1812
世の中は地獄の上の花見哉
yo no naka wa jigoku no ue no hanami kana
in this world
over hell...
gazing at 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 a heavenly being. This haiku is poem one 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 shū in 1829. The present haiku appears only in the original, 1812 version.
In it, Issa offers a striking juxtaposition: above, people enjoy a pleasant day of viewing spring blossoms--drinking sake, eating, joking, laughing; while deep below, poor souls suffer the torments of hell. The contrast suggests that, for Issa, the opposite of hell isn't heaven; it's being in this world on a day when the blossoms bloom. The poem is Issa's one-breath Divine Comedy.
