Kobayashi Issa was one of Japan's most prolific poets (learn more). He left in his journals over twenty thousand one-breath poems—then called haikai but today known as haiku. This website offers an archive of 8,000+ of these haiku.
Issa-a-Day Sign up to have one randomly selected haiku sent to your e-mail box daily, get inspired like subscribers Sakuo Nakamura and Naomi Beth Wakan. The Daily Issa world map lists the locations of many (but not nearly all!) subscribers.
Search tips Delete the words "erase this; type keyword" in the box. This seemingly silly step has become necessary due to web-bots constantly clicking the link and downloading the entire archive—causing my web host to charge me extra each month for exceeding my "data transfer limit." To look for haiku containing a single keyword, type it into the box and hit "Search." To search for multiple keywords in a haiku, enter them in the box separated by commas and without spaces (example: frog,croaking). Note that searches are case-sensitive (type "Buddha", not "buddha"). Use the "Year" drop-down menu to limit your results to a particular year.
More search options available with the Advanced Search. Search for keywords in the English translation, rômaji transcription, and comments.
Listen to Japanese Keiko Higuchi-Vayman reads 9 haiku by Issa.
Fun with Issa You pick a random number to get inspired. You'll want to try this!
Poets on Issa What do poets from around the world think of Issa and his contribution to the art of haiku? Find out.
About this website The Kobayashi Issa website was launched in May, 2000. It was created at Xavier University of Louisiana as a rich media project sponsored by the Center for the Advancement of Teaching.
A Japanese version of the website is now available. Tell your Japanese friends!
haiku linksTranslations based on Issa zenshû (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 9 volumes. Some of the translations first appeared in Issa, Cup-of-Tea Poems and Pure Land Haiku: The Art of Priest Issa.