Kobayashi Issa Poems
We are creating these pages to serves as a list of poems by Kobayashi Issa as we carry out more research, as well as the numerous translations these poems have in English.
We will group them into the literature they comes from.
Should we not known where they come from yet, you will find them under the sub-heading ‘Unsure Location.’
Date of poems, if known, are included in the notes column.
Unsure Location
| Japanese text | Romanized Japanese | English translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akikaze yo kyorohyoro yama no kagebōshi | Autumn wind The mountains shadow quivering.1 | ||
| Tō bakari miete tōji wa natsu kodachi | Only the Pagoda can be seen, with Tō Temple in its summer grove.2 | 1792 | |
| yudejiru no keburu kakine ya mizore furu | Steam from the broth rises above a wattle fence, with sleet coming down.2 | 1803 | |
| shōnin ni mihanasaretaru sakura kana suzumeko ume ni kuchi aku nebutsu kana | The holy man has turned away from the sight of cherry trees.2 Even sparrows mouths are agape in the plum trees - hailing Amida! | 1804 These two poems go together as part of a story surrounding the Monk Tokuon. | |
| yūzakura kyō mo mukashi ni narinikeri | Blossoms at dusk making the day that just passed seem long ago.2 | 1810 | |
| awa no chō ko ga haeba tobi haeba tobu | Garden butterfly baby crawl up, it flies off crawls up, it flies off.2 | 1810 | |
| gyōgyōshi heta nusubito o hayasuran | Along they go chasing a bumbling thief out of town.2 | 1810 A poem prefaced with a story which alluded to a tale from Essays in Idleness. | |
| modokashi wa kari wa jiyu ni tomo o yobu | What frustration even the wild geese call freely to one another!2 | 1810 A poem prefaced with a story about becoming suddenly mute. | |
| tsuki hana ya yonjūkunen no mudaaruki | The moon, the blossoms forty nine years I've wasted walking beneath them.2 | 1811 | |
| aki no yo ya shōji no ana ga fue o fuku | Autumn night a hole in my paper door whistling away.2 | 1811 | |
| hana horishi ato o obaete kaze no fuku hana suku to sugu no horaruru sakura kana | Over the place where the blossom were dug up blows the wind Blossoms appeared to be dug up on the spot with the cherry tree.2 | 1812 Two poems written after visiting Mikawa-bō with a man known as Zuisai. He sees a cherry tree sold for the Snake Festival. | |
| semi naku ya waga ya mo ishi ni naru yō ni | Cicadas drone as if to make my house into a rock.2 | 1813 An allusion to a poem by Bashō. | |
| yuki tokete mura ippai no kodomo kana | Snow starts melting and the village overflows with children.2 | 1814 | |
| inazuma no abisekakeru ya shinigirai | Lightning flashes throwing light on those who cringe at the thought of death.2 | 1814 | |
| yasegaeru makeru na issa kore ni ari | You, skinny frog don"t go giving up yet Issa's here.2 | 1816 Refering to fighting male frogs in mating season. | |
| yare utsu na hae ga te o suri ashi o suru | Hold on! Don't hit him! that fly praying with his hands, praying with his feet.2 | 1818 | |
| tōyama ga medama ni utsuru tombō kana | Distant mountains are reflected in the eye of a dragonfly.2 | 1819 |
Footnotes
1. Hoffman, Y. (1986) ”Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death”. Tuttle Publishing.
2. Carter, S.D. (1991) “Traditional Japanese Poetry: An Anthology.” California, Stanford University Press.
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