Kobayashi Issa: The Dragonfly in the Weeds

Issa

            For this post I looked at one of my favorite haiku composers: Kobayashi Issa. Issa was alive in the late 18^th century and he passed away in 1828. He came from a small farming town called Shinano in what is today Nagano prefecture. He traveled a lot in his life in order to ascertain poetic inspiration. For those who believe that only those who suffer greatly can produce great art, Issa fits the description.

            According to all the biographical accounts that I perused, he had three wives, of which two passed away. Also, according to different accounts, he had between four and eight children that died in infancy. His mother also died when he was a small child, and he absolutely hated his stepmother.

            He may have had one daughter with his third wife who survived to live a full life, but I am not sure. Edo (Tokyo of today) was where he spent most of his life. He did gather a significant reputation, but his iconoclastic style ruffled the feathers of a lot of his contemporaries.

            He wrote over 20,000 haiku, and he refrained from consistency. He wrote about numerous topics, but he is usually associated with writing about children or things mundane. His distaste for pomp and circumstance is obvious. Aesthetics is something that I believe he took seriously, but he expressed his appreciation of it in an unconventional way. The following haiku are a variety from his extensive collection. There is no consistent theme, and some of these may seem very simple. I would suggest the reader really dig deep in trying to relate to what he was trying to say. Ironically, the deeper you dig, the farther you may be from his intention.

To-ji in Kyoto

塔ばかり見えて東寺は夏木立ち

小林一茶

Only the tower

Of To-ji is visible,

In the summer grove.

Kobayashi Issa

To-ji is a temple in Kyoto, and I believe it is the tallest in the city. Apparently, in Issa’s days, To-ji was usually the first thing travelers coming from the east would see as they approached Kyoto.

雪とけて村一ぱいの子供かな

小林一茶

The ice and snow melts,

And the village overflows

With happy children.

Kobayashi Issa

春雨や食われ残り鴨が鳴く

小林一茶

The spring rains fall down,

And there are those left unfed,

The ducks are quacking.

Kobayashi Issa

I am not sure if it is the ducks who are “left unfed”, himself, or perhaps those unfortunate. One way or the other, it is a compelling scene.

薮の蜂来ん世も我にあやかるな

小林一茶

Bees in the thicket,

I cannot help but feel envy,

For your bright future!

Kobayashi Issa

蝶とんで我が身も塵のたぐいかな

小林一茶

Butterflies flying,

And I am just a piece of

Useless, old garbage.

Kobayashi Issa

大空の美事に暮るる暑さかな

小林一茶

The heavens above,

Dim to a beautiful tone,

In sweltering heat.

Kobayashi Issa

蚤のあとそれも若きは美しき

小林一茶

Can be found here

Flea-bitten and yet,

The youth, still are a form of

Absolute beauty.

Kobayashi Issa

遠山が目玉に映る蜻蛉かな

小林一茶

The distant mountains

Are reflected in the eye

Of a dragonfly.

Kobayashi Issa

This one is my favorite.