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Tag Archives: Issa
HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM KOBAYASHI ISSA
Issa wrote: Withered pampas grass; “Now once there was an old witch….” That verse does not come off quite the same in English, because of the term “pampas grass” that we must use for what Issa knew as susuki — … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged autumn, Cortaderia selloana, Halloween, hokku, Issa, Miscanthus sinensis, nature, pampas grass, poetry, seasons, writing
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ENTERING AUTUMN
Here is a timely repeat of an earlier posting: Summer is ending, autumn is beginning. I have already mentioned the transitional verse by Kyoroku that leads us into the season: August; First on the ears of millet – The autumn … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged autumn, Bashô, Buson, fall, hokku, impermanence, Issa, Kyoroku, millet, morning glories, nature, poetry, spirituality, transience, writing
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CAT DANCING
Issa wrote: Harusame ya neko ni odori wo oshieru ko Spring rain ya cat with dance wo teaches child Spring rain; The little girl teaches the cat To dance. The little girl, unable to go out and play, has inflicted herself on the cat, … Continue reading
AVOIDING HOKKU AND HAIKU AS “RELIGIOUS” FUNDAMENTALISM
Every now and then, I like to clarify my approach to the hokku — that is, to teaching the writing of new hokku — for readers who may be novices here. As many of you know, I have been teaching … Continue reading
Posted in Bashô, Uncategorized
Tagged Bashô, Buson, haiku, hokku, Issa, Japanese haiku, Japanese hokku, Japanese poetry, Modern Haiku, nature, poetry, Reginald Horace Blyth, writing, writing hokku
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MORE ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF HOKKU
A reader has asked me to clarify a few points in this list (borrowed from R. H. Blyth) of the characteristics of hokku. Though he asked about only three, perhaps it might be helpful to give some explanation of all, … Continue reading
SNAILS, LOCKS, AND BRUSHWOOD GATES
In Japan, Issa’s hokku have always been remarkably popular. And they are popular in the West as well — at least the better known verses, among which one finds this: The brushwood gate; Instead of a lock, A snail. But … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged haikai, hokku, Issa, lock, sentimentality, snail, summer
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THE ONE-FOOT WATERFALL
Issa wrote: The one-foot waterfall Also makes sounds; The evening cool. This is Issa’s version of “The morning glory that lives but a day differs not at heart from the giant pine that lives for a thousand years.” A one-foot … Continue reading
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Tagged coolness, haikai, hokku, Issa, nature, one-foot waterfall, poetry, subjectivity, summer, waterfall, writing, zen
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SUBJECTIVE HOKKU, OBJECTIVE HOKKU
We earlier saw that there are basically two different kinds of hokku — subjective hokku and objective hokku. Subjective hokku are those in which the writer adds his own view or interpretation, his “thinking.” Objective hokku are those that simply … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Bashô, Chiyo-ni, haikai, hokku, Issa, objective, Onitsura, poetry, Rankô, subjective, writing, zen
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ONE BIG, LAZY CAT IS ALL OF SUMMER
Issa wrote this summer hokku: The big cat – Flopped down on the fan Asleep. It is rather typical Issa, with his connection to animals and his kind of humor. The point of the verse is that it is summer, … Continue reading
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Tagged cat, coolness, fan, haikai, heat, hokku, Issa, poetry, spirituality, summer, writing, zen
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FROM BELOW THE BRIDGE
Issa, whom we do not often use as a model, wrote this summer hokku: From below The bridge I creep across – A cuckoo! Though Issa says merely “bridge,” we can tell from his timid creeping across it that it is … Continue reading
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Tagged cuckoo, haikai, hanging bridge, hokku, hototogisu, Issa, nature, poetry, summer, writing, zen
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NO MODERN HAIKU, THANK YOU!
R. H. Blyth recognized even in his day that the hokku had fallen on hard times. He speaks with favor of Bashō, of Buson, of Issa, and even speaks of the “objective dryness yet pregnancy of Shiki” (who began haiku … Continue reading
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Tagged Bashô, Buson, haikai, haiku, hokku, Issa, Modern Haiku, poetry, Shiki, verse, writing
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FROG WORLD
Issa wrote: Waga kado e shiranande hairu kawazu kana My gate e unknowing coming-in frog kana Entering My gate unaware – A frog. Six words. The whole point of the verse lies … Continue reading
THE LARK ASCENDING: MORE WORK WITH MODELS
There is not just a single way to translate a hokku from one language to another. Structurally, and in vocabulary, Japanese and English are very different. And English has considerable freedom in how one says a thing. This is very … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged haikai, haiku, hokku, hokku models, island, Issa, lark ascending, Onitsura, punctuation, sklark, tilling
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ISSA’S SIX PATHS
I have spoken before about the pervasive influence of Mahayana Buddhist spirituality — influenced by Daoism and a dash of Animism (via Shintō) — in old hokku. Usually I just call it the “spirituality” of hokku, and some call it … Continue reading
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Tagged animals, asuras, devas, gods, haikai, haiku, hells, hokku, humans, hungry ghosts, Issa, Pure Land, rebirth, Six Paths, Six Realms, Six Ways, zen
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INEVITABLE CHERRY BLOSSOMS
In old hokku cherry blossoms were so prominent that they were often not even called cherry blossoms in writing. Just the word hana – “blossoms” — by itself came to mean cherry blossoms. Conversely, the word cherry (sakura) used to … Continue reading
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Tagged Bashô, cherry blossoms, Chora, haikai, haiku, hana, hokku, Issa, sakura, transience
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EYES GROW WEARY
In the last posting, we looked at a verse by Issa, who tends to bring emotion into his hokku. Today we will look at something more objective on the same “spring” topic, “the long day.” As we saw in Issa’s … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged beach, bridge, Issa, river, sea, Shiki, spring, standard hokku, statement hokku, Taigi, the long day
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THE LENGTHENING OF DAYS
One of the most obvious characteristics of the coming and advance of spring is the lengthening of the days. The sun rises earlier and lingers later. To those who live close to Nature this is a matter of great significance. … Continue reading
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Tagged Bilbo Baggins, haikai, haiku, Isaiah, Issa, J.R.R. Tolkien, old age, spring, statement hokku, the long day
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PLAYING WITH WATER
Continuing with hokku of very early spring, we find this by Issa: Monzen ya tsue de tsukurishi yuki-ge-gawa gate-front ya stick with made snow-melt-river Like many hokku, this is written in the original (transliterated here) … Continue reading
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Tagged Carl Gustav Jung, haikai, haiku, hiragana, hokku, Issa, kanji, katakana, melting snow, spring
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Shiki and Spring
There are two ways of looking at Masaoka Shiki, the fellow who nearly destroyed hokku through his revisionism. Historically speaking, Shiki is the originator of the “haiku” as the term is understood today. All modern writers of haiku, no matter … Continue reading
POPPING COALS AND PAINTED PINES
I have already said that Issa’s hokku reflect a scarred and sad childhood. That is why he tended to project his emotions onto other creatures and things: Asabare ni pachipachi sumi no kigen kana Morning-clear at pop-pop charcoal … Continue reading
ALONE AND COLD
In the last posting, we saw a hokku into which Bashō put too much overt emotion, which spoiled it. How should emotion be expressed in hokku? Indirectly, as in this verse by Issa: Hitōri to chōmen ni tsuku … Continue reading
