108 haiku out of 9486
year unknown
.さすが花ちるにみれんはなかりけり
sasuga hana chiru ni miren wa nakari keri
when cherry blossoms
scatter...
no regrets
Issa begins the haiku with the word sasuga: "truly" or "as one might have expected." Here, the first meaning seems to fit. He proposes that, "truly," the cherry blossoms fall to death without regret. In a related haiku (1809), he urges the blossoms to trust in Amida Buddha's saving grace:
tada tanome hana wa hara-hara ano tôri
simply trust!
cherry blossoms flitting
down
"Blossoms" (hana) can denote cherry blossoms in the shorthand of haiku.
year unknown
.寝ころぶや御本丸御用の花の陰
ne-korobu ya o-honmaru go-yô no hana no kage
curled to sleep--
the temple official
in cherry blossom shade
This haiku has the prescript, "At Mokubo Temple." An official of the "inner citadel" (honmaru) should be about his business (go-yô), but the blooming cherry blossoms have drawn him to their beauty ... and to a nap.
"Blossoms" (hana) can denote cherry blossoms in the shorthand of haiku.
year unknown
.桜花ちれちれ腹にたまる程
sakura hana chire chire hara ni tamaru hodo
O cherry blossoms
fall! fall!
enough to fill my belly
Instead of focusing on their beauty, Issa humorously emphasizes the fact that he will eat the blossoms.
This is an undated revision. The original haiku, written in 1814, starts with the phrase, yama-zakura ("mountain cherry blossoms").
year unknown
.君なくて誠に多太の桜哉
kimi nakute makoto ni tadai no sakura kana
without you--
how vast
the cherry blossom grove
This undated haiku is a version of one written in 1817:
kimi nakute makoto ni tadai no kodachi kana
without you--
how vast
is the grove
R. H. Blyth reads the above haiku's fourth kanji as "large"; A History of Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1964) 1.385. Since this choice makes the compound tadai ("great"), which makes sense in the context, I have followed his lead in my translation of both this and the 1817 poem, even though this adds an extra syllable to the "middle seven" phrases.
year unknown
.散桜称名うなる寺の犬
chiru sakura shômyô unaru tera no inu
in falling cherry blossoms
growling to Amida Buddha...
temple dog
Shômyô is another name for the nembutsu chant: "Namu Amida Butsu" ("All praise to Amida Buddha!"). As the blossoms fall, reminding us of death and transition, Issa reminds us to trust faithfully in Amida's vow to enable our rebirth in the Pure Land--and ultimate enlightenment. Even the dog seems to understand.
In an almost identical haiku of 1810, the temple dog growls his prayer as "blossoms" fall (hana chiru). Since hana can be read as "cherry blossoms," the two poems are virtually the same.
year unknown
.末世末代でもさくらさくら哉
masse matsudai demo sakura sakura kana
a corrupt world
in its latter days...
but cherry blossoms!
The term masse refers, in Pure Land Buddhism, to these "latter days" of corruption. The beauty of the blossoms (almost?) makes up for the depravity of the world.
Issa adds emphasis by repeating: "cherry blossoms! cherry blossoms!" (sakura sakura). This repetition doesn't work as well in English.
Shinji Ogawa notes that Issa's repetition, sakura sakura kana, connotes the fact that many people are crazy for cherry blossom viewing. The word, demo ("although," "still" or "despite"), suggests that Issa may be saying, "Although it's a corrupt world in its latter days, people still have the heart to appreciate the beauty of cherry blossoms--or they are merry with the blossom viewing."
1789
.騒がしき世をし祓って遅桜
sawagashiki yo wo oshi haratte oso-zakura
the cure for
this raucous world...
late cherry blossoms
Literally, the blossoms "exorcize" or "drive away the evil" from the loud, raucous world. Makoto Ueda notes that this haiku shows the playful humor of the Katsushika school, which influenced Issa in his early years. Ueda notes that the poem 塗umorously makes [the] tree into a god that has pacified all the clamor�; Dew on the Grass: The Life and Poetry of Kobayashi Issa (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2004) 14-15.
1789
.撃ﾁてから咄も八重の桜哉
yotte kara hanashi mo yae no sakura kana
even getting drunk
it's all we talk about...
double cherry blossoms
Yae no sakura refers to eightfold or double cherry blossoms.
1791
.山下て桜見る気に成にけり
yama orite sakura miru ki ni nari ni keri
descending the mountain
a cherry blossom-viewing mood
sets in
1793
.寝心に花を算へる雨夜哉
ne-gokoro ni hana wo kazoeru amayo kana
my sleepy mind
counting cherry blossoms...
a rainy night
Shinji Ogawa notes that this haiku alludes a famous Chinese poem, "A Spring Morning," by Meng Haoran (691-740). Shinji translates:
I awake in the late morning of spring
The bird songs are all around me
I might hear the storm in the night
I wonder how many blossoms have fallen
1795
.吾恵方参は正月ざくら哉
waga ehô mairi wa shôgatsu-zakura kana
my New Year's
lucky direction walk...
to cherry blossoms
This haiku refers to the New Year's custom of visiting a shrine or temple located in a lucky direction. It appears in Issa's 1795 travel journal, Saigoku kikô ("Western Provinces Travelogue").
Robin D. Gill (author of Cherry Blossom Epiphany) writes, "Plum blossoms rather than cherry blossoms are normal for the New Year season. Issa was delighted to find he could head in the lucky direction for that year and visit a temple with a specific cherry tree famous for blooming every year on the sixteenth day of the month. That is the day that the moon starts to wane, which gives the blossoms a slightly Buddhist bent, providing a subtle complement for the largely Shinto New Year. Since the lucky direction trip was a New Year-related, young Issa was a bit heavy-handed with his haiku. Had he written it twenty years later, it might have read something like this: "How lucky! / My lucky way takes me / to cherry blossoms."
1795
.落書の一句拙し山ざくら
raku-gaki no hito ku tsutanashi yama-zakura
an off-the-cuff haiku
for a poor crop...
mountain cherry blossoms
1803
.暖国の麦も見えけり山桜
dangoku no mugi no mie keri yama-zakura
in a warm province
you see barley...
mountain cherry blossoms
Mugi is a generic term that refers to several grains: wheat, barley, oats, and rye. Cherry trees bloom in spring; barley normally grows in summer. However, in this particular warm province Issa notes an exception.
1803
.人に喰れし桜咲也みよしの山
hito ni kuwareshi sakura saku nari mi-yoshino yama
these cherry blossoms
people eat...
Yoshino hill
Yoshino is a famous place for viewing the cherry blossoms. In this case, Issa refers to blossoms that "people eat" (hito ni kuwareshi). They literally devour the beauty.
This haiku has an unusual 7-7-6 sound structure.
1803
.山桜きのふちりけり江戸の客
yama-zakura kinou chiri keri edo no kyaku
the mountain cherry blossoms
fell yesterday...
visitor to Edo
The visitor (Issa?) arrived a day too late. Edo is the old name for Tokyo.
1803
.夕桜家ある人はとくかへる
yûzakura ie aru hito wa toku kaeru
evening cherry blossoms--
people with homes
hurry home
According to Makoto Ueda, this haiku alludes to the Chinese poem, "A Solitary Pear Tree," in which a man misses a brother from whom he has been separated; Dew on the Grass: The Life and Poetry of Kobayashi Issa (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2004) 47-48. In Issa's haiku, families who have picnicked under the blossoms start for home--something that Issa didn't really have at this point in his life.
1804
.見かぎりし古郷の山の桜哉
mikagirishi kokyô no yama no sakura kana
the home village
I abandoned...
mountain cherry blossoms
Kashiwabara was Issa's home village that he "abandoned" until his homecoming in 1813. According to volume 1 of Issa zenshû, this haiku was written in 1803, but in volume 2 a date of 1804 is given (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79, 1.222; 2.199).
1804
.大降りや桜の陰に居過して
ôburi ya sakura no kage ni i-sugoshite
heavy rain--
in cherry blossom shade
I stayed too long
Shinji Ogawa notes that i-sugosu means "stay too long." Issa's long stay in the cherry blossom's shade is the cause of his getting caught in the rain.
1804
.初桜はやちりかかる人の顔
hatsu sakura haya chiri kakaru hito no kao
the first cherry blossoms
soon scatter and stick...
people's faces
1804
.又人の立ふさがるや初桜
mata hito wo tachi-fusagaru ya hatsu sakura
again someone stands
blocking my view!
first cherry blossoms
Issa loves the blooming cherry trees but not the crowds.
1805
.ちる花を屁とも思はぬ御顔哉
chiru hana wo he to mo omowanu o-kao kana
not giving a damn
that cherry blossoms fall...
his stern face
This haiku has a prescript, "In praise of Dharma" or "An inscription on a picture of Dharma." Dharma (Bodhidharma) was the Buddhist patriarch who brought Buddhism from India to China. "Blossoms" (hana) can signify cherry blossoms in the shorthand of haiku. In an almost identical undated haiku, Dharma appears among falling plum blossoms. Shinji Ogawa explains that the expression, he to mo omowanu (consider it less than a fart) is a Japanese colloquial expression for "don't care a bit about it."
In the undated haiku, I translated o-kao as "his saintly face," but Gabi Greve and Sakuo Nakamura suggested that "stern" would be more befitting. For consistency's sake, I have done the same in this translation.
1806
.鼻先の上野の花も過にけり
hana saki no ueno no hana mo sugi ni keri
up close
even the cherry blossoms of Ueno
pass on
In the shorthand of haiku, "blossoms" (hana) can mean "cherry blossoms." Since Ueno is famous for its cherry blossoms, there's no doubt that Issa means "cherry blossoms" here.
Issa puns in this haiku: hana saki means both "tip of the nose" and "blossoms in bloom." Though he literally means the former (since the kanji that he uses for hana and saki remove ambiguity), the second meaning of hana saki lingers in the haiku as a little joke for readers who notice it.
Shinji Ogawa notes that the phrase, hana saki no is a short form of me to hana no saki ("front of the eyes and nose"), a Japanese idiom for "very close."
1806
.花の陰此世をさみす人も有
hana no kage kono yo wo samisu hito mo ari
in cherry blossom shade
there are even those
who hate this world
Or: "there is even one/ who hates this world." In the shorthand of haiku, "blossoms" (hana) can mean "cherry blossoms." Samisu is an old verb that can mean to be foolish (baka ni suru) or to despise (anadoru); Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 719. The second meaning seems to fit here. Even amid the glories of the blossoms, there are some who hate the world. Is Issa referring to a Buddhist ascetic who has rejected worldly attachments?
Shinji Ogawa notes that blossom viewing is always associated with sake drinking. When they get drunk, some people become jolly; some grumble.
1806
.穀つぶし桜の下にくらしけり
gokutsubushi sakura no shita ni kurashi keri
an idler--
under the cherry blossoms
I live
Or: "he lives" or "she lives." I prefer to see Issa as the "idler" (gokutsubushi).
1806
.初桜花ともいはぬ伏家哉
hatsu sakura hana to mo iwanu fuseya kana
no one says
"First cherry blossoms!"
my humble hut
Or: "the humble hut." Issa doesn't specify that it is his, but this is strongly suggested.
1806
.夕過や桜の下に小言いふ
yû sugi ya sakura no shita ni kogoto iu
all night
under the cherry blossoms
nagging
A haiku of comic juxtaposition. The evening cherry blossoms, so delicate and ethereal, clash with the grumbling, nagging humans sitting below them--possibly a married couple. Whoever's doing the nagging, Issa points out in this haiku the fact that many people go into the countryside to view Nature's splendor--and completely miss the point. Instead of observing, and learning from, the cherry blossoms, they bring their daily squabbles with them, continuing and amplifying them in the fresh country air. Issa watches with a smile ... a sad smile.
This haiku is one of the "essential" 188 picked by the translator. back next
1806
.かんこ鳥しなのの桜咲にけり
kankodori shinano no sakura saki ni keri
mountain cuckoo--
the cherry blossoms of Shinano
have bloomed!
The humor of this haiku involves seasonal expectations. The mountain cuckoo (kankodori) is a summer bird, yet the "spring" cherry blossoms, in Issa's home province, are only now blooming. The winter, in this cold, mountainous area, has been long and hard. Robin D. Gill adds that "the mountain cuckoo (kankodori) is also a metaphor for nothing-doing, laid-back places/times. This, in contrast to the bustling cherry-blossom viewing days of the capital."
1807
.花の雨ことしも罪を作りけり
hana no ame kotoshi mo tsumi wo tsukuri keri
rain of cherry blossoms--
this year, too
I've sinned
In the shorthand of haiku, "blossoms" (hana) can mean "cherry blossoms."
Shinji Ogawa notes that hana no ame can mean "rain on the blossoms" (my original translation) or "rain of petals." He prefers the latter, and so I have revised.
1808
.咲く花に部張り給はぬ御馬哉
saku hana ni bubari tamawanu o-uma kana
among cherry blossoms
not so soldierly...
Sir Horse
In the shorthand of haiku, "blossoms" (hana) can mean "cherry blossoms." The blossoms seem to affect the normally proud and soldier-like horse.
1808
.山盛の花の吹雪や犬の椀
yamamori no hana no fubuki ya inu no wan
a cherry blossom
blizzard...
the dog's bowl
Though yamamori signifies "forest ranger" in two of Issa's haiku about a forest ranger's broom, this word can also mean a "big pile." Issa clarifies the difference by using different kanji for mori--as Gabi Greve points out.
1808
.小坊主や親の供して山桜
ko bôzu ya oya no tomo shite yama-zakura
the little boy
goes with his father...
mountain cherry blossoms
Or: "goes with his mother" or "goes with his parents."
Just as the expression kozô ("little priest") can be taken literally or to mean any little boy, the "little priest" (ko bôzu) in this haiku might signify not only a Buddhist acolyte but any small, smooth-headed boy.
1808
.煤臭い笠も桜の咲日哉
susu kusai kasa mo sakura no saku hi kana
a soot-grimed
umbrella-hat too...
on cherry blossom day
Other people are wearing fine new umbrella-hats, but one poor participant (Issa?) has an old soot-stained one. Yet for all, the beauty of the blossoms is the same.
1808
.山桜髪なき人にかざさるる
yamazakura kami naki hito ni kazasaruru
mountain cherry blossoms--
hair decoration
for a bald man
1808
.山桜松は武張って立にけり
yamazakura matsu wa buhatte tachi ni keri
mountain cherry blossoms--
the pine trees
stand guard
The pines stand "in soldierly fashion" (buhatte). Perhaps Issa means by this that they are standing guard over their more fragile, blooming cousins.
1809
.隠家や遅山桜おそ鰹
kakurega ya oso yamazakura oso katsuo
secluded house--
the cherry blossoms late
the bonito...late
The cherry blossoms of spring and the bonito fish of summer both arrive late...to the chagrine of the inhabitant of the secluded house, presumably Issa.
Shinji Ogawa notes that Issa is alluding here to a haiku by Sodô Yamaguchi (1642 - 1716):
me niwa aoba yama-hototogisu hatsu gatsuo
for the eyes green leaves
mountain cuckoo
first bonito
Shinji Ogawa comments, "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."
1809
.山桜さくや八十八所
yama-zakura saku ya hachi jû hachi-dokoro
mountain cherry blossoms--
in all 88
sacred sites
There are 88 sacred pilgrimage sites in Japan's Shikoku Island. In this exuberant moment, all 88 are bursting with cherry blossoms.
1810
.入相や桜のさわぐ鮎さわぐ
iriai ya sakura no sawagu ayu sawagu
sunset--
a ruckus of cherry blossoms
a ruckus of trout
Issa invites readers to use their imaginations to make sense of this haiku. Here's what I picture: humans raise a ruckus at their blossom-viewing party; trout do the same in a nearby stream. Read in this way, the haiku is a tale of two worlds that are really one, as humans and fish alike celebrate springtime.
Shinji Ogawa believes that the ruckus is being raised by the cherry blossoms themselves and by the trout, "signifying the vitality of spring."
1810
.心して桜ちれちれ鮎小鮎
kokoro shite sakura chire-chire ayu ko ayu
"Be brave, cherry blossoms
and fall!"
the little trout
I assume that these encouraging words are being spoken by a little trout in a stream under the tree(s), hence the quotation marks.
1810
.うす菫桜の春はなく成ぬ
usu sumire sakura no haru wa nakinarinu
straggly violets--
the cherry blossom spring
has passed
In a similar haiku, written the same year (1810), the "camellia spring" (tsubaki no haru) has passed.
1810
.さく花に長逗留の此世哉
saku hana ni naga-tôryû no kono yo kana
among cherry blossoms
a long stay
in this world
"Blossoms" (hana) can denote cherry blossoms in the shorthand of haiku.
Issa feels that his stay in the world is long, compared to the famously ephemeral cherry blossoms.
1810
.さく花にぶっきり棒の翁哉
saku hana ni bukkiribô no okina kana
amid cherry blossoms
he's plain as dirt...
old man
In this comic haiku, the old man, who Issa describes as "plain" or "blunt" (bukkiribô), contrasts with the ethereal blossoms. Maybe the "old man" is the poet at age 48, a self-portrait.
"Blossoms" (hana) can denote cherry blossoms in the shorthand of haiku.
1810
.さざ波や花に交る古木履
sazanami ya hana ni majiwaru furu bokuru
ripples on water--
mingling with cherry blossoms
an old clog
This is how I picture it: a girl's lost, flat wooden clog (bokuri) is floating and mingling with the cherry blossoms that have fallen onto the water. Or: perhaps the clog floats and mingles with the reflection of the blossoms.
"Blossoms" (hana) can denote cherry blossoms in the shorthand of haiku.
1810
.花の雨扇かざさぬ人もなし
hana no ame ôgi kazasanu hito mo nashi
rain of cherry blossoms--
not a face
without a fan
People are screening their faces with their fans. In a later haiku (1816) Issa shows the same action in a different season, starting with "spring snow" (haru no yuki).
Shinji Ogawa notes that hana no ame can mean "rain on the blossoms" (my original translation) or "rain of petals." He prefers the latter, and so I have revised.
1810
.花びらがさわっても出る涙哉
hanabira ga sawatte mo deru namida kana
just touching
the cherry blossom petals
brings tears
"Blossoms" (hana) can signify cherry blossoms in the shorthand of haiku.
1810
.汚坊花の表に立りけり
yogore-bô hana no omote ni tateri keri
a defiled priest--
before the cherry blossoms
he stands
Is the Buddhist priest physically dirty or spiritually defiled by his attachment to the beauty of the blossoms? Buddha preached detachment from the ephemeral things of this earth. Perhaps, the blossom-loving priest is Issa.
"Blossoms" (hana) can denote cherry blossoms in the shorthand of haiku.
1810
.桜花何が不足でちりいそぐ
sakura hana nani ga fusoku de chiri isogu
hey cherry blossoms--
why the rush
to scatter so soon?
Robin D. Gill corrected my earlier translation of this haiku, pointing out that Issa is rhetorically asking the blossoms, "What do you lack" to be in such a hurry? He comments, "Laid-back Issa sometimes rebelled against rushing (saw Edo as hyper), but mainly, I see this as his take on the 'debate' over the character of 'slow' or 'fast' cherry blossoms that goes back to the Manyoshu."
Shinji Ogawa comments, "The word fusoku in this context means 'discontent' or 'dissatisfaction,' and not 'lack'...The word chiri (one of the conjugational forms of chiru) means scatter, fall, leave, and go. In the context, the phrase chiri isogu means, 'to go so soon'."
Robin responds that fusoku includes "mental disatisfaction/discontent"; therefore "what Shinji writes in no way differs from what I thought I wrote."
1810
.散桜よしなき口を降埋めよ
chiru sakura yoshi naki kuchi wo furi ume yo
fall, cherry blossoms--
stop up
their foul mouths!
Or, as I originally translated this: "his foul mouth." Though both readings are possible, I now prefer to imagine that Issa is railing against a whole group of his cussing contemporaries, not an individual. Robin D. Gill helped me to realize the imperative tone of this haiku. Issa is fed up and calling upon his allies, the blossoms, for aid.
1810
.山桜々も二十九日かな
yama-zakura sakura mo ni jû ku nichi kana
mountain cherry blossoms
cherry blossoms!
even on the 29th
In a related haiku of the same year (1810) Issa focuses on cherry trees scattering their blossoms on the thirtieth day of the month.
1810
.山桜中々花が病かな
yama-zakura chûchû hana ga yamai kana
mountain cherry trees--
the blossoms quite
sickly
Shinji Ogawa elucidates: "The word, naka-naka can be pronounced as chû-chû, which is an onomatopoetic expression for the sound of a running nose. The word, hana (blossoms) is a homonym for the word, hana (nose, nasal mucous)." The blossoms not only look sickly; Issa jokes that they have caught a cold. In light of Shinji's explanation, I've changed the naka-naka of the rômaji transcription to chû-chû.
1810
.山桜花をしみれば歯のほしき
yama-zakura hana wo shimireba ha no hoshiki
walking into
mountain cherry blossoms...
I miss my teeth
Issa humorously alludes to his own lack of teeth with which to nibble the blossoms. This is just one of several haiku that refer to his tooth-loss. Another layer of the comedy of this haiku is the fract that Issa is regarding the ethereally beautiful blossoms as a food item.
1810
.夕桜鬼の涙のかかるべし
yûzakura oni no namida kakarubeshi
evening cherry blossoms--
the devil is moved
to tears
1810
.夕ざくらけふも昔に成にけり
yûzakura kyô mo mukashi ni nari ni keri
evening cherry blossoms--
today too
like olden times
1810
.よるとしや桜のさくも小うるさき
yorutoshi ya sakura no saku mo ko urusaki
growing old--
even the cherry blossoms
a bit annoying
1811
.象潟や桜を浴てなく蛙
kisagata ya sakura wo abite naku kawazu
Kisa Lagoon--
bathing in cherry blossoms
croaking frog
Kisa Lagoon (Kisagata) was ravaged by an earthquake in Sixth Month, 1804. The effect, according to Shinji Ogawa, was that the seabed was raised and the "beautiful scenery like a miniature archipelago suddenly became dry land."
1811
.さく花にけぶりの嗅いｔばこ哉
saku hana ni keburi no nioi tabako kana
amid cherry blossoms
the smell of smoke...
pipes
Literally, the haiku ends with "tobacco" (tabako kana). Issa smoked a pipe. Most likely, he enjoyed the smell of it, so the haiku shows a pleasant sensual experience: pretty flowers, pipe smoke, beauty and relaxation.
"Blossoms" (hana) can denote cherry blossoms in the shorthand of haiku.
1811
.如意輪は御花の陰の寝言哉
nyoirin wa o-hana no kage no negoto kana
Saint Nyoirin
in cherry blossom shade
sleep talking
"Blossoms" (hana) can signify cherry blossoms in the shorthand of haiku. In Buddhist belief, Nyoirin Kannon is a bodhisattva of compassion. In my translation, I add the title, "Saint," to indicate that Nyoirin is a supernatural helper of humans. Why is the bodhisattva talking in his (or her?) sleep? Is Issa humorously depicting one of his companions as Nyoirin?
Shinji Ogawa responds: "It is an enigmatic haiku indeed. There are many different sculptures of Nyoirin Kannon. Some of them are with two arms and others have four or six arms. Some of them slightly touch his cheek with his right hand so that, this is only my guess, it may seem he is asleep. This may have something to do with Issa's depiction, "sleep talking."
1811
.花さくや桜所の俗坊主
hana saku ya sakura tokoro no zoku bôzu
spring blossoms--
in the cherry grove
a worldly priest
The Buddhist priest is "worldly" (zoku) because he feels attachment to the beauty of the cherry blossoms. Perhaps, the priest is Issa.
1811
.花の日も精進ものや山の犬
hana no hi mo shôjin mono ya yama no inu
on cherry blossom day
fasting too...
wild dog
"Blossoms" (hana) can signify cherry blossoms in the shorthand of haiku. Issa imagines that the dog is observing a religious day of fasting and purification in honor of the blooming trees. His projection of human religious practice on the dog is humorous, because Issa and his readers know exactly what the dog would do with a hunk of meat.
1811
.大桜さらに買人はなかりけり
ôsakura sara ni kaite wa nakari keri
the big cherry blossoms--
no buyers
at all
Someone is selling branches of cherry blossoms but having no luck. Is Issa poking fun at this attempt to commodify and sell that which Nature provides for free?
This is the second of two haiku on this subject written back-to-back in Issa's journal. The first haiku reads:
urimono no fuda wo harareshi sakura kana
the prices on the tags
too expensive...
cherry blossoms
1811
.桜見て歩く間も小言哉
sakura mite aruku aida mo kogoto kana
even while walking
through cherry blossoms...
nagging!
1811
.下々に生れて夜もさくら哉
shimojimo ni umarete yoru mo sakura kana
though born poor
for them, too...
a cherry-blossom night
Or: "for me, too..." The beauty of Nature is for all people, all classes.
1811
.花守や夜は汝が山桜
hana mori ya yoru wa nanji ga yama-zakura
flower guard
at night they're yours...
mountain cherry blossoms
1811
.家根をはく人の立けり夕桜
yane wo haku hito no tachi keri yûzakura
the roof sweeper
stands still...
evening cherry blossoms
1811
.山ざくらそなたの空も三十日哉
yama-zakura sonata no sora mo misoka kana
mountain cherry blossoms--
over there too
an end-of-month sky
Sonata is an old word meaning hômen: "a direction" or "a side"; Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 946.
Issa is alluding to the fact that the month for cherry blossoms has reached its last day. There's not much time left for the blossoms.
1811
.山桜それが上にも三十日有
yama-zakura sore ga ue ni mo misoka ari
mountain cherry blossoms--
and what's more
it's the 30th!
Despite the fact that the month of cherry blossoms is ending, Issa rejoices to see that some are still at their peak.
1811
.夕桜蟻も寝所は持にけり
yûzakura ari mo nedoko wa mochi ni keri
evening cherry blossoms--
the ants also
have a place to sleep
1812
.さく花の中にうごめく衆生哉
saku hana no naka ni ugomeku shujô kana
squirming
through the cherry blossoms...
people
Pure Land Buddhists maintain that there are "Six Ways" of possible future life reincarnation: (1) as a sufferer in hell, (2) as a hungry ghost, (3) as an animal, (4) as an angry demon, (5) as a human being, or (6) as an enlightened saint in the Western Paradise. This haiku is poem five of a six-poem series on the Six Ways. Two versions of this series exist; one appears in the 1812 book, Kabuban, while the other was published posthumously by Issa's students in Issa hokku shû in 1829. The present haiku, which portrays rebirth as a human, appears in both versions.
Humans infest the cherry grove, wriggling through it like worms--an unforgettable image that suggests, for Issa, that the essence of human nature is the love of beauty. He also notes, with a wry smile, that humans can tend to mar the beauty they love: during cherry-blossom season droves of people pour into the countryside, "squirming" among the flowers. Visitors to America's national parks might know what Issa's talking about.
"Blossoms" (hana) can denote cherry blossoms in the shorthand of haiku. This haiku is one of the "essential" 188 picked by the translator. back next
1812
.ちる花や呑みたい水も遠がすみ
chiru hana ya nomitaki mizu wa tôgasumi
in scattering cherry blossoms
thirsty for that faraway
mist
In the shorthand of haiku, "blossoms" (hana) can mean "cherry blossoms." Pure Land Buddhists maintain that there are "Six Ways" of possible future life reincarnation: (1) as a sufferer in hell, (2) as a hungry ghost, (3) as an animal, (4) as an angry demon, (5) as a human being, or (6) as an enlightened saint in the Western Paradise. This haiku is poem 2 of a six-poem series on the Six Ways. Two versions of this series exist; one appears in the 1812 book, Kabuban, while the other was published posthumously by Issa's students in Issa hokku shû in 1829. The present haiku, which portrays rebirth as a hungry (thirsty) ghost, appears in both versions.
1812
.まま子花いぢけ仕廻もせざりけり
mamako hana ijike shimai mo sezari keri
stepchild cherry blossoms--
not stunted
at all
The phrase mamako hana ("stepchild blossom") challenges the reader. Are the blossoms "stepchildren" of is Issa referring to a cherry tree owned by a stepchild? Issa was a stepchild. Perhaps the tree is his. Unlike his own childhood experience, these "stepchild cherry blossoms" are thriving.
"Blossoms" (hana) can denote cherry blossoms in the shorthand of haiku.
1813
.さをしかの桜を見てや角落る
saoshika no sakura wo mite ya tsuno ochi[ru]
the buck looks
at cherry blossoms...
shedding his horns
1813
.ちる桜犬に詫して通りけり
chiru sakura inu ni wabishite tôri keri
the cherry blossoms fall--
I apologize to a dog
in passing
1813
.夕桜鉦としゅもくの間にちる
yûzakura kane to shumoku no ai ni chiru
evening cherry blossoms
to the prayer gong's beat
scatter
In my first translation I pictured someone hitting the great bell of the temple. Gabi Greve, however, points out that kane, when spelled with this kanji, is actually a small prayer gong used to keep time when one is chanting Buddhist prayers such as the nembutsu (Namu Amida Butsu: "All Praise to Amida Buddha!"). In this light, the blossoms are scattering rhythmically: in the pauses between the sound of the gong being hit by a wooden hammer (shumoku). Since the nembutsu is a prayer of surrender to the Other Power, trusting in Amida to ensure one's rebirth in the Pure Land; the clanging of a bell keeping time for such a prayer adds a special religious meaning to this scene of falling blossoms. Beauty and life soon pass away; all one can do is pray...and trust.
1813
.雲と見し桜は炭にやかれけり
kumo to mishi sakura wa sumi ni yakare keri
the cherry tree
that made blossom clouds
becomes charcoal
Charcoal is being made in a kiln. In this case, the wood is of a cherry tree. As Shinji Ogawa points out, this tree once made "clouds of blossoms."
Issa and his fellow poets celebrate such clouds of blossoms often in their haiku. However, now a tree that once produced such beauty is being burned to charcoal. Cherry blossoms falling to the earth constitute a standard image of mujô, Buddhist transience. But in this haiku Issa takes it a step further: the tree itself becomes an image of transience. However, there's a twist: now it will become a useful commodity, especially during the cold winters of Issa's home province. In a sense, it's "rebirth" as charcoal can be veiwed as a karmic improvement!
1814
.気に入た桜の蔭もなかりけり
ki ni itta sakura no kage mo nakari keri
the cherry blossoms
that stirred me, shade me
no more
1814
.此やうな末世を桜だらけ哉
kono yôna masse wo sakura darake kana
this corrupt world
plastered
with cherry blossoms
In Pure Land Buddhist belief, the present age is the third and worst of three ages that followed the historical Buddha's entrance into nirvana. First came the age of Right Dharma during which Buddhist teaching, practice, and enlightenment all existed. According to Shinran, this golden age lasted five hundred years. Next came a millennium of Imitative Dharma, when only teaching and practice were possible, not enlightenment. The present, third age of mappô or masse, the "Latter Days of Dharma," comprises a ten thousand year period of corruption in which only Buddhist teaching survives; practice and enlightenment are unattainable through self-power. Issa suggests a sort of natural redemption of the fallen world and age, brought about by the blossoms. In his poetic vision, Nature's beauty is a correlative to the saving "Other Power" of Amida Buddha. The spring flowers, specifically, the cherry blossoms, redeem the world.
1814
.三尺に足らぬも花の桜哉
san shaku ni taranu mo hana no sakura kana
three feet tall
isn't enough...
for cherry blossoms
Issa seems to be referring to a bonsai tree. In a later revision (1821) he changes the tree's height to one foot.
1814
.人声にぼっとしたやら夕桜
hitogoe ni botto shita yara yûzakura
hearing people's voices
they blush...
evening cherry blossoms
Two versions of the middle phrase appear in Issa zenshû (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79): hotto shita yara (1.229) and botto shita yara (3.296). Following the second reading, some translators of this haiku (myself included) have the blossoms blush. However, if Issa means hotto, then the blossoms are either sighing or feeling disgusted--perhaps annoyed by the crowds of blossom-viewers. The Japanese critic, Maruyama Kazuhiko, favors the latter reading; see Issa haiku shû (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1990; rpt. 1993) 206, note 1070.
French translator Jean Cholley, opting for hotto, has the cherry trees feeling "relieved" (soulagés); En village de miséreux: Choix de poèmes de Kobayashi Issa (Paris: Gallimard, 1996) 123.
1814
.隙� れや桜かざして喧嘩買
hima are ya sakura kazashite kenkakai
liesure time--
in cherry blossom shade
picking fights
Makoto Ueda notes that this is a parody of a waka about lords and ladies leisurely whiling away the time. Issa transforms this courtly scene into one of drunken "toughs" picking fights among picnickers under the cherry trees; Dew on the Grass: The Life and Poetry of Kobayashi Issa (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2004) 96.
1814
.桃柳桜の風を引にけり
momo yanagi sakura no kaze wo hiki[ni] keri
peach tree, willow tree
catch the blossom-scented wind
of the cherry
Issa begins this haiku simply with the kanji for three kinds of trees. Is he implying that the first two trees, peach and willow, are jealous?
1814
.山桜ちれちれ腹にたまる程
yama-zakura chire chire hara ni tamaru hodo
mountain cherry blossoms
fall! fall!
enough to fill my belly
Instead of focusing on their beauty, Issa humorously emphasizes the fact that he will eat the blossoms.
In an undated revision he starts this haiku with the phrase, sakura hana ("cherry blossoms").
1815
.家跡や此鶯に此さくら
ie ato ya kono uguisu ni kono sakura
behind the house--
this nightingale
these cherry blossoms
In my first translation of this haiku I read the ni in kono uguisu ni as signifying "on" or "over": "over this nightingale." Shinji Ogawa, however, translates the phrase, simply, as "this nightingale," without implying a spatial relationship between the bird and the tree or blossoms. He translates the third phrase as, "this cherry tree." I picture the tree blooming, so I prefer to end with "these cherry blossoms." This would make two spring season words in the poem: nightingale and cherry blossoms--a double shot of spring, which, I believe, might be Issa's point.
1815
.湯も浴て仏おがんで桜かな
yu mo abite hotoke ogande sakura kana
a hot bath
a prayer
then cherry blossoms!
1815
.よしの山変桜もなかりけり
yoshino yama kawari sakura mo nakari keri
Yoshino hill--
not a single cherry blossom
with a flaw
Yoshino is a famous place for viewing the cherry blossoms. Issa is saying that not a single blossom is "eccentric" or "different" (kawari). The scene is one of breathtaking perfection.
1816
.ちる花に御免の加へぎせる哉
chiru hana ni gomen no kuwae giseru kana
scattering cherry blossoms
please pardon
my pipe!
In the shorthand of haiku, blossoms, if not otherwise specified, can be cherry blossoms. Here, I translate them as such.
1816
.起伏も桜明りや念仏坊
okifushi mo sakura akari ya nebutsu-bô
back to bed
by cherry blossom light...
Pure Land priest
The priest has gotten up only to lie back down (okifushi), inspired by the glow (of moonlight?) on the blossoms. He chants the nembutsu (("namu amida butsu"), the Pure Land Buddhist prayer that celebrates Amida Buddha's vow to help sentient beings be reborn in the Western Paradise. Perhaps he is Issa.
The word nembutsu can be shortened to nebutsu to limit the third phrase to five on ("sound units"), thus fitting a 5-7-5 pattern.
1816
.小うるさや山の桜も評判記
ko urusaya yama no sakura mo hyôbanki
a nuisance--
even mountain cherry blossom
rumors fly
1816
.なむなむと桜明りに寝たりけり
namu namu to sakura akari ni netari keri
praise Buddha!
sleeping in the light
of cherry blossoms
The opening phrase of this haiku repeats the first word of the nembutsu prayer, "Namu Amida Butsu"--"All praise to Amida Buddha!" Robin D. Gill corrected my mistranslation of this haiku that was previously posted on this archive. He points out that the illumination of the blossoms "resembles a halo of a Buddha."
1816
.蕗の葉に煮〆配りて山桜
fuki no ha ni nishime kubarite yama-zakura
a vegetable hodgepodge
on butterbur leaves...
mountain cherry blossoms
In an undated revision, Issa ends the haiku with "cherry blossom shade" (hana no kage).
1816
.我桜わか葉盛りもちりにけり
waga sakura wakaba sakari mo chiri ni keri
my cherry blossoms
even flush with fresh leaves
scatter
Shinji Ogawa comments, "The phrase wakaba sakari mo (= even during the vigorous leafing) is an adverbial phrase. Technically the haiku has a dangling modifier because what is leafing is not the cherry blossom but the cherry tree. Because of the inherent ambiguity of the word sakura, the dangling phrase is acceptable or tolerable except for thick-glassed high school teachers."
He adds, "I believe that what Issa depicts with the haiku is the short sumer season of his province."
1817
.窮屈に並られけり山桜
kyûkutsu ni naraberare keri yama-zakura
trees lined up
cramped together...
mountain cherry blossoms
The word kyûkutsu denotes narrowness, strictness, stiffness, formality, or being cramped. Which is Issa's precise meaning? Are the trees growing so close together so that the arrangment is cramped? Or are they looking stiff and proper? In my translation I decided to go with "cramped."
1817
.釣人やいまいましいと夕桜
tsuribito ya ima-imashii to yûzakura
for the fisherman
they're a nuisance...
evening cherry blossoms
A tongue-in-cheek haiku. The fisherman can't concentrate on his fishing.
1818
.下馬札や是より花の這入口
geba fuda ya kore yori hana no hairiguchi
a "Dismount Your Horse" sign--
the cherry blossoms'
front door
This haiku has the prescript, "Ueno."
The first Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was enshrined at Ueno (in addition to his more grandiose shrine at Nikko). At the foot of Ueno hill, a "Dismount Your Horse" placard was posted (Maruyama 344, note 1860).
"Blossoms" (hana) can denote cherry blossoms in the shorthand of haiku.
1818
.日ぐらしや花の中なる喧嘩買
higurashi ya hana no naka naru kenka kau
all day
amid the cherry blossoms
picking fights
Although higurashi is a type of cicada, in this context Issa uses the expression literally to mean, "all day until evening." "Blossoms" (hana) can denote cherry blossoms in the shorthand of haiku. Some of the blossom viewers are rowdy, hard drinkers looking for a fight.
1818
.大馬に尻こすらるる桜哉
ô uma ni shiri kosuraruru sakura kana
the big horse
rubs his butt
on cherry blossoms
1818
.君が代は紺のうれんも桜哉
kimi ga yo wa kon nôren mo sakura kana
Great Japan--
on the dark blue shop-curtains
more cherry blossoms
"Great Japan" is my translation of kimi ga yo, a phrase that refers to the emperor's reign and begins the Japanese national anthem. "Shop-curtain" is normally pronounced, noren (not nôren).
1818
.桜へと見えてじんじんばしより哉
sakura e to miete jin-jin bashiyori kana
off to view cherry blossoms
old man with kimono
tucked
I thank Susumu Takiguchi for helping me to visualize this haiku. In an e-mail (4/17/01), he explains that the first line, jin-jin bashiyori refers to "an action whereby a man picks up the centre-back of the hem to his kimono and tucks it to his obi sash at the back of his waist. By doing it, his legs would be given freer movement and it is presumed that a man does this when he wants to do something, such as walking a long way as in a walking journey, dancing or engaging in an active action. It is not clear if this noun only refers to old men, or men in general."
Shinji Ogawa notes that the Japanese kimono is not well suited for striding or running, and thus needs to be tucked for such movement. Jin-jin bashori (or jin-jin bashiyori) is a relatively easy way to tuck the kimono but it looks untidy; thus it is called "an old man's tuck."
1818
.釣針に引上て見る桜哉
tsuribari ni hiki-agete miru sakura kana
pulling up
his fishhook he looks...
at cherry blossoms!
A nice example of a surprise ending.
1819
.花の世や寺もさくらの雛祭
hana no yo ya tera mo sakura no hina matsuri
blossom world--
even in a temple's cherry grove
the Doll Festival
This haiku refers to the Doll Festival, the third day of Third Month.
1819
.苦の娑婆や桜が咲ば咲いたとて
ku no shaba ya sakura ga sakeba saita tote
world of pain--
and the cherry blossoms
add to it!
Shinji Ogawa has helped to untangle the syntax of Issa's original. Ku no shaba ya: "painful (or afflicting) world..."; sakura ga sakeba: "if cherry blossoms bloom"; saita tote: "because of the blooming." He paraphrases: "painful world.../ if cherry blossoms bloom/ because of the blooming (the blooming adds another pain)."
He comments, "We Japanese smile at Issa's twist to associate the blooming of cherry blossoms with pain." Michael Hebert writes, "One wonders how the cherry blossoms add to theain ... is it because he is alone while viewing them? Is it because their own fragility and impermanence reflect his own such state?"
Compare this to another of Issa's haiku of 1819:
ku no saba ya hana ga hirakeba hiraku tote
world of pain--
and blossoms blooming
add to it!
1819
.夜桜や天の音楽聞し人
yo-zakura ya ten no ongaku kikishi hito
evening cherry blossoms--
people listening
to heavenly music
In his journal, Hachiban nikki ("Eighth Diary"), Issa prefaces the following haiku of the same year with the head note, "Heavenly Music":
ima no yo mo tori wa hokekyô naki ni keri
the world today--
a bird sings
the Lotus Sutra
The divine music in the present haiku is most likely the same bird.
In a similar haiku, written the same year, Issa begins with the phrase, "hazy night" (oboro yo ya).
1820
.今迄は罰もあたらず花の雨
ima made wa bachi mo atarazu hana no ame
no divine punishment yet--
rain
of cherry blossoms
IIn the shorthand of haiku, "blossoms" (hana) can mean "cherry blossoms."
Shinji Ogawa notes that hana no ame can mean "rain on the blossoms" (my original translation) or "rain of petals." He prefers the latter, and so I have revised.
This haiku resembles one written the previous year (1819):
ima made wa bachi mo atarazu hirune kaya
no divine punishment yet--
napping
under the net
1820
.江戸桜花も銭だけ光る哉
edo sakura hana mo zeni dake hikaru kana
Edo's cherry blossoms, too
shine only
for money
1820
.寝むしろや桜にさます足のうら
ne mushiro ya sakura ni samasu ashi no ura
sleeping mat--
amid cherry blossoms cooling
my heels
A lovely self-portrait. This is how I want to imagine Issa. Though he directly describes just one happy, lazy moment, the haiku can be read as a summation of his life as a poet devoted to, and appreciative of, Nature's gifts.
1820
.夜ざくらや美人天から下るとも
yozakura ya bijin ten kara kudaru tomo
night's cherry blossoms--
heavenly ladies
among us
Robin D. Gill, who helped with this translation, explains: "the cherries at night (presumably in the moonlight!) look as if they were beauties that dropped from heaven."
1821
.一尺に足らぬも花の桜哉
isshaku ni taranu mo hana no sakura kana
one foot tall
isn't enough...
for cherry blossoms
Issa seems to be referring to a bonsai tree. In an earlier revision (1814) the tree was three feet tall.
1821
.それそこは犬の雪隠ぞ山桜
sore soko wa inu no setchin zo yama-zakura
over there's
the dog's toilet...
mountain cherry blossoms
Shinji Ogawa notes that Issa doesn't mean "toilet" literally.
1821
.名月や梅もさくらも帰り花
meigetsu ya ume mo sakura mo kaeri hana
harvest moon--
plum and cherry tree
blossoms return!
Issa's meaning can't be taken literally. He seems to be saying that the harvest moon of autumn creates such euphoria, especially for haiku poets, it is as if plum trees and cherry trees had their flowers return.
1824
.花見るも銭をとらるる都哉
hana miru mo zeni wo toraruru miyako kana
even viewing the cherry blossoms
costs money...
Kyoto
The "capital" (miyako) was Kyoto in Issa's day. This is where the emperor and his court lived. Political and military power was centered in the Shogun's city of Edo, today's Tokyo. In the shorthand of haiku, "blossoms" (hana) can mean "cherry blossoms."