“using his head” – Issa

using his head
the high priest breaks
icicles
~Kobayashi Issa
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

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Kobayashi Issa (1763 – 1828)

Kobayashi Issa, named Kobayashi Yatarô during his childhood, was one of the four foremost Japanese haiku poets, along with Basho, Buson, and Shiki. The name Issa translates to mean “Cup of Tea.”

David G. Lanoue, a retired professor of English at Xavier University of Louisiana, author of several books on Issa, and the creator of the website haikuguy.com which holds a searchable database of haiku by Issa, wrote that Issa’s haiku “celebrate life on a living planet with appreciation, empathy, and good humor.”⁽³⁾ Issa had a concern for the little things in life and an understanding that “he was not living on a higher plane”⁽³⁾ but on the same level as the insects, the animals, and all people.

When commenting on the poem above, Lanoue writes, “Issa loves to lampoon authority figures (in this case a high priest at a Buddhist temple)—his deeper purpose always the same: to celebrate our common humanity.”⁽²⁾

The Kigo

Central to haiku is the kigo, or “season word“. Beyond just naming a season, the kigo can “conjure up many allusions, historical references, spiritual meanings, and/or cultural traditions.”⁽⁴⁾ When used in a haiku, it is “especially effective because of this power to expand its meaning beyond the literal and to create a larger aura of seasonal mood, historical/literary context, and/or cultural implications.”⁽⁵⁾ An example of this is the “cherry blossom”. Cherry blossoms not only indicate spring, but they also suggest fleeting beauty and mortality.

In Issa’s haiku, icicles are the kigo. Icicles are classified as a late winter word under the “Winter—Earth” category in The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto. 

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References:

1. “About Issa”; Haikuguy.com 
2. Haiku of Kobayashi Issa; haikuguy.com
3. Lanoue, David G. (2017) Write Like Issa: A Haiku How-To
4. “What’s A Kigo?”: The Yuki Teikei Haiku Society 
5. New to Haiku: What is a Kigo?; Haiku Foundation

Issa’s haiku was retrieved from Haikuguy.com