Issa is besieged but finds humor in the situation. This haiku is a fine example of Issa's multilayered humor. This was thought to fend off sickness and disease. Sakuo Nakamura notes that Binzuru-sama is famous for his bald head, which people rub in hopes of recovering from sickness. Issa imagines what the butterfly might look like from the dewdrop's point of view: not only huge but a possibly dangerous monster who could destroy it with the mere flutter of a wing. Or: "by the pillow." Issa doesn't identify the pillow as his, but this might be inferred. This haiku is somewhat obscure because Issa leaves it incomplete in his journal. This haiku has the headnote, "Without clothes." The first day of spring was New Year's Day in the old Japanese calendar. Is this an expression of disapproval of the poet's smoldering fire? Literally, Issa writes, "under my sleeve" (tamoto no shita), but this seems to have the same meaning as "in my sleeve"--based on the way that he uses this expression in other haiku.
Lewis Mackenzie contends that this haiku alludes to Issa's wife, who was named "Chrysanthemum" (Kiku); The Autumn Wind (1957; rpt. Realism was the undercurrent of haiku poetry in opposition to the elegant waka poetry in Issa's time. Issa had lost his father two years earlier, his inheritance dispute with his stepmother and half brother was unresolved, and his own haiku career in Edo at the time seemed "not so promising." Issa sees the mountain cuckoo (kankodori) very much as a kindred spirit. Issa makes light of his own poverty. The calf has been sold and now must leave its mother, a scene that becomes even more poignant in light of Issa's own childhood, losing his mother at age three. Even though a shady spot would be ideal for enjoying the pure water, its flow (instead) disperses and disappears. Issa hints that whoever lives there (and maybe it's him) is enjoying hermit-like privacy encased within sensuous walls of bamboo and water. Whoever we imagine, the makeshift umbrella-hat raises a smile. Shinji Ogawa believes that some sort of mold or bacteria is making the tofu gleam. Shinji Ogawa notes that yami ("gloom" or "darkness") indicates the absense of the moon, even though Issa doesn't literally mention the latter.
Even the upper branches of the tree sag under the heavy rain. Are the blossoms "stepchildren" or is Issa referring to a cherry tree owned by a stepchild? Or: "removing his skullcap"--a gesture of respect and deep appreciation for the blossoms. Issa often juxtaposes vast and tiny: deep blue ocean below, mountainous white clouds above, a small boat gliding between. Literally, Issa wonders if the pines have "retreated" (shirizoku): they look smaller below the massive "peaks of clouds" (kumo no mine). If you have problems, you can see what's going on in the system logger (Linux: daemon.log, messages or syslog in /var/log/; on Windows using Control Panels - Administration - Logging) or run Cntlm from the command line with -v -f (debug mode). Even though the kite would cost more than a penny in modern currency, I have kept it in my translation as a "one-penny kite," to emphasize its cheapness and the fact that only one small coin buys it. He also suggests a fact about human history. Instead of relying on servants, the feudal lord himself brushes his horse: a moment of tenderness that has nothing to do with human hierarchies or political power. The lesson for his readers is clear: mtkakao.com stop worrying about the future; enjoy the majesty of this precious moment!
This haiku has the headnote, "Idea borrowed from a Chinese poem." Literally, it ends with the phrase, "reign's pine" (miyo no matsu). Shinji Ogawa notes the nationalistic tone of this haiku. Shinji prefers the second because in Issa's time Katsushika was known as a "mosquito-infested marshland." Yet even in this unpleasant place, the cuckoo sings. Growing lavishly in the rain, a vine has crept all the way up to a second floor dwelling--and blooms. The moon is full on the 15th day of First Month; by the time it wanes down to just a sliver, the holiday is over and servants must return to their jobs. Issa imagines that the moon is comfortably hot above the cold autumn gale. Issa belonged to the True Teaching Pure Land sect, Jôdoshinshû. The message of this haiku is that of Pure Land Buddhism. This is a haiku of the New Year's season, the seasonal reference being "the year's first rooster's song" (hatsu tori).