140 haiku out of 9486
year unknown
.むら雨やほろがやの子に風とどく
murasame ya horogaya no ko ni kaze todoku
a rain shower--
in her little mosquito net
touched by the breeze
Or: "his." The child is inside a little mosquito net (horogaya). This is an early haiku written in the 1790s.
year unknown
.翌日も翌同じ夕べや独り蚊屋
asu mo asu onaji yûbe ya hitori kaya
tomorrow night and the next
the same...
in my mosquito net, alone
Though the editors of Issa zenshû don't list it as such, this haiku is a variant of one written in 1809. The only difference is that the original haiku has the particle ka instead of ya, making the opening phrase a question: "tomorrow night and the next the same?" (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 1.305-6.
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
.宵越しの豆腐明りの薮蚊哉
yoigoshi no tôfu akari no yabu ka kana
left out all night
the tofu gleams...
mosquitoes
Or: "a mosquito."
Shinji Ogawa believes that some sort of mold or bacteria is making the tofu gleam.
According to R. H. Blyth, "thicket mosquito" (yabu ka) refers to a species of "striped mosquitoes"; Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 3.805. Robin D. Gill notes that the scientific name for these large striped, bloodthirsty mosquitoes is Stegomyia fasciata, according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary.
year unknown
.夕暮や蚊が鳴出してうつくしき
yûgure ya ka ga nakidashite utsukushiki
evening falls--
the whine of mosquitoes
pretty
year unknown
.昼の蚊を後ろにかくす仏かな
hiru no ka wo ushiro ni kakusu hotoke kana
midday's mosquitoes
hidden behind
the Buddha of stone
Shinji Ogawa notes that the doer of the action (of hiding) is the statue of Buddha. He offers a more literal translation:
hides midday's mosquitoes
in his back
statue of Buddha
1792
.通し給へ蚊蠅の如き僧一人
tôshi tamae ka hae no gotoki sô hitori
let him pass
like a mosquito, a fly...
solitary priest
Jean Cholley notes that Issa is referring to himself in this haiku, since by this time he was already wearing the robe of a Buddhist priest. Cholley adds that he is addressing the guardians of Japan's barrier gates in a sly and, for Issa, typical jab at authority; En village de miséreux: Choix de poèmes de Kobayashi Issa (Paris: Gallimard, 1996) 234, note 7.
Makoto Ueda agrees that Issa is depicting himself, adopting a "pose of self-promotion vieled by self-irony"; Dew on the Grass: The Life and Poetry of Kobayashi Issa (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2004) 31.
1793
.夜仕事や子を思ふ身は蚊屋の外
yo shigoto ya ko wo omou mi wa kaya no soto
night work--
outside the mosquito net
she thinks of her child
Or: "he thinks of his child." Issa doesn't specify if the "parent" (oya) is amother or a father.
At first, I pictured a mother doing some night chore, letting her child sleep in mosquito-less comfort. Shinji Ogawa, however, writes that the parent hasn't yielded the mosquito net to the child but is doing night work, thinking about his or her child's welfare.
1793
.蚊を焼くや紙燭にうつる妹が顔
ka wo yaku ya shisoku ni utsuru imo ga kao
burning mosquitoes--
in the paper lamp
my dear one's face
R. H. Blyth explains that the woman's face is being reflected in the oil in which a paper wick is burning; A History of Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1964) 1.354.
Imo ("sister") is a literary word for "dear one"--an intimate term that a man uses to refer to his beloved; Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 454. Had Issa been married at this point, I would have translated this, "my wife's face."
1793
.只一ッ耳際に蚊の羽かぜ哉
tada hitotsu mimi-giwa ni ka no hakaze kana
only one
fans my ear...
mosquito
In Issa: Cup-of-Tea Poems, I translated this haiku, "one more wing-buzzing mosquito in my ear"; (Berkeley: Asian Humanities, 1991) 43. However, Shinji Ogawa points out that tada hitotsu ("only one") modifies the hakaze (wing-created breeze), not the number of mosquitoes. He offers this translation:
close to my ear
a single breeze
from a mosquito
1794
.雨垂の内外にむるる藪蚊哉
amadare no uchito ni mururu yabu ka kana
in and out of raindrops
falling from the eaves they swarm...
mosquitoes
An amadare is an eavesdrop, where water falls from a roof's overhang.
According to R. H. Blyth, "thicket mosquito" (yabu ka) refers to a species of "striped mosquitoes"; Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 3.805. Robin D. Gill notes that the scientific name for these large striped mosquitoes is Stegomyia fasciata, according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary.
Sakuo Nakamura writes, "My wife grew up in the same village as mine. We had the same experience that Issa would have had, because my family was in Shizuoka, which is next to the prefecture of Nagano where Issa lived. I and my wife talked about ka and yabuka. We recognized that ka is only 'mosquito', but yabuka is another species: stronger, bigger and stinging more strongly. We call yabuka 'yabukka', a pronunciation that stresses the toughness of this kind of mosquito."
1801
.夜々にかまけられたる蚤蚊哉
yoru-yoru ni kamakera[re]taru nomi ka kana
night after night
of pestering...
fleas, mosquitoes
On its own, this haiku may seem comic, but in the context of Issa's diary (and life) it is filled with pathos. It appears in Chichi no shûen nikki ("The Journal of My Father's Last Days"), written after the poet woke from a dream about his dead father. In his translation, Robert N. Huey makes it clear that Issa is talking about someone else in the haiku: "How he was plagued"; "Journal of My Father's Last Days: Issa's Chichi no Shûen Nikki," Monumenta Nipponica 39, 1 (1984): 53.
1803
.風吹や穴だらけでも我蚊帳
kaze fuku ya ana darake demo waga kachô
wind blows--
lots of rips, yet still
my mosquito net
Shinji Ogawa assisted with this translation.
1803
.蚊を殺す紙燭にうつる白髪哉
ka wo korosu shishoku ni utsuru shiraga kana
lit by the mosquito-murdering
taper...
my white hair
Or: "his white hair," or "her white hair." R. H. Blyth notes "a contrasted harmony" between the mosquito's death and the old age of the human in the scene; A History of Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1964) 1.357.
Shishoku is a variant of shisoku: a type of taper; Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 764.
1803
.蚊一ッの一日さはぐ枕哉
ka hitotsu no ichi nichi sawagu makura kana
a mosquito
all day it whines...
by my pillow
Or: "by the pillow." Issa doesn't identify the pillow as his, but this might be inferred.
1803
.宵越しのとうふ明りや蚊のさわぐ
yoigoshi no tôfu akari ya ka no sawagu
left out all night
the tofu gleams...
mosquitoes whisper
Shinji Ogawa believes that some sort of mold or bacteria is making the tofu gleam.
1804
.窓だけに月のさし入る紙帳哉
mado dake ni tsuki no sashi iru shichô kana
moonlight enters
only through the window...
paper mosquito net
Shinji Ogawa explains that shichô means a paper enclosure, used as a substitute for a mosquito net. A window is made by cutting the paper and attaching a piece of thin see-through cloth. Issa, being inside the paper enclosure, can see the moon only through the window in the paper.
1804
.朝顔や藪蚊の中にりんとして
asagao ya yabu ka no naka ni rin to shite
morning-glories--
amid the mosquitoes
standing tall
Admiring the beauty of the flowers, under the circumstances, is an act of courage.
The phrase rin to means "majestically, imposingly, gallantly," writes Maruyama Kazuhiko; see Issa haiku shû (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1990; rpt. 1993) 207, note 1080. Shinji Ogawa explains further that rin to shite is short for rinzen to shite: "commandingly."
According to R. H. Blyth, "thicket mosquito" (yabu ka) refers to a species of "striped mosquitoes"; Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 3.805. Robin D. Gill notes that the scientific name for these large striped, bloodthirsty mosquitoes is Stegomyia fasciata, according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary.
1805
.遅咲の木槿四五本なく蚊哉
oso-zaki no mukuge shi go hon naku ka kana
late-blooming roses of Sharon
four or five...
mosquitoes whine
The roses are very late: an autumn flower blooming while a summer insect, the mosquito, sings! Issa wrote two versions of this haiku around the same time. This is the second one. The first one begins, "even roses of Sharon/ blooming late..." (mukugae sae sugare ni naru); Issa zenshû (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 2.295.
1805
.木槿さへすがれになるをなく蚊哉
mukuge sae sugare ni naru wo naku ka kana
roses of Sharon, too
have passed their season...
mosquitoes whine
The roses are very past their season (Shinji Ogawa translates sugare as the season of blooming being over). The autumn flowers linger while a summer insect, the mosquito, sings. Who or what else is Issa referring to with the word "even" (sae)? Himself? Does he perhaps feel a kinship with the roses, past their prime, clinging to life?
Issa wrote two versions of this haiku around the same time. This is the first one. The second one begins, "late-blooming roses of Sharon/ four or five..." (oso-zaki no mukuge shi go hon); Issa zenshû (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 2.295.
In some of earlier translations of naku ka, I had the mosquitoes "buzzing," but this isn't quite right. The high-pitched wing-beats of a mosquitoe sound more like a whine.
1806
.陽炎や蚊のわく薮もうつくしき
kagerô ya ka no waku yabu mo utsukushiki
heat shimmers--
the mosquito-breeding thicket
is pretty too
1806
.目出度さは上総の蚊にも喰れけり
medetasa wa kazusa no ka ni mo kuware keri
a celebration--
the mosquitoes of Kazusa
feast on me too
Kazusa was an ancient province in the Kantô area.
1806
.焼にけりさしてとがなき藪蚊迄
yake ni keri sashite toga naki yabu ka made
everything has burned
even the blameless
mosquitoes
This haiku has the prescript, "Shitaya fire." Shitaya was a district in Edo (today's Tokyo), near the place where Issa was living at the time.
According to R. H. Blyth, "thicket mosquito" (yabu ka) refers to a species of "striped mosquitoes"; Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 3.805. Robin D. Gill notes that the scientific name for these large striped, bloodthirsty mosquitoes is Stegomyia fasciata, according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary.
Issa's sympathy extends even to the pesky mosquitoes.
1808
.蚊所の八重山吹の咲にけり
ka-dokoro no yae yamabuki no saki ni keri
in mosquito territory
the double blossom
yellow roses
The mosquito is a summer season word; yellow rose (yamabuki) pertains to spring. Issa is not afraid to break the rules of haiku--in this case the rule of not mixing season words--to realize his vision.
1808
.うつくしき花の中より薮蚊哉
utsukushiki hana no naka yori yabu ka kana
from deep inside
the pretty flower...
a mosquito
According to R. H. Blyth, "thicket mosquito" (yabu ka) refers to a species of "striped mosquitoes"; Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 3.805. Robin D. Gill notes that the scientific name for these large striped, bloodthirsty mosquitoes is Stegomyia fasciata, according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary.
1808
.蚊の声やさらさら竹もそしらるる
ka no koe ya sara-sara take mo soshiraruru
mosquitoes whine--
even the rustling bamboo
is slandered
Or: "a mosquito buzzes."
Robin D. Gill notes that "bamboo is associated with comfort in the summer, for inviting the cooling breeze, but is also known for breeding blood-thirsty mosquitoes, in particular a large striped mosquito called yabu ka (lit. 'thicket mosquito'), Stegomyia fasciata according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary. Though cool-but-mosquito-ridden-bamboo haiku and senryû are a dime a dozen, the indirect mention of breeze by mimesis and the cussing make Issa's effort, perhaps, the best such poem."
1808
.時鳥聞所とて薮蚊哉
hototogisu kiki dokoro tote yabu ka kana
a great spot
to hear the cuckoo...
mosquitoes
According to R. H. Blyth, "thicket mosquito" (yabu ka) refers to a species of "striped mosquitoes"; Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 3.805. Robin D. Gill notes that the scientific name for these large striped, bloodthirsty mosquitoes is Stegomyia fasciata, according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary.
1809
.翌も翌も同じ夕か独蚊屋
asu mo asu mo onaji yûbe ka hitori kaya
tomorrow night and the next
the same?
in my mosquito net, alone
Shinji Ogawa's sharp eye detected the fact that I had posted the wrong Japanese text for this haiku--an error that has been corrected!
1809
.蚊屋の穴かぞへ留りや三ケの月
kaya no ana kazoe tomari ya mike no tsuki
stopping to count
my mosquito net's holes...
sickle moon
The moon is a "three-day moon"...just a sliver. As a humorous touch, the moon seems to be doing the counting.
1809
.昼比や蚊屋の中なる草の花
hiru-goro ya kaya no naka naru kusa no hana
high noon--
inside the mosquito net
wildflowers blooming
Instead of a person inside the net taking a noon nap, Issa sees wildflowers.
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
.あばれ蚊の生所の御花哉
aba[re] ka no umare-dokoro no o-hana kana
the pesky mosquito's
birthplace...
temple flower
The honorific prefix o- before "blossom" (hana) indicates that pesky mosquito was born not in just an ordinary flower, but in a sacred one. Issa's first word in this haiku is written, abara, but he probably meant to write, abare ("pesky"); Issa zenshû (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 1.368.
1809
.有明や空うつくしき蚊の行方
ariake ya sora utsukushiki ka no yukue
moon in the autumn dawn--
to the pretty sky flies
a mosquito
In this context the word "dawn" (ariake) is an autumn season word (ki-go) because, as Shinji Ogawa oints out, it is short for ariakezuki: a full moon at dawn, the full moon suggesting autumn in the seasonal system of haiku.
Jean Cholley lists this haiku as one written in 1811; it was actually written in 1809; En village de miséreux: Choix de poèmes de Kobayashi Issa (Paris: Gallimard, 1996) 94.
1809
.萩の末ききやうの下になく蚊哉
hagi no sue kikyô no shita ni naku ka kana
over the bush clover
under the bell-flowers
mosquitoes whisper
The bell-flower (kikyô) is one of the autumn grasses of Japan.
1810
.から舟や鷺が三疋蚊屋の番
kara fune ya sagi sambiki kaya no ban
empty boat--
three herons guard
the mosquito net
1810
.梟よ蚊屋なき家と沙汰するな
fukurô yo kaya naki ie to sata suru na
O owl
don't tell the world my house
has no mosquito net!
Issa doesn't specifically say that it is his house, but this can be inferred. He humorously begs the owl not to broadcast his vulnerability to any mosquitoes who might be listening.
1810
.老ぬれば只蚊をやくを手がら哉
oi nureba tada ka wo yaku wo tegara kana
in old age
mosquito-burning
the only great feat
Or: "my only great feat." Issa reflects sardonically on the loss of physical abilities that comes with aging. Burning mosquitoes with a taper becomes one's last "heroic" accomplishment which, of course, isn't heroic at all.
When he wrote this haiku he was 48 by Japanese reckoning.
1810
.鐘鳴るや蚊の国に来よ来よ来よと
kane naru ya ka no kuni ni ko yo ko yo to
the bell clangs
"Come to mosquito country!
Come! Come!"
The Japanese text in Issa zenshû shows two "repeat" marks that might refer to individual words (ko and yo) or to a phrase (koyo). I believe that Issa means the latter, since the resulting haiku has the proper number of on ("sound units"): 17
kane naru ya = 5
ka no kuni ni koyo = 7
ko yo ko yo to = 5
1810
.蚊柱や凡そ五尺の菊の花
ka-bashira ya oyoso go shaku no kiku no hana
swarm of mosquitoes--
a five foot tall
chrysanthemum
The mosquitoes are swarming in a column (ka-bashira).
1810
.花盛蓮の虻蚊に喰れけり
hana-zakari hasu no abuka ni kuware keri
lotuses at their peak
horseflies and mosquitoes
feast
1811
.かつしかや猫の逃込むかやのうち
katsushika ya neko [no] nigekomu kaya no uchi
Katsushika--
the cat seeks shelter
in the mosquito net
Katsushika is an area of land east of Sumida River--a riverside suburb of Edo (today's Tokyo) where the mosquitoes were evidently thick; see Maruyama Kazuhiko, Issa haiku shû (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1990; rpt. 1993) 33, note 109.
1811
.庵の蚊にあはれことしも喰れけり
io no ka ni aware kotoshi mo kuware keri
hut's mosquitoes
this damned year, too
feasting
1811
.夕空や蚊が鳴出してうつくしき
yûzora ya ka ga nakidashite utsukushiki
evening sky--
the whine of mosquitoes
pretty
1811
.名月や薮蚊だらけの角田川
meigetsu ya yabu ka darake no sumida-gawa
harvest moon--
Sumida River thick
with mosquitoes
According to R. H. Blyth, "thicket mosquito" (yabu ka) refers to a species of "striped mosquitoes"; Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 3.805. Robin D. Gill notes that the scientific name for these large striped, bloodthirsty mosquitoes is Stegomyia fasciata, according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary.
1811
.かつしかやかやの中から菊の花
katsushika ya kaya no naka kara kiku no hana
Katsushika--
growing in a mosquito net
a chrysanthemum
Katsushika is an area of land east of Sumida River--a riverside suburb of Edo (today's Tokyo) where the mosquitoes were evidently thick; see Maruyama Kazuhiko, Issa haiku shû (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1990; rpt. 1993) 33, note 109.
1812
.大竹のおくのおく也昼の蚊屋
ô take no oku no oku nari hiru no kaya
in the deep heart
of the tall bamboo...
an afternoon mosquito net
Someone is taking a midday siesta.
1812
.古郷は蚊屋の中から見ゆるぞよ
furusato wa ka[ya] no naka kara miyuru zoyo
my home village--
from inside my mosquito net
I watch
1812
.蚊柱の外は能なし榎哉
ka-bashira no hoka wa nô nashi enoki kana
beyond the swarming
mosquitoes, the no-good
nettle tree
The mosquitoes are swarming in a column (ka-bashira). The tree is useless (nô nashi) to mosquitoes that are looking for something to bite.
1812
.ひとつ蚊の咽へとび込むさわぎ哉
hitotsu ka no nodo e tobikomu sawagi kana
one mosquito
flies down my throat...
an uproar!
Shinji Ogawa translates the third line, "a big fuss."
1812
.蚊柱の先立にけり聖霊棚
ka-bashira no mazu tachi ni keri shôryûdana
the first to arise
a mosquito swarm...
ancestors' altar
Shôryû matsuri is another name for the Bon Festival. Shôryûdana is, accordingly, another name for tama-dana: an altar for the spirits of the dead used during the Bon Festival. The Bon Festival of the Dead takes place in Eighth Month in the old lunar calendar. At this time, people light lanterns to guide their ancestors' spirits back home.
The mosquitoes are swarming in a column (ka-bashira).
1813
.しなのぢや雪が消れば蚊がさはぐ
shinano ji ya yuki ga kiereba ka ga sawagu
Shinano road--
when the snow finally melts
mosquitoes whine
1813
.古郷や蚊屋につり込草の花
furutsato ya kaya ni tsuri-komu kusa no hana
my home village--
dangling into the mosquito net
wildflowers
1813
.ぼうふらや日にいく度のうきしづみ
bôfuri ya hi ni iku tabi no uki-shizumi
mosquito larvae--
in a day how many
ups and downs?
Shinji Ogawa explains that uki-shizumi is an expression meaning "to rise and fall," or "up and down," to depict changes of fortune. The humor is that Issa has applied this phrase to the mosquito larvae, whose natural behavior is rising and falling in the water.
1813
.蚊の声の中に赤いぞ草の花
ka no koe no naka [ni] akai zo kusa no hana
amid the buzz of mosquitoes
a bit of red...
wildflower
1813
.蚊柱をよけよけ這入乙鳥哉
ka-bashira wo yoke-yoke hairu tsubame kana
into the mosquito swarm
take care! take care!
swallow
The mosquitoes are swarming in a column (ka-bashira). The swallow is feasting, while Issa coaches from below.
1813
.蚊柱が袂の下に立にけり
ka-bashira ga tamoto no shita ni tachi ni keri
mosquito swarm--
into my sleeve
they rise
The mosquitoes are swarming in a column (ka-bashira).
1813
.尻くらべ観音堂の藪蚊哉
shiri kurabe kannon dô no yabu ka kana
comparing butts
in Kannon's temple...
mosquitoes
Kannon is the Buddhist goddess of mercy, but the mosquito shows none of this quality.
According to R. H. Blyth, "thicket mosquito" (yabu ka) refers to a species of "striped mosquitoes"; Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 3.805. Robin D. Gill notes that the scientific name for these large striped, bloodthirsty mosquitoes is Stegomyia fasciata, according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary.
1813
.人あれば蚊も有り柳見事也
hito areba ka mo ari yanagi migoto nari
where there's people
there's mosquitoes...
admiring the willow
1814
.くら住や田螺に似せてひとり蚊屋
kura-zumi ya tanishi ni nisete hitori kaya
living in a storehouse
like a pond snail
in my mosquito net, alone
This haiku of 1814 presages the fact that Issa spent the last months of his life living in a storehouse after his house burned down. Evidently, he had this experience in 1814 also.
1814
.蚊柱の穴から見ゆる都哉
ka-bashira no ana kara miyuru miyako kana
through a hole
in the mosquito swarm...
Kyoto
The mosquitoes are swarming in a column (ka-bashira). 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.
Sakuo Nakamura pictures Issa, as he approached Kyoto, feeling heavy pressure to do well in this cultural and literary center. "Those pressures stood before him like a mosquito swarm."
1814
.蚊柱のそれさへ細き栖かな
ka-bashira no sore sae hosoki sumika kana
mosquito swarm--
even you
have a narrow home
The mosquitoes are swarming in a column (ka-bashira).
1814
.蚊柱や是もなければ小淋しき
ka-bashira ya kore mo nakereba ko sabishiki
without the column
of mosquitoes...
a bit lonely
The mosquitoes are swarming in a column (ka-bashira). The editors of Issa zenshû add ki to nakereba: nakikereba ("if without"); (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 369.
1814
.方々から叩き出されて来る蚊哉
hôbô kara tataki dasarete kuru ka kana
driven from many houses
here they come...
mosquitoes
Shinji Ogawa notes that hôbô literally means "many directions," but in this context denotes "many houses." Ten years later, in 1824, Issa rewrites this haiku, starting with the phrase, tonari kara ("from next door").
1814
.辻堂を蚤蚊に借て寝たりけり
tsuji dô wo nomi ka ni karite netari keri
borrowing the crossroads temple
from fleas and mosquitoes
I sleep
1814
.草家は蚤蚊に借て寝たりけり
sôan wa nomi ka ni karite netari keri
borrowing my hut
from fleas and mosquitoes
I sleep
Shinji Ogawa notes that sôan ("thatched hut") means "a humble house," and therefore, according to the etiquette of Japanese, always means "my hut," not "someone's hut."
1815
.翌は翌の風が吹とやひとり蚊屋
asu wa asu no [kaze] ga fuku to ya hitori kaya
tomorrow's wind
blows tomorrow...
in my mosquito net, alone
1815
.我庵やたばこを吹ておく蚊やり
waga io ya tabako wo fuite oku ka yari
at my hut
with tobacco, smoking out
the mosquitoes
1815
.ぼうふりも御経の拍子とりにけり
bôfuri mo okyô no hyôshi tori ni keri
mosquito larvae too
keep the sutra's
rhythm
Issa copies this haiku in one text with the prescript, "At a temple." A Buddhist scripture is being chanted, and the seemingly pious mosquito larvae, swimming to and fro, keep the rhythm.
1816
.蚊柱の足らぬ所や三ケ月
ka-bashira no taranu tokoro ya mike no tsuki
a place
short on mosquito swarms...
sickle moon
The mosquitoes are swarming in a column (ka-bashira). The moon is a "three-day moon"...just a sliver. Is the place in question the moon, or Issa's moon-viewing spot?
1816
.蚊柱や月の御邪魔でないやうに
ka-bashira ya tsuki no o-jama de nai yô ni
mosquito swarm--
don't block my view
of the moon!
The mosquitoes are swarming in a column (ka-bashira). Shinji Ogawa assisted with this translation.
1816
.涼風が口へ吹込む薮蚊哉
suzukaze ga kuchi e fukikomu yabu ka kana
the cool breeze
blows into the mouth...
a mosquito!
According to R. H. Blyth, "thicket mosquito" (yabu ka) refers to a species of "striped mosquitoes"; Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 3.805. Robin D. Gill notes that the scientific name for these large striped, bloodthirsty mosquitoes is Stegomyia fasciata, according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary.
1816
.それがしが宿は薮蚊の名所哉
soregashi ga yado wa yabu ka no meisho kana
my home--
for the mosquitoes
a famous resort
Soregashi is often translated, "a mister" or "a so-and-so," but Shinji Ogawa explains that it means [with the particle ga] "my" in idiom of Japanese samurai. Therefore, the first line might read, "the home of some so-and-so," but the reader understands that "so-and-so" to be Issa.
According to R. H. Blyth, "thicket mosquito" (yabu ka) refers to a species of "striped mosquitoes"; Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 3.805. Robin D. Gill notes that the scientific name for these large striped, bloodthirsty mosquitoes is Stegomyia fasciata, according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary.
1816
.なむああと大口明けば薮蚊哉
namu aa to ôkuchi akeba yabu ka kana
while praising Buddha
with wide-open mouth...
a mosquito
The person in the haiku (Issa?) opens wide to recite the nembutsu prayer (Namu Amida Butsu = "All Praise to Amida Buddha") but only reaches the "Ah!" sound when an unwelcome visitor flies in.
According to R. H. Blyth, "thicket mosquito" (yabu ka) refers to a species of "striped mosquitoes"; Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 3.805. Robin D. Gill notes that the scientific name for these large striped, bloodthirsty mosquitoes is Stegomyia fasciata, according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary.
1816
.むらの蚊の大寄合や軒の月
mura no ka no ôyoriai ya noki no tsuki
the village mosquitoes'
great convocation...
moon on the eaves
1816
.目出度さはことしの蚊にも喰れけり
medetasa wa kotoshi no ka ni mo kuware keri
a celebration--
this year's mosquitoes too
feast
I revised the first line of the translation from "oh joy" to "lucky me!" because Shinji Ogawa felt that there might be ambiguity as to who is feeling the joy. He writes, "The joy is appreciated by Issa, not by mosquitoes," because Issa "is lucky enough to survive to be bitten again by this year's mosquitoes."
1816
.我宿は口で吹ても出る蚊哉
waga yado wa kuchi de fuite mo deru ka kana
my home
where I even exhale
mosquitoes
A poem of comic exaggeration ... or is it?
This haiku is one of the "essential" 188 picked by the translator. back next
1817
.剰へ反古の紙帳ぞ紙帳ぞよ
amatsusa[e] hogu no shichô zo shichô zoyo
recycling--
waste paper mosquito net!
mosquito net!
Though "recycling" is a modern term, this seems to be exactly Issa's idea when he refers to the waste paper net as amatsusae, the notion of something "besides" or "in addition." He finds an additional use for the waste paper.
1817
.月さすや紙の蚊屋でもおれが家
tsuki sasu ya kami no kaya demo ore ga ie
the moon shines--
this paper mosquito net
my home
1817
.門の月蚊を喰ふ鳥が時得たり
kado no tsuki ka wo kuu tori ga toki etari
moon at the gate--
the mosquito-eating bats
prosper
Literally, Issa writes, "mosquito-eating birds" (ka wo kuu tori)--a euphemism for bats.
1817
.庵の蚊のかせぎに出や暮の月
io no ka no kasegi ni deru ya kure no tsuki
my hut's mosquitoes
go out to make a living...
moon at dusk
Or: "the hut's mosquitoes." Issa doesn't explicitly say that it is his hut, though this can be inferred.
1818
.おそ起や蚊屋から呼るとうふ売
oso oki ya kaya kara yobaru to tôfu uri
sleeping late--
calling from my mosquito net
the tofu vendor
1818
.あばれ蚊に数珠をふりふり回向哉
abare ka ni juzu [wo] furi-furi ekô kana
swatting prayer beads
at a pesky mosquito...
memorial service
1818
.蚊の声に貧乏樽を枕哉
ka no koe ni bimbô-daru wo makura kana
a mosquito whines--
an old keg
my pillow
1818
.蚊柱の三本目より三ケの月
ka-bashira no sanbonme yori mike no tsuki
from the third column
of the mosquito swarm...
a sickle moon
The moon is a "three-day moon"...just a sliver. Shinji Ogawa assisted with this translation.
1818
.蚊柱のそっくりするや畠迄
ka-bashira no sokkuri suru ya hatake made
mosquito column--
unbroken from here
to the field
The mosquitoes are swarming in a column (ka-bashira).
1818
.真直に蚊のくみ立し柱哉
mattsugu ni ka [no] kumi tateshi hashira kana
straight up and down--
the mosquitoes swarm
a column
1819
.馬迄も萌黄の蚊屋に寝たりけり
uma made mo moegi no kaya ni netari keri
even the horses
sleep in light green
mosquito nets!
This haiku has the prescript, "Edo mansion."
1819
.ごろり寝の紙帳の窓や三ケの月
gorori ne no shichô no mado ya mike [no] tuski
curling to sleep--
in the paper mosquito net's window
a sickle moon
Shinji Ogawa explains that shichô means a paper enclosure, used as a substitute for a mosquito net. A window is made by cutting the paper and attaching a piece of thin see-through cloth.
1819
.塵の身もともにふはふは紙帳哉
chiri no mi mo tomo ni fuwa-fuwa shichô kana
this body of dust
suits this wispy-soft
paper mosquito net
In Oraga haru ("My Spring"), this haiku has the prescript, "After illness." Nobuyuki Yuasa translates it as a simile: "I am as light/ As the mosquito net..." Literally, Issa says that his body of dust and the wispy-soft paper mosquito net go hand-in-hand (tomo ni); The Year of My Life: A Translation of Issa's Oraga Haru (Berkeley: U. of California Press, 1960; 2nd ed. 1972) 54.
In Oraga haru Issa begins this haiku, chiri no mi to--a change that doesn't significantly affect the meaning.
1819
.手をすりて蚊屋の小すみを借りにけり
te wo surite kaya no kosumi wo kari ni keri
wringing hands
in the mosquito netting...
let me have just a corner!
Evidently, a mosquito or two has managed to get inside the net.
1819
.出ル月は紙帳の窓の通り哉
deru tsuki wa shichô no mado no tôri kana
the rising moon
in my paper mosquito net's window
passes by
In this haiku and in an earlier one of 1804.
Shinji Ogawa explains that shichô means a paper enclosure, used as a substitute for a mosquito net. A window is made by cutting the paper and attaching a piece of thin see-through cloth. Issa, being inside the paper enclosure, can see the moon passing by through the window in the paper.
1819
.始から釣り放しなる紙帳哉
hajime kara tsuri hanashinaru shichô kana
from the beginning
it has hung loose...
my paper mosquito net
Is Issa implying that he has not yet used the net? If so, there might be a humorous connection between the net and Issa's own "lazy" personality.
1819
.留守中も釣り放しなる紙帳哉
rusuchû mo tsuri hanashinaru shichô kana
while I'm away
hang loose
paper mosquito net
This haiku appears in Issa's poetic journal of 1819, Oraga haru ("My Spring"). It is a revision of an 1819 poem that begins with the phrase, "from the beginning" (hajime kara).
1819
.ひとり寝の太平楽の紙帳哉
hitori ne no taiheiraku no shichô kana
sleeping alone
building castles in the sky...
paper mosquito net
The term taiheiraku, according to Shinji Ogawa, refers to "blessed peace" and, in most cases, "a fool's paradise." Issa, Shinji says, is "indulging in golden dreams."
1819
.今見ればつぎだらけ也おれが蚊屋
ima mireba tsugi darake nari ore ga kaya
upon inspection
it's covered with patches...
my mosquito net
Like Issa's ramshackle house, his pitiful mosquito net reveals the poverty that he liked to project as part of his self-image as "Shinano Province's Chief Beggar."
1819
.けふの日も棒ふり虫と暮にけり
kyô no hi mo bôfuri mushi to kure ni keri
today too
mosquito larvae and me
at sunset
1819
.けふの日も棒ふり虫よ翌も又
kyô no hi mo bôfurimushi yo asu mo mata
today again
mosquito larvae...
tomorrow the same
This haiku has the prescript, "Day after day, wasteful idleness." The editors of Issa zenshû describe this as a "haiku of self-scorn" (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79, 6.168, note 92). Perhaps with his tongue in cheek, Issa criticizes his own idleness as he contemplates mosquito larvae in a stagnant pool.
1819
.ぼうふりが天上するぞ三ケの月
bôfuri ga tenjô suru zo mike no tsuki
up to heaven
the mosquito larva flies...
sickle moon
According to Noboyuki Yuasa, a mosquito larva "Has ascended/ To the sky..."; The Year of My Life: A Translation of Issa's Oraga Haru (Berkeley: U. of California Press, 1960; 2nd ed. 1972) 60. The editors of Issa zenshû agree, noting that the larva "has become an ascending mosquito" (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 6.168, note 78. The moon is a "three-day moon"...just a sliver.
1819
.旦の蚊の弥陀のうしろにかくれけり
asa no ka no mida no ushiro ni kakure keri
morning's mosquitoes--
behind Amida Buddha
they hide
1819
.あばれ蚊のついと古井に忍びけり
abare ka no tsui to furu i ni shinobi keri
pesky mosquito--
into an old well
he sneaks
This haiku has the prescript, "A highway robber lurks, waiting for his chance to pounce." The "robber" (kusemono) is the mosquito.
Tsui to can mean satto ("suddenly") or migaru ni ("with agility"); Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 1075. The mosquito enters the well quickly or deftly.
1819
.蚊の声に馴れてすやすや寝る子哉
ka no koe ni narete suya-suya neru ko kana
to the lullaby
of mosquitoes
she sleeps
Literally, a "child" (ko) sleeps. Since Issa wrote this haiku in Fourth Month, 1819, he is most likely referring to his baby daughter, Sato.
1819
.蚊もちらりほらり是から老が世ぞ
ka mo chirari horari kore kara oi ga yo zo
a smattering of mosquitoes--
from today on
an old man's world
The tone of the haiku is one of celebration. The arrival of warm summer season, heralded by the mosquitoes, is a welcome thing for the elderly--after the hard, lingering winter in Issa's home mountains.
1819
.かはいらし蚊も初声ぞ初声ぞ
kawairashi ka mo hatsu koe zo hatsu koe zo
this is cute too--
the year's first mosquito's
whiny voice
I tried but couldn't figure out a way to duplicate Issa's musical repetition in English. He repeats the phrase, "first voice!" (hatsu koe zo), which means, "the voice heard for the first time this year!"--much too bulky for an English haiku even if used just once, let alone twice.
1819
.桜迄悪く言する薮蚊哉
sakura made waruku iwasuru yabu ka kana
making even the cherry tree
curse...
mosquitoes
According to R. H. Blyth, "thicket mosquito" (yabu ka) refers to a species of "striped mosquitoes"; Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 3.805. Robin D. Gill notes that the scientific name for these large striped, bloodthirsty mosquitoes is Stegomyia fasciata, according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary.
Shinji Ogawa explains that the verb iwasuru is causative: the mosquitoes are so bad they even make the cherry tree curse them, joining in with, Issa implies, humans such as himself.
1819
.年寄と見るや鳴蚊も耳の際
toshiyori to miru ya naku ka mo mimi no kiwa
the whining mosquito
also thinks I'm old...
edge of my ear
The mosquito is unafraid of being swatted by "old," slow Issa.
1819
.なむあみだ仏の方より鳴蚊哉
namu amida butsu no kata yori naku ka kana
from the direction
of "all praise to Amida Buddha!"
a mosquito's buzz
The prayer in question is "Namu Amida Butsu": "All praise to Amida Buddha!" In his translation, Nobuyuki Yuasa pictures the mosquitoes coming from the shadow of the Buddha. I don't see this in Issa's original; The Year of My Life: A Translation of Issa's Oraga Haru (Berkeley: U. of California Press, 1960; 2nd ed. 1972) 65.
1819
.閨の蚊の初出の声を焼れけり
neya no ka no hatsude no koe wo yakare keri
a bedroom mosquito's
first buzz
in the flame
1819
.閨の蚊のぶんとばかりに焼れけり
neya no ka no bun to bakari ni yakare keri
a bedroom mosquito
poof!
in the flame
The original manuscript is blurred; the phrase, bun to ( "poof!") is a conjecture by the editors of Issa zenshû (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 1.371.
In his translation, Nobuyuki Yuasa calls the room "a woman's chamber"; The Year of My Life: A Translation of Issa's Oraga Haru (Berkeley: U. of California Press, 1960; 2nd ed. 1972) 73.
1819
.一ッ蚊のだまってしくりしくり哉
hitotsu ka no damatte shikuri-shikuri kana
one mosquito
perfectly quiet...
and relentless!
Though the word "bite" doesn't appear in the haiku, the silent mosquito is doing something "constantly"...without interruption" (shikuri-shikuri); Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 757. Nobuyuki Yuasa makes the action explicit in his translation: the mosquito "Bites and bites"; The Year of My Life: A Translation of Issa's Oraga Haru (Berkeley: U. of California Press, 1960; 2nd ed. 1972) 58.
1819
.夕空に蚊も初声をあげにけり
yûzora ni ka mo hatsu koe wo age ni keri
first voice
in the evening sky...
a mosquito
1820
.新しき蚊屋に寝る也江戸の馬
atarashiki kaya ni neru nari edo no uma
sleeping in new
mosquito nets...
horses of Edo
Edo (present-day Tokyo) was famous in Issa's time for its extravagance and conspicuous consumption.
1820
.えどの水呑々馬も蚊屋に寝る
edo no mizu nomi-nomi uma mo kaya ni neru
even the poor
workhorses of Edo sleep...
in mosquito nets!
In this and in many poems Issa marvels at the opulence of the Shogun's city, Edo (today's Tokyo).
1820
.蚊屋つりて喰に出る也夕茶漬
kaya tsurite kui ni deru nari yû chazuke
dangling a mosquito net
I go out to eat...
evening's tea-and-rice
Chazuke is a poor man's meal of tea-soaked rice. In this humorous haiku, Issa takes the net with him.
1820
.鉢の蘭蚊屋の中にてよよぎけり
hachi no ran kaya no naka nite yoyogi keri
the potted orchid
in the mosquito net
trembles
The editors of Issa zenshû suggest that yoyogi could be read as soyogi ("tremble" or "rustle"); (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79, 1.306).
1820
.さすとても都の蚊也夕涼
sasu totemo miyako no ka nari yûsuzumi
though they bite
they're Kyoto mosquitoes...
evening cool
Totemo has an old meaning: temo ("even though"); Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 1171.
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.
1820
.蚊いぶしの中ともしらぬ蛍哉
ka ibushi no naka to mo shiranu hotaru kana
stumbling into
mosquito smudge smoke...
a firefly
This haiku refers to the custom of smoking out mosquitoes using the dense smoke of a smudge pot. Unfortunately, a firefly has wandered unknowingly (shiranu) into the smoke.
1820
.壁に生る一本草や蚊のこもる
kabe ni haeru ippon kusa ya ka no komoru
blade of grass
sprouted from a wall
mosquito's den
1820
.草の葉に蚊のそら死をしたりけり
kusa no ha ni ka no sorajini [wo] shitari keri
on a blade of grass
the mosquito
plays dead
In a similar haiku of 1821, a horsefly plays dead on a blade of grass.
This haiku is one of the "essential" 188 picked by the translator. back next
1820
.御仏にかじり付たる薮蚊哉
mi-botoke ni kajiritsukitaru yabu ka kana
holding fast
to the stone Buddha
a mosquito
According to R. H. Blyth, "thicket mosquito" (yabu ka) refers to a species of "striped mosquitoes"; Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 3.805. Robin D. Gill notes that the scientific name for these large striped, bloodthirsty mosquitoes is Stegomyia fasciata, according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary. Though "stone" isn't mentioned in Issa's original, I add this word to my translation so that the English reader will know that the mosquito is clinging to a statue of Buddha, not to an abstract faith in Buddha. The mosquito physically clings to a physical representation of Buddha. Originally, I thought that Issa, with characteristic exaggeration, was showing the voracious mosquito attempting to bite the Buddha statue (kajiru = "gnaw"), but Shinji Ogawa alerted me to the fact that kajiritsuku is a verb that means "to cling to" or "to stick to." The insect, holding fast to Buddha, becomes an emblem for Buddhist faith.
1820
.長生の蝿よ蚤蚊よ貧乏村
nagaiki no hae yo nomi ka yo bimbo mura
living long
the flies, fleas, mosquitoes...
a poor village
Or: "my poor village," since Issa may be writing of his own hometown of Kashiwabara. In his translation of this haiku, Nanao Sakaki adds "people" to the list, but this word doesn't appear in Issa's original text; Inch by Inch: 45 Haiku by Issa (Albuquerque: La Alameda Press, 1999) 39. In his translation, Lucien Stryk has the insects "live forever"--a hyperbole not found in Issa's original; The Dumpling Field: Haiku of Issa (Athens Ohio: Swallow Press, 1991) 30.
Shinji Ogawa writes, "In my opinion, the word 'people' in Mr. Sakaki's translation is improper. The word 'people' is not only unwarranted but also destroys the main theme of the haiku. Issa lost his mother at three, his first son at twenty seven days old, and his first daughter at thirteen months old... What Issa depicts in the haiku is the contrast of the long lives of creatures like the flies, fleas, and mosquitoes, and the short lives of pleople."
1821
.ぼうふりの念仏おどりや墓の水
bôfuri no nebutsu odori ya haka no mizu
mosquito larvae
dance in memoriam...
the tomb's puddle
1821
.蚊柱や犬の尻から天窓から
ka-bashira ya inu no shiri kara atama kara
mosquito swarms--
from the dog's butt
and head
The mosquitoes are swarming in two columns (ka-bashira) that seem to emanate from both ends of the dog.
1822
.蚊屋釣て夕飯買に出たりけり
kaya tsurite yû[han] kai ni detari keri
dangling a mosquito net
out to dinner
I go
Or: "he goes." Issa doesn't state that he is the person who is comically bringing his net with him, but this can be inferred.
1822
.ぼうふりが天上するぞ門の月
bôfuri ga tenjô suru zo kado no tsuki
up to heaven
the mosquito larva flies...
moon at the gate
The larva has become a new mosquito, flying up out of its puddle or pool.
1822
.寝た人を昼飯くひに来た蚊哉
neta hito [wo] hirumeshi kui ni kita ka kana
coming to lunch
on the sleeping man...
mosquito
Or: "mosquitoes."
1822
.秋風によわみを見せぬ藪蚊哉
akikaze ni yowami wo misenu yabu ka kana
no sign of weakness
in the autumn wind...
mosquito
Sadly for Issa, this particular "summer" insect bites just as fiercely in the autumn. According to R. H. Blyth, "thicket mosquito" (yabu ka) refers to a species of "striped mosquitoes"; Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 3.805. Robin D. Gill notes that the scientific name for these large striped, bloodthirsty mosquitoes is Stegomyia fasciata, according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary.
1823
.あばれ蚊のそれでも都そだち哉
abare ka no soredemo miyako sodachi kana
a pesky mosquito
though raised
in Kyoto
Or: "pesky mosquitoes." 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.
1824
.蚊屋のない家はうまうまいびき哉
kaya no nai ie wa uma-uma ibiki kana
in the house
with no mosquito net
expert snoring
This is the first of two haiku on the same subject, written back-to-back in Issa's journal, Bunsei kuchô ("Bunsei Era Haiku Collection"); Issa zenshû (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 3.428.
The second version ends with gô-gô umaku neru: "noisy deep sleep."
1824
.蚊屋のない家はごうごううまく寝る
kaya no nai ie wa gô-gô umaku neru
in the house
with no mosquito net
noisy deep sleep
This is the second of two haiku on the same subject, written back-to-back in Issa's journal, Bunsei kuchô ("Bunsei Era Haiku Collection"); Issa zenshû (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 3.428.
The first version ends with uma-uma ibiki kana: "expert snoring."
1824
.あさぢふの痩蚊やせのみやせ子哉
asajiu no yase ka yase nomi yase ko kana
in the reeds--
thin mosquito, thin flea
thin child
Asajiu means a place where asaji, a sort of miscanthus reed, is growing; Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 24-25. In an earlier translation, I had this, erroneously, as "morning time."
1824
.江戸の蚊の気が強いぞよ強いぞよ
edo no ka no ki ga tsuyoi zoyo tsuyoi zoyo
Edo's mosquitoes
so bold!
so bold!
1824
.ごちゃごちゃと痩蚊やせ蚤やせ子哉
gocha-gocha to yase ka yase [nomi] yase-go kana
thrown together--
thin mosquitoes, thin fleas
thin children
In his translation Nanao Sakaki adds the phrase, "here in my house." Though these words don't appear in Issa's original, it is possible that the poet is indeed referring to his own house and humorously alluding to the lack of food therein. See Inch by Inch: 45 Haiku by Issa (Albuquerque: La Alameda Press, 1999) 36.
Whether he's thinking of his own house or, more generally, contemplating a poor village or "beggar's town," Issa uses comic exaggeration to assuage the stark pain of hunger and poverty. The sight of thin children is nothing to laugh at, yet when he adds that even the mosquitoes and fleas are thin, one feels that he is saying this with a smile, though a sad one.
1824
.酒くさい膝もきらはぬ藪蚊哉
sake kusai hiza mo kirawanu yabu ka kana
knees smelling of sake
taste just fine...
mosquitoes
Or: "mosquito."
According to R. H. Blyth, "thicket mosquito" (yabu ka) refers to a species of "striped mosquitoes"; Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 3.805. Robin D. Gill notes that the scientific name for these large striped, bloodthirsty mosquitoes is Stegomyia fasciata, according to Kenkyûsha's Japanese-English Dictionary.
1824
.隣から叩き出れて来る蚊哉
tonari kara tataki dasarete kuru ka kana
driven from next door
here they come...
mosquitoes
This is a variation of a haiku written in 1814:
hôbô kara tataki dasarete kuru ka kana
driven from all quadrants
here they come...
mosquitoes
1824
.仏のかたより蚊の出る御堂哉
hotoke no kata yori ka no deru midô kana
from Buddha's direction
a mosquito...
temple hall
Or: "mosquitoes..."
1824
.痩脛は蚊も嫌ふやらつい通り
yase-zune wa ka mo kirau yara tsui tôru
even the mosquito hates
thin legs...
quickly moving on
Presumably the legs belong to Issa.
1825
.小ばくちは蚊の呪や里の春
ko bakuchi wa ka no majinai ya sato no haru
a bit of gambling
to ward off mosquitoes this year...
spring in the village
Certain spells (majinai) are supposed to ward off pests in the coming year. Here, Issa pretends that gambling is such a ritual.
1825
.夕がやの中にそよぐや草の花
yû-gaya no naka ni soyogu ya kusa no hana
in evening's mosquito net
rustling
wildflowers
1825
.我宿に一夜たのむぞ蚊喰鳥
waga yado ni hito yo tanomu zo ka kui tori
I entrust my home
for the night
to mosquito-eating bats
Literally, Issa writes, "mosquito-eating birds" (ka kui tori)--a euphemism for bats.
1825
.食逃や蚊蚤もちえの文珠堂
kui nige ya ka nomi mo chie no monjudô
eat and run, the wisdom
of mosquitoes and fleas...
Wisdom Buddha's temple
R. H. Blyth points out that Monju is the Buddha of Wisdom; A History of Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1964) 1.408.