2 haiku out of 10000
1792
.船頭よ小便無用浪の月
sendô yo shôben muyô nami no tsuki
hey boatman
no pissing on the moon
in the waves!
In my novel, Haiku Guy (Winchester, VA.: Red Moon Press, 2000, 47), I translate this haiku much more liberally:
the boatman pisses
but misses
the real moon
1795
.平家蟹昔はここで月見船
heike-gani mukashi wa koko de tsukimi-bune
Heike crabs--
long ago they moon-gazed here
on boats
Crabs with special markings resembling faces of samurai are thought to be reincarnated heroes who died in a famous battle, recounted in the medieval Tale of the Heike. Issa muses that in olden times (mukashi), these crabs were men, enjoying moon parties on boats.