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The Poems of Issa
Kobayashi Issa (1763 - 1828) was a poet and lay Buddhist priest. With Basho, Buson and Shiki - "the Great Four"- Issa is regarded as one of Japan's true haiku masters. This is a new translation of Issa's fine work from Professors John White and Kemmyo Taira Sato, authors of The Buddhist Society's The Haiku of Basho (Spring 2019).
272 pages, Hardcover
Published March 3, 2020
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John White
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 6, 2025
In this lovely collection of Kobayashi Issa’s work, each of the haiku master’s poems is beautifully arranged on the page with the Japanese characters, followed by the transliteration, and then the English translation. Several haikus are also accompanied by Issa’s own drawings and calligraphy.
Some of the poems get lost in translation, though, largely because the English language lacks the flowing rhythms and easy rhymes of Japanese. Consider the following example:
233.
yo no naka no
ume yo yanagi yo
hito wa haru
a world that is made
of plum blossoms and willows
is the people’s spring
Nor can English capture the sheer beauty, elegance, and nuance of the Japanese ideograms, which grace the pages like paintings. That said, White and Sato have done their best to express the essence of Issa’s art.
The volume also includes an insightful introduction and helpful end notes that explain the arcane allusions, cultural references, and local place names mentioned in the haikus, plus a handy index of first lines and illustrations.
Favorite Haikus:
12.
Under cherry tree
blossoms no one can ever
be total strangers
49.
the distant mountains
reflect themselves in the eye
of a dragonfly
53.
buddha carved in stone,
who is it garlanded you
with the wildflowers
65.
clothed in its black robe
there’s a butterfly flying
in the autumn wind
89.
they all rain down as if
they had fallen from heaven,
those cherry blossoms
98.
do not kill that fly!
see the way that it wrings both
its hands and its feet
101.
evening swallow,
for me my tomorrow brings
no expectations
108.
spirited, lively
flea, it will be by my hand
you’ll become a buddha
180.
without the dharma
there would be no glittering
dewdrops in the grass
159.
in the springtime rain
blown along through the thicket
there’s a lost letter
174.
in this world of pain
there is still cherry blossom
that blooms even so
203.
one of them goes out
and then two of them follow;
lanterns for the dead
209.
my star seems to be
there in a gang of old men,
river of heaven
213.
now then you boatmen
no peeing into the waves
where the moon shimmers
220.
it looks delicious
this snow that is coming down
softly so softly
238.
at lovers’ parting
his eyes go back to her house
till there’s only mist
239.
in the river shallows
over hands washing saucepans
there is a spring moon
240.
a bush warbler sings,
in its song is the pure land’s
easterly gateway
241.
blossoming flowers
too, only love in this world
for just a short time
244.
butterflies flying
and i myself too, no more
than a kind of dust
252.
the blossoms have turned
into clouds, but the people
have just become smoke
273.
bell of transience,
all of you flies and worms too
listen with great care
284.
chrysanthemum blooms
and a heap of horse dung
produce a fine sight
296.
like a charcoal fire
the remaining years of life
die down the same way
Some of the poems get lost in translation, though, largely because the English language lacks the flowing rhythms and easy rhymes of Japanese. Consider the following example:
233.
yo no naka no
ume yo yanagi yo
hito wa haru
a world that is made
of plum blossoms and willows
is the people’s spring
Nor can English capture the sheer beauty, elegance, and nuance of the Japanese ideograms, which grace the pages like paintings. That said, White and Sato have done their best to express the essence of Issa’s art.
The volume also includes an insightful introduction and helpful end notes that explain the arcane allusions, cultural references, and local place names mentioned in the haikus, plus a handy index of first lines and illustrations.
Favorite Haikus:
12.
Under cherry tree
blossoms no one can ever
be total strangers
49.
the distant mountains
reflect themselves in the eye
of a dragonfly
53.
buddha carved in stone,
who is it garlanded you
with the wildflowers
65.
clothed in its black robe
there’s a butterfly flying
in the autumn wind
89.
they all rain down as if
they had fallen from heaven,
those cherry blossoms
98.
do not kill that fly!
see the way that it wrings both
its hands and its feet
101.
evening swallow,
for me my tomorrow brings
no expectations
108.
spirited, lively
flea, it will be by my hand
you’ll become a buddha
180.
without the dharma
there would be no glittering
dewdrops in the grass
159.
in the springtime rain
blown along through the thicket
there’s a lost letter
174.
in this world of pain
there is still cherry blossom
that blooms even so
203.
one of them goes out
and then two of them follow;
lanterns for the dead
209.
my star seems to be
there in a gang of old men,
river of heaven
213.
now then you boatmen
no peeing into the waves
where the moon shimmers
220.
it looks delicious
this snow that is coming down
softly so softly
238.
at lovers’ parting
his eyes go back to her house
till there’s only mist
239.
in the river shallows
over hands washing saucepans
there is a spring moon
240.
a bush warbler sings,
in its song is the pure land’s
easterly gateway
241.
blossoming flowers
too, only love in this world
for just a short time
244.
butterflies flying
and i myself too, no more
than a kind of dust
252.
the blossoms have turned
into clouds, but the people
have just become smoke
273.
bell of transience,
all of you flies and worms too
listen with great care
284.
chrysanthemum blooms
and a heap of horse dung
produce a fine sight
296.
like a charcoal fire
the remaining years of life
die down the same way
Displaying 1 of 1 review