67 haiku out of 9486
year unknown
.蚊いぶしにやがて蛍も行にけり
ka ibushi ni yagate hotaru mo yuki ni keri
mosquito smudge smoke--
soon the fireflies
leave too
A poem about collateral damage. This undated haiku doesn't appear in Issa's journals, but exists on a manuscript written in his handwriting.
year unknown
.象潟や蛍まぶれの早苗舟
kisagata ya hotaru mabure no sanae fune
Kisa Lagoon--
sparkling with fireflies
the rice planting boat
Kisa Lagoon (Kisagata) was ravaged by an earthquake in 1804. This undated haiku was probably written some time before that event.
1792
.馬の屁に目覚て見れば飛ほたる
uma no he ni mezamete mireba tobu hotaru
the horse's fart
wakes me to see...
fireflies flitting
My translation of this haiku was guided by Jean Cholley's French version in En village de miséreux: Choix de poèmes de Kobayashi Issa (Paris: Gallimard, 1996) 33.
1798
.植込みにきのふのままのほたる哉
uekomi ni kinou no mama no hotaru kana
in the thick weeds
same as yesterday...
fireflies
Or: "firefly." Uekomi can mean shrubbery or a thick growth of plants.
1798
.ほたるよぶよこ顔過るほたる哉
hotaru yobu yokogao yogiru hotaru kana
while calling fireflies
crossing his profile...
a firefly
The word yokogao denotes a profile, side view or silhouette. The firefly passes this profile. Perhaps it is crawling; perhaps flitting by. The firefly caller might be Issa.
1804
.青柳や蛍よぶ夜の思はるる
ao yagi ya hotaru yobu [yo] no omowaruru
green willow--
thinking of a night
of calling fireflies
1804
.風道を塞ぐ枝より蛍哉
kazamichi wo fusagu eda yori hotaru kana
from branches that block
the wind...
fireflies
Or: "from the branch that blocks." Shinji Ogawa asks, "Is Issa saying that the branch becomes a nuisance because it blocks winds but that one merit of it is the production of fireflies?"
1804
.けしからぬ夕晴人やとぶ蛍
keshikaranu yûbare hito ya tobu hotaru
disgraceful!
'round the red-faced drunkard
fireflies flit
Shinji Ogawa speculates that yûbare (the clear weather or sky at sunset; sunset glow) joined with hito (person) might denote "a red-faced (drunken) person." If so, the fireflies are the ones who are commenting, "disgraceful!"
1804
.小竹さへよそのもの也とぶ蛍
ko take sae yoso no mono nari tobu hotaru
even the little bamboo
isn't mine...
flitting fireflies
Originally, I believed that yoso no mono denotes "strange" in this context, but Shinji Ogawa reads it as "things belonging to other persons." The young bamboo belongs to someone else, not to Issa. The haiku comically alludes to his poverty: he has nothing to offer the fireflies.
1804
.とぶ蛍家のうるさき夜也けり
tobu hotaru ie no urusaki yo nari keri
flitting fireflies--
another annoying night
in the house
Humorously, Issa regards these flickering, "poetic" insects as a nuisance. He's trying to sleep!
1805
.草も木も源氏の風やとぶ蛍
kusa mo ki mo genji no kaze ya tobu hotaru
in grass, in trees
the army of the Genji...
fireflies flit
This haiku alludes to the historical battle between the Minamoto (Genji) and Taira (Heike) clans. The swarming fireflies remind Issa of a great army lighting campfires or carrying torches in the night. See Issa zenshû (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 2.287, note 5.
1805
.一しめり松浦のうらを蛍哉
hito shimeri matsura no ura wo hotaru kana
a rain sprinkle...they're off
to Matsura Lagoon!
fireflies
A lagoon in the northwest part of Saga Prefecture; see Issa zenshû (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 2.285, note 2. Notice the sound play of matsura no ura wo.
1805
.宵々はきたない竹も蛍哉
yoi-yoi wa kitanai take mo hotaru kana
every evening
even in the dirty bamboo...
fireflies
1806
.我家や町の蛍の逃所
waga ie ya machi no hotaru no nige-dokoro
my house
where the town's fireflies
hide out
1806
.我門や蛍をやどす草もなき
waga kado ya hotaru wo yadosu kusa mo naki
my gate--
lodging for the fireflies
there being no grass
1806
.我薮は時分はづれの蛍哉
waga yabu wa jibun hazure no hotaru kana
in my thicket
at the end of their time...
fireflies
Perhaps Issa is alluding to the fact that their mating (and glowing) season is at an end. He wrote this on the 20th day of Fourth Month.
1809
.蚊いぶしにやがて蛍も去りにけり
ka ibushi ni yagate hotaru mo sari ni keri
smoking out mosquitoes--
soon the fireflies
are gone too
1809
.雨三粒蛍も三ッ四ッかな
ame mi tsubu hotaru mo mitsu yotsu kana
three raindrops
and three or four
fireflies
1809
.そよそよと世直し風やとぶ蛍
soyo-soyo to yonaoshi kaze ya tobu hotaru
a softly blowing
world-improving breeze...
fireflies flit
1809
.はづかしき鍋に折々蛍哉
hazukashiki nabe ni ori-ori hotaru kana
into my pitiful kettle
now and then...
fireflies
In my first translation of this haiku I misjudged the significance of hazukashiki ("shameful"), believing that it modifies the action of fireflies dropping into a kettle that is possibly filled with boiling water. Shinji Ogawa pointed out that the shameful thing, grammatically, is Issa's kettle itself (this being the noun that directly follows the adjective hazukashiki). Therefore, instead of tragedy, the haiku is comic verse poking fun at Issa's poverty and miserable living conditions: a dwelling that is hardly suitable for guests--including fireflies.
1809
.蛍来よ一本竹も我夜也
hotaru ko yo ippon take mo waga yo nari
"Come, fireflies!"
a single stalk of bamboo
makes my night
Characteristically humble, Issa doesn't have an entire grove for the fireflies to frolic in; he hopes, however, that his single bamboo will suffice.
1809
.夕暮や蛍にしめる薄畳
yûgure ya hotaru ni shimeru usu-datami
evening falls--
fireflies dampen
the thin tatami mat
1810
.人鬼の中へさっさと蛍哉
hito oni no naka e sassato hotaru kana
so quickly they join
the human goblins...
fireflies
Commenting on a different poem that captures the perspective of a mother bird, Shinji Ogawa explains that the phrase, hito oni can mean, "the goblins called men." Issa seems to be playing the same perspective game in this haiku. From the point of view of the little fireflies, humans are monsters--and yet the fireflies approach them fearlessly.
1810
.梟や蛍々をよぶやうに
fukurô ya hotaru hotaru wo yobu yô ni
the owl
seems to be hooting
for fireflies
Or: "Owls are calling"; see R. H. Blyth, A History of Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1964) 1.364; and Lucien Stryk, The Dumpling Field: Haiku of Issa (Athens Ohio: Swallow Press, 1991) 5.
Shinji Ogawa notes that "the hoot of the owl resembles the firefly-call of children."
1810
.悪土の国とも見えぬ蛍哉
waru tsuchi no kuni tomo mienu hotaru kana
this poor-soiled province
ain't so bad...
fireflies
Shinji Ogawa explains, "The phrase, waru tsuchi no kuni, means 'a poor-soil province.' The tomo mienu means 'it does not seem.' That is: 'Despite the futile province, the fireflies are abundant' or 'After seeing the abundant fireflies, the province no longer seems so futile'." The "poor-soiled province" is most likely Issa's Shinano, present-day Nagano Prefecture.
Robin D. Gill translates:
Who said
this is a barren land?
What fireflies!
1811
.熊坂が長刀にちる蛍哉
kumasaka ga naginata ni chiru hotaru kana
scattered by
Kumasaka's halberd...
fireflies
Kumasaka, whose name translates to "Bear Hill," was a famous robber chief of the closing years of the Heian period (794-1185). See Issa zenshû (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 3.262, note 2.
1811
.子ありてや橋の乞食もよぶ蛍
ko arite ya hashi no kojiki mo yobu hotaru
they have kids--
the bridge beggars
calling fireflies
Shinji Ogawa believes that the ya is not a cutting word in this haiku but rather "a particle to make a conjecture." The beggars "may" have children.
1811
.さし柳蛍とぶ夜と成にけり
sashi yanagi hotaru tobu yo to nari ni keri
a night of fireflies
has arrived...
my spring-planted willow
Willows are planted in springtime; fireflies appear in the summer. It is summer, and Issa is looking back.
In a related haiku of 1820, he looks ahead:
hotaru tobu yûbe wo ate ya sashi yanagi
planting a willow
will become nights
of fireflies
1811
.念仏の口からよばる蛍哉
nembutsu no kuchi kara yobaru hotaru kana
the mouth that
praised Amida Buddha
calling fireflies
1812
.江戸者にかはいがらるる蛍かな
edo mono ni kawaigararuru hotaru kana
kept as pets
by citizens of Edo...
fireflies
Edo is the Shogun's city that today is called Tokyo.
1812
.蛍よぶ口へとび入るほたる哉
[hotaru] yobu kuchi e tobi iru hotaru kana
a mouth calling fireflies--
one
flies in
In his diary, this haiku actually begins with the word, "nightingale" (uguisu). Scholars are confident that Issa meant to write the similar character, "firefly" (hotaru).
Issa presents in the poem a comic moment of real life--not much "deep meaning" here, unless one derives from it the lesson, "Watch out what you ask for."
This haiku is one of the "essential" 188 picked by the translator. back next
1812
.夕暮や今うれる草をとぶ蛍
yûgure ya ima ureru kusa wo tobu hotaru
evening falls--
to the just-sold grass
fireflies flit
1813
.筏士のうんじ果たる蛍哉
ikadashi no unji hatetaru hotaru kana
the raftsman
has had his fill...
fireflies
A humorous psychological poem. Even a beautiful sight, if seen often enough, can grow old. Note the musical fun that Issa has with the phrase, hatetaru hotaru.
According to the editors of Issa zenshû, unji refers to something that one has grown tired of (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79, 3.243, note 1).
1813
.笹の家や掴み捨ても来る蛍
sasa no ya ya tsukami sutete mo kuru hotaru
thatched house--
catching and releasing
fireflies
Or: "the firefly." Literally, the house is thatched with bamboo-grass (sasa).
1813
.すすきから松から蛍々哉
susuki kara matsu kara hotaru hotaru kana
from the pampas grass
from the pine
fireflies! fireflies!
1813
.古壁や理窟もなしに行蛍
furu kabe ya rikutsu mo nashi ni yuku hotaru
old wall--
for no particular reason
fireflies visit
Or: "a firefly visits."
1813
.木母寺や犬が呼んでも来る蛍
mokuboji ya inu ga yonde mo kuru hotaru
Mokubo Temple--
the dog calls, too
fireflies come
1813
.我宿や鼠と仲のよい蛍
waga yado ya nezumi to naka no yoi hotaru
my dwelling--
mingling with the mice
pretty fireflies
Lewis Mackenzie translates: "The Fireflies on good terms/ With the Mouse." See The Autumn Wind: A Selection from the Poems of Issa (London: John Murray, 1957; rpt. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1984), 78.
1814
.犬どもが蛍まぶれに寝たりけり
inu domo ga hotaru mabure ni netari keri
the dog sparkling
with fireflies
sound asleep
Though Shinji Ogawa explains that inu domo refers to several dogs, I focus on one in my translation.
This haiku is one of the "essential" 188 picked by the translator. back next
1814
.馬の草食らふ音してとぶ蛍
uma no kusa kurau oto shite tobu hotaru
sound of a horse
gobbling grass...
fireflies flitting
Or: "sound of a horses." R. H. Blyth, in his translation, pictures one horse; A History of Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1964) 1.378. I do too. This image conjures a nice set of contrasts: one versus many, large versus small, loud versus silent, strong versus delicate...
1814
.人声や大骨折ってとぶ蛍
hito-goe ya ôhone otte tobu hotaru
people's voices--
with all their might
the fireflies flit
Literally, the firefly (or fireflies) are flitting with "bone-breaking" effort ... to reward the people who are calling.
1814
.本町をぶらりぶらりと蛍哉
honchô wo burari-burari to hotaru kana
in the Old Quarter
without rhyme or reason...
fireflies
The "Old Quarter" was in the Nihonbashi section of Edo, today's Tokyo; see Maruyama Kazuhiko, Issa haiku shû (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1990; rpt. 1993) 213, note 1113. In the haiku, fireflies are flitting aimlessly here and there.
1815
.舟引の足にからまる蛍哉
funahiki no ashi ni karamaru hotaru kana
swarming 'round
the boat-hauler's legs...
fireflies
A man is hauling a boat by a rope. See Maruyama Kazuhiko, Issa haiku shû (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1990; rpt. 1993) 83, note 375.
1815
.筏士が飯にかけたる蛍かな
ikadashi ga meshi ni kaketaru hotaru kana
sprinkled on
the raftsman's rice...
fireflies
The rice is cooked (meshi).
Issa wrote a similar poem two years earlier, in 1813:
ikadashi ga hashi ni kaketaru hotaru kana
clinging to
the raftsman's chopstick...
firefly
In 1824 Issa revises this to have the fireflies "sticking" (bettari) to the rice.
1815
.妹が子やくねた形りでよぶ忖
imo ga ko ya jikuneta nari de yobu hotaru
my child strikes
a sulky pose
calling fireflies
The phrase, imo ga ko ("sister's child") means, in literary usage, "my wife's child," ergo, "my child." (Shinji Ogawa).
Issa was newly married when he wrote this poem but still without children. Perhaps he is looking ahead with optimism, imagining that the child in the scene is his own.
1815
.牛の背を掃おろしたる蛍哉
ushi no se wo haki-orishitaru hotaru kana
sweeping them off
the cow's back...
fireflies
Six years later, in 1821, Issa changes the cow to a horse.
1815
.狗も同じく出てよぶ蛍
enokoro mo onajiku idete yobu hotaru
the dog comes out
and calls them too...
fireflies
Originally, I translated this:
the dog also
comes out...
calling fireflies
However, as Shinji Ogawa points out, this creates an ambiguity in English niot found in Issa's text: either the dog has come out in response to the firefly call, or the dog has come out to join in the calling of the fireflies. Issa means the latter.
1815
.出よ蛍錠をおろすぞ出よ蛍
deyo hotaru jô wo orosu zo deyo hotaru
out! fireflies
I'm locking up...
out! fireflies
Or: "out! firefly."
1815
.古桶に稲葉そよぎてとぶ忖
furu oke ni ine ha soyogite tobu hotaru
in an old bucket
rice plants rustle
fireflies flit
1816
.寝むしろや尻をかぞへて行蛍
ne mushiro ya shiri wo kazoete yuku hotaru
sleeping mats--
the fireflies counting
butts
Or: "our butts." Shinji Ogawa points out that it is the fireflies who are doing the counting, not Issa (originally, I pictured the poet lying on his mat, counting the glowing bottoms of the insects).
1816
.蛍見や転びながらもあれ蛍
hotaru mi ya korobi nagara mo are hotaru
viewing fireflies
he takes a tumble...
"There's one!"
1816
.我門や折角に来て行蛍
waga kado ya sekkaku ni kite yuku hotaru
at my gate
they pay their respects...
fireflies
1816
.わんぷぱくや縛れながらよぶ蛍
wanpaku ya shibarare nagara yobu hotaru
naughty child
though tethered calling
fireflies
The child is being punished, tied to a tree.
1816
.泣蔵や縛れながらよぶ蛍
nakizô ya shibarare nagara yobu hotaru
through the tears
though he's tethered
calling fireflies
The child is being punished, tied to a tree.
1818
.一群は石山方の蛍かな
hito mure wa ishiyama-gata no hotaru kana
one swarm
comes from Ishiyama...
fireflies
Ishiyama ("Stone Mountain") was the site of the Buddhist temple Ishiyama Honganji, a gathering place for monks and peasants who opposed the rule of the samurai in the 16th century. After it was destroyed in 1580, Osaka castle was built in the same location. Issa's haiku hints that the fireflies might be the reincarnated warriors of an ancient battle.
Shinji Ogawa notes that gata means "the direction of" or "the area of" without the meaning (as I originally thought) "heading to."
1818
.西なるはなむあみ方の蛍哉
nishi naru wa namu ami-gata no hotaru kana
in the west
battling like ancients monks
fireflies
When I first translated this haiku I assumed that Issa was using a firefly or fireflies to suggest a movement toward Amida Buddha's Western Paradise. Later, I came upon this note in Issa zenshû (I translate): "The battle of the fireflies is being compared to a battle that took place at Osaka's Ishiyama Hongan Temple"; (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 3.540, note 2.
1818
.本町の真中通る蛍かな
honchô no man naka tôru hotaru kana
smack in the middle
of the Old Quarter...
fireflies
The "Old Quarter" was in the Nihonbashi section of Edo, today's Tokyo; see Maruyama Kazuhiko, Issa haiku shû (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1990; rpt. 1993) 213, note 1113.
1820
.蛍とぶ夕をあてやさし柳
hotaru tobu yûbe wo ate ya sashi yanagi
planting a willow
will become nights
of fireflies
Shinji Ogawa notes that ate signifies "aim," "purpose," "expectation," or "intention." Willows are planted in springtime; fireflies appear in the summer. It is Issa's "aim," when he plants the tree, to enjoy evenings of fireflies there.
1821
.馬の背を掃おろしたる蛍哉
uma no se wo haki-orishitaru hotaru kana
sweeping them off
the horse's back...
fireflies
This is a revision of a haiku of 1815. In the original, the fireflies are swept off the back of a cow.
1821
.枕にも足のうらにもほたる哉
makura ni mo ashi no ura ni mo hotaru kana
from my pillow
to the soles of my feet
fireflies
1823
.薮寺やみだの膝よりとぶ蛍
yabu tera ya mida no hiza yori yobu hotaru
temple in the thicket--
from Amida Buddha's lap
fireflies
Though Issa wrote yobu (call), the editors of Issa zenshû believe that the intended verb might have been tobu (fly).
1824
.筏士の飯にべったり蛍かな
ikadashi no meshi ni bettari hotaru kana
sticking to
the raftsman's rice...
fireflies
The rice is cooked (meshi). This is a rewrite of a haiku of 1815:
ikadashi ga meshi ni kaketaru hotaru kana
sprinkled on
the raftsman's rice...
fireflies
1824
.木がくれの家真昼にとぶ蛍
kogakure [no] ie mappiru ni tobu hotaru
house in deep shade
at high noon...
fireflies
A lovely image.
This haiku is one of the "essential" 188 picked by the translator. back next
1824
.猿も子を負ふて指すほたる哉
saru mo ko wo oute yubisasu hotaru kana
mother monkey
baby on her back points...
fireflies!
1824
.飯櫃の蛍追ひ出す夜舟哉
meshibitsu no hotaru oidasu yobune kana
shooing fireflies
from the rice tub...
night boat
Or: "shooing a firefly."
1825
.戦をのがれて庵の蛍哉
tatakai wo nogarete io no hotaru kana
escaping the fight outside
my hut's
fireflies
Or: "firefly." Shinji Ogawa notes that a swarm of fireflies in Japan is called "a firefly battle." In the haiku, then, the combatants are fireflies, not the people in the hut.
1825
.又一ッ川を越せとやよぶ蛍
mata hitotsu kawa wo kose to ya yobu hotaru
one more
cross the river!
fireflies flit