1813
.名月や家より出て家に入
meigetsu ya ie yori dete ie ni iru
harvest moon--
going out
going back in
The night of the harvest moon--the full moon nearest to the autumn equinox--is, along with New Year's Day and the blooming of cherry blossoms, one of the top three most important dates in a haiku poet's calendar. In fact, in 1811, two years before he wrote this poem, Issa summarizes 49 years of poetry with the phrase, "moon! blossoms!" (tsuki hana ya), spring's blossoms and autumn's harvest moon being the essential subjects of haiku. It's surprising and humorous, then, to see him walk outside, take a quick, obligatory look at the moon, then walk back in. The humor cuts at least two ways. Issa makes fun of himself, showing himself to be impatient and unwilling to open his heart and absorb the beauty of the moon. And, he makes fun of poets who make a big deal about the harvest moon. After all, the moon is the moon all year long, with at least eleven other nights of perfect fullness. The ultimate humor of the haiku derives from the fact that, despite Issa's quick, perfunctory glimpse at the moon, he does, after all, write a nice little poem.
This haiku is one of the "essential" 188 picked by the translator. back next