54 haiku out of 9486
year unknown
.切凧のくるくる舞やお茶の水
kire tako no kuru-kuru mau ya ocha no mizu
broken kite dancing
'round and 'round...
Ocha-no-Mizu
Ocha-no-mizu, a section of Edo (today's Tokyo) literally means, "tea water." Shinji Ogawa alerted me to the fact that the kite is dancing over this place, not "into the tea water"!
year unknown
.凧抱て直ぐにすやすや寝る子哉
tako daite sugu ni suya-suya neru ko kana
hugging her kite
soon she's sound asleep...
the child
Or: "hugging his kite/ soon he's sound asleep..." Issa's Japanese permits us to use our imaginations to decide whether the kite hugger is a little boy or little girl. Flying kites is a New Year's celebration, but this particular child has spent all of his or her energy in the excitement of the day, and now sleeps, hugging his or her beloved kite. The haiku paints a picture of pure, trusting love--the love of a child for a toy. The image has much to teach adult readers, if they open themselves to it.
1793
.夕されば凧も雲雀もをりの哉
yû sareba tako mo hibari mo ori no kana
evening falls--
the kite and the lark
come down
The "kite" (tako) in this haiku is the paper kind, not a bird.
1795
.家飛々凧も三ッ四ッふたつ哉
ie tobi-tobi tako mo mitsu yotsu futatsu kana
houses here and there
fly kites, three...four...
two
This early haiku appears in Issa's 1795 travel journal, Saigoku kikô ("Western Provinces Travelogue"). Shinji Ogawa explains that tobi-tobi ("jump-jump" or "skip-skip") means "here and there" or "sporadic." It modifies the houses. He adds, "By counting the New Year痴 kites, Issa elevates the still picture to a movie."
1795
.凧青葉を出つ入つ哉
ikanobori aoba wo idetsu iritsu kana
New Year's kite--
out of green leaves
then back in
This early haiku appears in Issa's 1795 travel journal, Saigoku kikô ("Western Provinces Travelogue").
1795
.日でり雨凧にかかると思ふ哉
hideri ame tako ni kakaru to omou kana
sunny day rain
has splashed the kite...
it seems
This early haiku appears in Issa's 1795 travel journal, Saigoku kikô ("Western Provinces Travelogue"). Shinji Ogawa explains that hideri ame ("clear sky rain") means "the rain while the sun is shining."
1802
.日の暮の山を見かけて凧
hi no kure no yama wo mikakete ikanobori
eye-catching
over the sunset mountain...
a kite
1805
.家二ッ三ッ四ッ凧の夕哉
ie futatsu mitsu yotsu tako no yûbe kana
two houses, three, four...
an evening
of kites
Shinji Ogawa notes that the numbers grammatically modify the houses, yet "the numbers influence the 'kites' also." He adds that the normal Japanese expression is to give just two numbers, "two, three," or "three, four," but here, "Issa uses three numbers to create special effects--to make the image more clear, the image of a tranquil and peaceful village." Sakuo Nakamura also provided help with this translation.
1805
.凧今木母寺は夜に入るぞ
ikanobori ima mokuboji wa yo ni iru zo
a kite--
Mokubo Temple settles
into evening
1805
.山かげや薮のうしろや凧
yama kage ya yabu no ushiro ya ikanobori
mountain shade--
deep in a thicket
a kite
1807
.けふもけふも凧引かかる榎哉
kyô mo kyô mo tako hikkakaru enoki kana
today too, today too
the nettle tree snags
the kite
1807
.猿引は猿に持せて凧
saru hiki wa saru ni motasete ikanobori
the trainer lets
his monkey hold it...
New Year's kite
1807
.機音は竹にかくれて凧
hata oto wa take ni kakurete ikanobori
sound of a loom--
hidden in bamboo
a New Year's kite
1810
.朔日や一文凧も江戸の空
tuitachi ya ichi mon-dako mo edo no sora
New Year's Day--
a one-penny kite, too
in Edo's sky
The sky and wind are free for all to enjoy. Expensive kites soar in the New Year's sky, but so does a one-penny kite--just as happily.
This haiku is one of the "essential" 188 picked by the translator. back next
1811
.今様の凧上りけり乞食小屋
ima yô no tako agari keri kojiki goya
a trendy kite soars
and below...
a beggar's hut
Sakuo Nakamura views this haiku as an illustration of the contrast between having and not having: the "up and down of fortune."
1811
.今様の凧の上りし山家哉
ima yô no tako no agarishi yamaga kana
a trendy kite soars
over the mountain
home
1811
.辻うたひ凧も上っていたりけり
tsujiutai tako mo nobo[t]te itari keri
the street singer's
kite also...
rising and rising
1811
.鳶のいる餅屋が藤は咲にけり
tobi no iru mochiya ga fuji wa saki ni keri
black kite--
the rice cake dealer's wisteria
in bloom
The "black kite" in the scene (tobi) is a bird, not the paper kind.
1813
.都辺や凧の上るもむづかしき
miyakobe ya tako no age[ru] mo muzukashiki
a Kyoto suburb--
even flying kites
is hard
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. Perhaps Issa is suggesting that everything, even kite flying, is easier in the emperor's capital, harder in outlying areas.
1813
.けふぎりや出代る隙の凧
kyôgiri ya degawa[ru] hima no ikanobori
servants take a break
from their migration...
kite flying
In springtime, old servants were replaced by young ones. The old ones would leave their employers to return to their home villages; the young ones traveled in the opposite direction. In earlier times this took place during the Second Month; later, the Third Month.
1814
.福わらや雀が踊る鳶がまふ
fukuwara ya suzume ga odoru tobi ga mau
fresh straw for the garden!
a sparrow dances
a black kite wheels
In the New Year's season, new straw is spread in gardens in a purification ritual; Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 1433. The "black kite" in the scene (tobi) is a bird, not the paper kind.
1814
.番町や夕飯過の凧
banchô ya yûmeshi sugi no ikanobori
Bancho Town--
after dinner flying
a kite
Or: "flying kites."
Issa might be referring to the location of Banchô Sarayashiki ("The Dish Mansion at Banchô"), a famous ghost legend. A woman refused the advances of her samurai master and then, depending on the version of the story, either killed herself or was killed by him. She subsequently became a vengeful spirit, haunting her former master.
1814
.大凧のりんとしてある日暮哉
ôtako no rin to shite aru higure kana
the big kite
cuts a brave figure...
Sunset
The phrase rin to means "majestically, imposingly, gallantly," according to Maruyama Kazuhiko; see Issa haiku shû (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1990; rpt. 1993) 207, note 1080. Shinji Ogawa comments that some of the kites in Issa's day "were as big as ten feet by ten feet, raised by ten persons or more. The strings were as thick as a thumb. Their hands were protected with leather."
1814
.凧の尾を追かけ廻る狗
tako no o wo oikake mawaru enoko kana
chasing the kite's tail
'round and 'round...
puppy
1815
.生神の凧とり榎たくましや
ikigami [no] tako tori enoki takumashi ya
the sacred kite
grabbed by the nettle tree...
a bold one!
The kites on New Year's Day serve a divine purpose in Shinto custom, but the tough and enduring nettle tree could care less. Shinji Ogawa offers this translation:
A tough nettle tree...
grabbing
the sacred kite
1815
.凧きれて犬もきょろきょろ目哉
tako kirete inu mo kyoro-kyoro manako kana
runaway kite!
the dog also eyes it
restlessly
1815
.人真似や犬の見て居る凧
hito mane ya inu no mite iru ikanobori
imitating his master
the dog watching
the kite
1815
.鳶ひょろひひょろ神の御立げな
tobi hyoro-hyooro kami no o-tachigena
black kites reeling
reeling in the sky...
the gods depart
According to Shinto belief, in Tenth Month all of Japan's gods vacate their shrines to congregate at the Izumo-Taisha Shrine. The "black kite" in the scene (tobi) is a bird, not the paper kind.
R. H. Blyth believes that the phrase, hyoro-hyooro ("staggeringly," "reelingly"), is an onomatopoetic representation of the birds' cry, which resembles the "piercing, melancholy sound" of ceremonial flutes; A History of Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1964) 1.382. For this reason, he doesn't translate it (1.381).
The ending gena is the equivalent of rashii or yôda in modern Japanese; it denotes a presumption or estimation. See Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 567. Therefore, a more literal but wordy translation of the final phrase would be: "the gods are departing, it seems."
1816
.背中から猿が引也凧の糸
se[naka] kara saru ga hiku nari tako no ito
tied to the monkey's
back...
string of the kite
1816
.大名の凧も悪口言れけり
daimyô no tako mo warukuchi iware keri
even the kite
of the provincial lord
is bad-mouthed
1816
.凧上げてゆるりとしたる小村哉
tako agete yururi to shitaru komura kana
a kite rises
slow and easy...
a little village
Or: "kites rise."
Yururi to is an old expression that describes an action done in a slow or leisurely manner; Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 1698.
In his translation of this haiku, Makoto Ueda ascribes yururi to to the little village that, he writes, "reposes in peace." I think the expression describes the action of the kite (or kites); Dew on the Grass: The Life and Poetry of Kobayashi Issa (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2004) 107.
1816
.凧抱たなりですやすや寝たりけり
tako daita nari de suya-suya netari keri
hugging her kite
she sleeps
deep and calm
Or: "hugging his kite/ he sleeps..."
1816
.一ところに御代の大凧小凧哉
hito[ko]ro ni miyo no ôtako ko tako kana
in one sky--
grand imperial kites
and little kites
An example of Issa's often-noted democratic vision. Despite differences in social and economic class, everyone shares the sky and the New Year's excitement. "Sky" is not stated in the original; Issa writes, "in one place" (hito[ko]ro ni).
1816
.反古凧や隣は前田加賀守
hogo-dako ya tonari wa maeda kaga no kami
a wastepaper kite
next to that of Maeda
Lord Kaga!
An example of Issa's often-noted democratic vision. Despite differences in social and economic class, everyone shares the sky and the New Year's excitement. Lord Kaga of the Maeda clan was the daimyo (feudal lord) in Issa's home province of Shinano. Shinji Ogawa writes, "It is unlikely that Lord Kaga and a farmer flew their kites side by side. It may be within Issa's calculation that the haiku sounds as if the unlikely scene is going on. The reality was more likely that a kite on which Lord Kaga was painted was beside a wastepaper kite."
1816
.門前の凧とり榎千代もへん
kado mae no tako tori enoki chiyo mo hen
before the gate
the kite-snagging nettle tree...
a thousand ages old!
1816
.りんりんと凧上りけり青田原
rin-rin to tako agari keri aodabara
with high spirits
the kite ascends...
green rice fields
A joyful spring poem.
1818
.よい世とや虫が鈴ふり鳶がまふ
yoi yo to ya mushi ga suzu furi tobi ga mau
a good world!
crickets ring
a black kite wheels
A combination of "bell" and "bug," suzumushi is an old word for "cricket"; the idea being that its sound is like a ringing bell. In this haiku, the "insects shaking bells" (mushi ga suzu furi) are, therefore, crickets. See Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 880. The "black kite" in the scene (tobi) is a bird, not the paper kind.
1819
.親よぶや凧上ながら小順礼
oya yobu [ya] tako age nagara ko junrei
calling his parents
while his kite rises!
little pilgrim
The little pilgrim is on a New Year's visit to a shrine or temple.
1820
.美しき凧上りけり乞食小屋
utsukushiki tako agari keri kojiki-goya
a pretty kite soars
a beggar's shack
below
One doesn't have to be rich to enjoy kite-flying on New Year's Day. Even a "beggar" in his shack (Issa?) can join the fun with a pretty kite. Five years later (1825), he evokes a similar scene and lesson with one-penny fireworks bursting in the sky.
This haiku is one of the "essential" 188 picked by the translator. back next
1820
.乞食子や歩ながらの凧
kojiki ko ya aruki nagara ikanobori
a beggar child
walking and flying
a kite
1821
.小順礼もらひながらや凧
ko junrei morai nagara ya ikanobori
the little pilgrim
while receiving alms
flies a kite
The little pilgrim is on a New Year's visit to a shrine or temple. Issa doesn't state directly what the child is receiving, but I assume it to be alms.
Shinji Ogawa agrees with this interpretation.
Three years later (1824), Issa rewrites this haiku, focusing on a "pilgrim" instead of a "little pilgrim," and substituting no for ya.
the pilgrim
while receiving alms
kite flying
1821
.鳶の巣も鬼門に持や日枝の山
tobi no su mo kimon ni motsu ya hie [no] yama
the black kite's nest, too
in the unlucky direction...
Mount Hie
The "black kite" in the scene (tobi) is a bird, not the paper kind. The "unlucky direction" (kimon) is the northeast.
1822
.すすけ紙まま子の凧としられけり
susuke kami mamako no tako to shirare keri
with sooty paper
the stepchild's kite
easy to spot
Issa was a stepchild--unloved, neglected, abused. Even at age 60 he remembers.
This haiku is one of the "essential" 188 picked by the translator. back next
1822
.凧の糸引とらまへて寝る子哉
tako no ito hikitoramaete neru ko kana
clinging to the kite's
string...
the sleeping child
Kite-flying is a New Year's activity. In this haiku of 1822, brightly colored kites soar in the blue spring sky (in the old Japanese calendar, New Year's Day was the first day of spring). Holding the string attached to one of those kites is a little child, sound asleep. He or she has been flying the kite with laughter and excitement, but now, worn out, surrenders to a nap. The child does not, however, surrender the kite's string! Even in sleep, playtime continues. The string clutched in his or her little hand connects the child to the heavens; to a happy, bright dream flying above.
1822
.凧の尾を咥て引や鬼瓦
tako no o wo kuwaete hiku ya onigawara
catching the kite's tail
with his mouth...
gargoyle
1822
.日の暮に凧の揃ふや町の空
hi no kure ni tako no sorou ya machi no sora
sunset--
an assembly of kites
in the sky over the town
Shinji Ogawa notes that the verb sorou, in this context, means "to assemble together."
1822
.あそこらがえどの空かよ凧
asokora ga edo no sora ka yo ikanobori
over yonder is that
Edo's sky?
a kite
1823
.ままっ子やつぎだらけなる凧
mamakko ya tsugi darake naru ikanobori
stepchild--
the kite covered with patches
is his
Issa was a stepchild; this haiku alludes to his own bitter memories--as Shinji Ogawa points out. He further observes, "a kite is regarded as a New Year's kite unless otherwise specified" in Japanese haiku.
1824
.赤い凧引ずり歩くきげん哉
akai tako hikizuri aruku kigen kana
the red kite
in a drag-behind
kind of mood
1824
.江戸凧の朝からかぶりかぶり哉
edo tako no asa kara kaburi-kaburi kana
kites of Edo
from morning on, heads
shaking, shaking
The word "heads" doesn't appear literally in the original, but, according to Shinji Ogawa, "The word kaburi-kaburi means the gesture of swinging the head for a sign of disagreement or disapproval. In Edo, even the kites are hard to please." Edo was the big city in Issa's Japan: present-day Tokyo.
1824
.江戸凧もこもごも上る山家哉
edo tako mo komo-gomo ageru yamaga kana
an Edo kite
joins the others...
mountain home
Shinji Ogawa explains, "The Edo kite might be Issa's because he often went to Edo. In the mountain village sky, his Edo kite is rather odd, symbolizing the relationship between the villagers and himself." Edo is present-day Tokyo
1824
.順礼や貰ひながらの凧
junrei ya morai nagara no ikanobori
the pilgrim
while receiving alms
kite flying
The pilgrim is on a New Year's visit to a shrine or temple.
In his original version of this haiku (1821), Issa focuses on a "little pilgrim" and writes ya after nagara instead of no.
1824
.大名のかすみが関や凧
daimyô no kasumi ga seki ya ikanobori
the feudal lords'
Kasumi-ga-Seki...
a kite
Shinji Ogawa points out that Kasumi-ga-Seki is a section of Edo (today's Tokyo) very close to the castle where the Shogun lived. He explains: "Under the Shogun's decree, feudal lords must come to Edo every three years to stay for 100 days. The family, their wives and children, had to live in Edo." This practice was designed to keep the lords in check and maintain their obedience.
Sakuo Nakumura notes that the daimyo (feudal lords) gathered in Kasumi-ga-Seki during their Edo stay.
1824
.まま子凧つぎのいろいろ見へにけり
mamako tako tsugi no iro-iro mie ni keri
the stepchild's kite--
various patches
appear
Issa was a stepchild.