ga haratte kure ni keri

David’s English
kindly the wind
sweeps my sooty
hut
by Issa, 1820
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sakuo
Last year he lost his daughter.
This year Oct 5th he got second son. Oct 16th he felled down with paralysis.
Say Japanese proverb.
捨てる神あり拾う神あり
suteru kami ari hirou kami ari

one God give up me
another God save me

spring wind

小林一茶　
春風やひらたく成って家根をふく
haru kaze ya hirataku natte yane wo fuku

David's English
spring wind--
my thatched roof
blown flat

by Issa, 1812
Normally, I translate haru kaze as "spring breeze," but this haiku suggests a forceful "wind."
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sakuo haiga.

departing clouds

小林　一茶　45歳
行雲やかへらぬ秋を蝉の鳴く
yuku kumo ya kaeranu aki wo semi no naku

David’s English
departing clouds--
"Autumn won't return"
the cicadas sing

by Issa, 1807　
Or: "the cicada sings."
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sakuo renga

geese and gulls

小林　一茶　1813年
雁鴎おのが雪とてさわぐ哉
kari kamome ono ga yuki tote sawagu kana

David’s English
geese and gulls
raise a ruckus...
"It's my snow!"
by Issa, 1813
Shinji Ogawa notes that ono ga yuki ("my snow") refers to the first-person quacking and squawking of the geese and gulls. The birds are clamoring, "It's my snow! It's my snow!"
1813, Age 51
Second Month, he is living in Kashiwabara in a rented house. In autumn, his inheritance dispute finally settled, he moves into his family home.
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sakuo renku & renga
兄弟で一つ屋根分け雪来る
kyoudai de hitotsu yane wake yuki kitaru

by the brothers
one roof devided
and snow coming

a glimpas of moon

小林　一茶　1807年47歳
たまに来た古郷の月は曇りけり
tama ni kita furusato no tsuki wa kumori keri

David’s English
a glimpse of moon
over my home village...
then clouds

by Issa, 1807

Issa's gloomy feeling about his native village derives from the fact that his fellow villagers did not support him in his inheritance dispute with his stepmother and half-brother--a long, drawn-out battle that was in full swing when he wrote this haiku. This haiku was written during a visit to the poet's home village in 1807: his first visit there since his father's death in 1801.
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sakuo haiga

Sir Whiskers

小林一茶　1812年50歳
髭どのに先こされけりはつ松魚
hige dono ni saki kosare keri hatsu-gatsuo

David’s English
Sir Whiskers
has first crack
at summer's first bonito

by Issa, 1812　aged 50.
In an earlier translation, I rendered hige dono as "Mr. Long Beard." Robin D. Gill prefers "Sir Whiskers," since it might connote a nobleman or samurai; in Robin's word, "a bigshot." In the present haiku, this connotation makes sense. A nobleman is the first one to enjoy the season's first bonito. Robin speculates that another possible meaning of "Sir Whiskers" might be "cat," in which case a cat (or cats) beats Issa to the first bonito. Shinji Ogawa agrees. Shinji explains, "Bonitos swim, along the Black Current (or Japan Current), from the Philippine Sea to the northern sea around Hokkaido. They pass near Tokyo (Edo) in spring [old calendar = summer] on their way to the north. They return to pass Tokyo in the fall on their way back to the south." In haiku, bonito is a summer season word.
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Sakuo　haiga

the do-gooder

小林　一茶　1825年
世話好や不性不性に冬籠
sewazuki ya fusho^-busho^ ni fuyugomori

David' English
the do-gooder reluctantly
begins...
his winter seclusion

by Issa, 1825
Or: "her winter seclusion." Makoto Ueda translates sewazuki as "the busybody"; Dew on the Grass: The Life and Poetry of Kobayashi Issa (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2004) 160.
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Sakuo
Issa and half brother’s family had fought on father’s asset.
But after his marriage, especially getting baby, they had become
familiar each others.
Then I changed translation；his winter seclusion―her

Renku.
隣の義母や　赤子離さず
tonari no gibo ya akago hanasazu

mother-in-law …
doesn’t our baby go off

in a cloudbrust

小林　一茶　1819
夕立や樹下石上の小役人
yu^dachi ya juka sekijo^ no ko yakunin

David‘ｓ　English
in a cloudburst
under a tree, looking miserable
a minor official
Shinji Ogawa explains that the phrase, juka sekijo^, which literally means to sleep or dwell under a tree and on a rock, figuratively denotes "being a monk practicing austerities." Here, he says, Issa uses the phrase to mean "poor," or "petty." It seems to me, however, that the minor official is literally standing under a tree to avoid the rain, a visual image that provides Issa with this opportunity for word-play. My dilemma as a translator, then, is to decide whether I should: (1) mention the literal level of being under a tree and on a rock but lose the figurative meaning of practicing austerities; or (2) translate the figurative meaning (Shinji suggests the middle phrase, "how miserable") but lose the literal image of the official crouching under a tree. My compromise: I keep the tree but lose the rock, adding Shinji's "miserable."
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Sakuo renku　
濡れずに済みて　仏の顔に
nirezu ni sumi te hotoke no kao ni

without getting wet
becomes Buddha face

plum blossoms

plum blossoms
of the field dropped...
naughty dog

hata no ume shitata[ka] inu ni otosaruru
畠の梅したたか犬におとさるる

by Issa, 1813
Originally, I misread the passive voice and imagined that the blossoms had dropped onto the dog: garden plum blossoms coat the dog Shinji Ogawa corrected my syntax and informed me that shitataka inu means "naughty dog." Despite all this, my first translation is a nice haiku in English, I think--though Issa didn't write it!
trans and comment by David Lanoue http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

Sakuo
Issa has used plum as female or lover.
Auther Akira, Itou sharply pointed out this in his book “ Issa
get into Nagare-yama published by Saniti syobou”
There was Issa’s patron Mr. Akimoto in Nagareyama.
He made Issa stay in his mansion as a guest many times.
At the time a young maid took care Issa. The drama of the haiku had
happen.
Of course the dog is Issa himself.

first frost

first frost--
my teeth could crack radishes
up to last year

初霜や茎の歯ぎれも去年迄
hatsu shimo ya kuki no hagire mo kyonen made
by Issa, 1806
Jean Cholley notes that this haiku is one of many that laments Issa's loss of his teeth as he grew older; En village de miséreux: Choix de poèmes de Kobayashi Issa (Paris: Gallimard, 1996) 236-37. Literally, he misses cracking "stems" (kuki): vagetables like radishes. I substitute "radishes" in my translation to make his meaning clear.
Trans and comment, David Lanoue http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

summer robe

小林一茶　1803年
糊こはき帷子かぶる昼寝哉
nori kowaki katabira kaburu hirune kana

David’s　English
his starched summer
robe his blanket...
siesta
by Issa, 1803

Katabira refers to a light summer garment made of hemp. The napper is either wearing the garment or using it as a cover. For my translation, I picked the latter. An alternate version: wearing his starched summer robe... siesta
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sakuo
1803 aged 43, Issa was a poor poet .
He visited his sponsors around north area for living and
haiku meeting.

Renku
in night with sponsor
enjoying haiku together

blade of grass

小林一茶　1814年
一本の草も涼風やどりけり
ippon no kusa mo suzukaze yadori keri

David’s English
even on one blade of grass
the cool wind
lives

by Issa, 1814 http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

sakuo
1814, Age 52
Fourth Month, Issa marries Kiku ("Chrysanthemum": age 28).
It was the happiest time in his life.

vegetables

一茶　1803年　41歳
二軒前干菜かけたり草の雨
ni ken mae hoshi na kaketari kusa no ame

David’s English
vegetables hung to dry
at two houses...
thatch dripping rain
by Issa, 1803
In the same year Issa writes another version of this haiku, ending with "little houses" (ko ie kana). Literally, the vegetables are hung "in front of two houses" (ni ken mae). In this haiku I assume that kusa no ame ("grass's rain") refers to rain dripping from the thatched roofs, as it seems to in a later poem (1814): sasa no ya ya hiina no kao e kusa no ame thatched house-- on the doll's face dripping rain
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sakuo comment
at two houses= at two houses before his friend.
dry vegetable=used for winter food.
thatch dripping rain= spring rain that makes grass grow..
Issa has come at the near of his friend. Even winter remains but spring
surely has come.

sakuo renku
気分は春　友の家近し
kibun wa haru tomo no ie tikashi

in the mood of spring
soon at friend’s house.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkEvy-9yVyQ

persimmon blossoms

一茶
柿の花おちてぞ人の目に留る
kaki no hana ochite zo hito no me ni tomaru

David’s English
persimmon blossoms
falling...
only now noticed

Shinji Ogawa paraphrases: "persimmon blossoms ... only after falling down they are noticed." He adds, "Persimmon blooms in a very modest way; the view of the red-brown flowers is obscured by the summer leaves."
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sakuo renku
死後に世に出る　我が俳句かな
sigo ni yo ni deru waga haiku kana

after my death admitted
my haiku in the world

beautiful courtesan

David’s English
beautiful courtesan--
new clothes for her hometown's
Buddha

keisei ya zaisho no mida e kinu kubari
.傾城や在所のみだへ衣配
by Issa, 1825

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sakuo renku 連句
何時か我子が　産めるよう
ituka wagako ga umeru you

sometime wishing to bear my baby

in honor of the equinox

David’s English
in honor of the equinox
the hedge
turns green

一茶　
御彼岸のぎりに青みしかきね哉
o-higan no giri ni aomishi kakine kana

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sakuo renku
mountain covered with snow
no news of cherry blossom

山に雪あり　花の便りなし
yama ni yuki ari hana no tayori nashi

such intricate

David's English
such intricate
wildflowers bloomed!
in one short night

Issa, 1817
te no konda kusa no hana zoyo mijika yo ni
手の込んだ草の花ぞよ短夜に

The flowers bloomed overnight. This haiku refers to a short night of summer. Shinij Ogawa explains, "The phrase, te no konda, means 'complex' or 'intricate.'"
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sakuo comment
Issa 1817,
He had stayed in Edo since October 1816.
He didn’t come back to his home till July 1817.
How did his young wife feel his long absence?

sakuo renku
重ね帯解き　開く花かな
kasane obi toki hiraku hana kana

many sashes undone
the flower blooms

you fleas

David’s English
for you fleas
the night must be long...
and lonely?

一茶
蚤どもがさぞ夜永だろ淋しかろ
nomi domo ga sazo yonaga daro sabishi karo

Issa, 1813, Age 51
Second Month, he is living in Kashiwabara in a rented house. In autumn, his inheritance dispute finally settled, he moves into his family home.
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sakuo comment
At this time he decided to settle down in his native town, giving up his 37 years Edo life. But often he reminded his lively Edo life.

honorable ally

the yellow rose's
honorable ally...
a frog

yamabuki no o-mikata mo^[su] kawazu kana
山吹の御味方申す蛙かな
by Issa, 1812
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Sakuo’s comment
First line
[山吹　yamabuki ] has two means.
They are plant, a Japanese rose.
and color, bright golden yellow that means 小判 a koban;
a former Japanese oval gold coin.
If you prefer yellow rose, it has double season word.

Sakuo’s English
Koban the gold coin
honorable ally...
a frog

Sakuo　renku and renga
旅の餞別　小判三両
tabi no senbetu koban san ryou

as a present of travel
three gold coin


David’s English

cats yowling

David’s English
cats yowling
separated by a wall--
tragic lovers

neko naku ya hei wo hedatete awanu koi
.猫鳴や塀をへだててあはぬ恋
by Issa, 1824

Literally, the "lovers will not or do not meet" (awanu koi).
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Sakuo　 link picture.

the whole town second version

David’s English
the whole town sleeps
while the cormorants
toil

一茶
一村やうにかせがせて夕枕

sakuo renku and renga (second version)
The word cormorant always remind us exploitation by employer.
In first version it was[tax robber and taxpayer]
And second version is [ inn master and Oiran girls]

夜の吉原　鵜の稼ぎ時
yoru no Yoshihara uno kasegi doki

night at Yoshihara
the cormorants are busy

Reference;
Yoshihara: sexual leisure palace in Edo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshiwara
Cormorant　(＋fishing)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormorant_Fishing_on_the_Nagara_River

the whole town

David’s Englsh
the whole town sleeps
while the cormorants
toil

Issa 1817
hito mura ya u ni kasegasete yu^makura
一村やうにかせがせて夕枕

Issa ends the haiku with the image, yu^makura ("night pillows"). A more literally faithful but harder to picture translation would be: the whole town-- while the cormorants are made to work night pillows Japanese fishermen use cormorants. Tied to a tether, these sea birds dive for fish that they are forced to disgorge.

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sakuo renku and renga
何時の世も税を取る人取られる人.
ituno yo mo zei wo toru hito torareru hito

In every generation
there are tax robbers
and taxpayers

dropping willow

David’s English
drooping willow--
the gate's crookedness
not quite hidden

一茶　1816年.
垂柳門の曲りはかくれぬぞ
tare yanagi kado no magari wa kakurenu zo

by Issa, 1816 Age 54



sakuo renku & renga
Two years before, married with 28 years bridal.
Fourth Month, a son is born, but soon dies.

若妻手を引き　背を伸ばす
waka-tuma te wo hiki se wo nobasu
young wife lead with hand
old stretch his back

first snowfall

David’s English
watching first snowfall
in a rotten mood...
Shinano Mountain

一茶　1810年
むつかしや初雪見ゆるしなの山
mutsukashi ya hatsu yuki miyuru shinano yama
by Issa, 1810

Issa's mountainous home province of Shinano, present-day Nagano Prefecture, is known for its hard, bitter winters. The haiku is ironic: poets in other locations look forward to the first snow as a joyous occasion; for Issa it's just plain hard. Mutsukashiki is an old word that can signify having a bad or unpleasant feeling; Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 1597.
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sakuo Renku & haiga
At his age 48, Issa began to dispute inheritance of his father’s asset.
His half brother’s family has strongly resisted.

山の向こうに　怖い顔待つ
yama no mukou ni kowai kaomatu
beyond the mountain

can't chase!

David’s English

don't chase, don't chase
children!
that flea has kids

ouna ouna ouna kodomo yo ko mochi nomi
追な追な追な子どもよ子持蚤

by Issa, 1814

In the original Issa repeats "don't chase" three times.
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sakuo Haiga

In the world of man

David’s English
"In the world of man
there are no blossoms!"
mountain cuckoo

hito no yo ni hana wa nashi to ya kankodori
人の世に花はなしとや閑古鳥
1814
Issa Age 52
Fourth Month, 11th day, he marries Kiku ("Chrysanthemum": age 28).

Sakuo Renku
菊に出会えて今が一番
Kiku ni deaete ima ga itiban

meet with Kiku
happiest at present

they even sell tea

David’s English
they even sell tea
not worth a fart!
summer trees

he no yo^na cha mo ureru nari natsu kodachi
.屁のやうな茶もうれる也夏木立
by Issa, 1816

David comment　
Originally, I translated this literally: "tea that smells like a fart. Shinji Ogawa points out that he no yo^na ("fart-like") is an idiom for "worthless."
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sakuo haiga

singing insect too

David’s English

singing insects, too
make music
in this world

naku mushi mo fushi wo tsuketari yo no naka wa
鳴虫も節を付たり世の中は

by Issa,　1820, Age 58
Tenth Month, his second son is born.　Before year his first daughter died.

Sakuo’s comment.
What melody did the insects sing? Joyful? or Sorrowful?
I think it is half and half.

Sakuo’s translation

singing insect too
with a melody
in this world

mocking the farmer

David’s　English
mocking the farmer
plowing, the strutting
crow

hata uchi no mane shite aruku karasu kana
畠打の真似して歩く烏哉
by Issa,

1814, Age 52
Fourth Month, 11th day, he marries
visit http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

Sakuo comment.
At first I think this is peaceful spring haiku.
But after ward I realize it is very severe poem.

Hata-uti (farm plowing) is Spring Kigo. It means newly farm work begins. Why the crow mocking and follow after the farmer? The crow need to find and pick up caterpillars,　larvae and　eggs. They need food for breeding their babies.
So the crow must up and down his head to catch their food.
Those poses are very similar to farm’s plowing action.
The bird can get easily find the insect from the ground that was just plowed by the farmer.

Issa is always severe to watch the nature including human
being

floating leaves

David‘ｓ　English
floating leaves, floating leaves
lotus blossom horseflies
feed

uki ha uki ha hasu no abu ni zo kuwarekeru
.うき葉うき葉蓮の虻にぞ喰れける
by Issa, 1810
visit http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

Sakuo’s comment.
What happen about Issa in 1810
11 years has passed since his father’s death.
Though the term he wanted to share the half of father’s asset to his half brother’s family who has strongly insist
Issa’s unfair.
As his getting older, Issa decided to leave from Edo and settle down at his home village.
On May 1810 with this strong will he returned for the negotiation with his brother’s family.
He was defeated strongly by the family .The almost
of villagers had jointed to the brother’s side.
He was thinking that his life in Edo was as floating leaves without home and steadily profession.
His family has possessed some acres land, possible to keeping to cultivate and to work as transporter with horse.
So the family’s potential was rich as lotus, but it was occupied by half brother’s family.
They were angry as like horseflies that attacked violently Issa.

the barley's autumn

David’s English

the barley's autumn
like real autumn...
cold drizzle

mugi aki ya hon no aki yori samui ame
.麦秋や本の秋より寒い雨

by Issa, 1824

sakuo' comment
[the barley's autumn] is about June. It is early summer.
It is not colder than autumn, but Issa said so . Why?
1824 fifth month, Issa has married with second wife.
On Eighth Month they divorce.
Their marriage was only two and half month.
His second wife was cold existence for Issa.

cicada chirrs

David’s English
a cicada chirrs--
the pinwheel so utterly
red

semi naku ya tsuku-zuku aka[i] kazaguruma
せみなくやつくづく赤い風車
by Issa, 1819

David's comment
Shinji Ogawa notes that this image of a child's red toy "brings tears to our eyes," since in the summer of that year (1819) the poet's daughter, Sato, died. This haiku was composed during the Fourth Intercalary Month, 1819. Sato died in Sixth Month.

frost-killed grass

David English
frost-killed grass
"Gimme rice!"
a sparrow sings

shimogare ya kome kurero tote naku suzume
.霜がれや米くれろとて鳴雀
by Issa, 1816

sakuo comment.
This year Natsume, Seibi died.
He had been Issa’s big sponsor as well as good friend of haiku.
I think without Seibi Issa’s life would be changed.

to the wood fire

一茶1819年
ほたの火にせなか向けり最明寺
hota no hi ni senaka muke keri saimyo^ji


David’s English

turning my back
to the wood fire...
Saimyo Temple

Sakuo comment
hota is winter season word which means log.
Special part of wood, that is root dried well.
So the hota is well burn ,making warm the surrounding livings.

Sakuo renku

やっと着きたる今晩の宿
Yatsuto tukitaru konban no yado

at last arriving at
the inn tonight

Toribe Field

David’s English

Toribe Field--
ugly cuckoo!
ugly crow!

Issa, 1824
とり辺野やしこ時鳥しこ烏
toribe[no] ya shiko hototogisu shiko karasu

sakuo renku
灯遠く　鳥達の宴
tomoshibi touku toritati no en　

light is far away
birds begin party

heavy snow

David’s English
heavy snow--
from the dinner tray's edge
Echigo mountains

o^yuki ya zen no kiwa kara echigo yama
.大雪や膳の際から越後山

by Issa, 1813 Age 51.

sakuo haiga

bird's nest

一茶
鳥の巣や翌は切らるる門の松
Issa, 1804, age 42.
tori no su ya asu wa kiraruru kado no matsu

David’s English
bird's nest--
tomorrow the pine by the gate
will be cut down

sakuo　haiga