Kobayashi Issa Poems

A collection of select Kobayashi Issa famous poems that were written by Kobayashi Issa or written about the poet by other famous poets. PoetrySoup is a comprehensive educational resource of the greatest poems and poets on history.

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Asked how old he was

by Kobayashi Issa
 Asked how old he was,
the boy in the new kimono
stretched out all five fingers....Read more of this...

A bath when youre born

by Kobayashi Issa
 His death poem:

 A bath when you're born,
 a bath when you die,
 how stupid....Read more of this...

What a strange thing

by Kobayashi Issa
 What a strange thing!
to be alive
beneath cherry blossoms....Read more of this...

In spring rain

by Kobayashi Issa
 In spring rain
a pretty girl
 yawning....Read more of this...

How much

by Kobayashi Issa
 How much
are you enjying yourself,
tiger moth?...Read more of this...

A huge frog and I

by Kobayashi Issa
 A huge frog and I,
staring at each other,
neither of us moves....Read more of this...

Hey sparrow!

by Kobayashi Issa
 Hey, sparrow!
out of the way,
 Horse is coming....Read more of this...

Im going out

by Kobayashi Issa
 I'm going out,
flies, so relax,
make love....Read more of this...

That wren

by Kobayashi Issa
 That wren--
looking here, looking there.
You lose something?...Read more of this...

Having slept the cat gets up

by Kobayashi Issa
 Having slept, the cat gets up,
yawns, goes out
to make love....Read more of this...

A cuckoo sings

by Kobayashi Issa
 A cuckoo sings
to me, to the mountain,
 to me, to the mountain....Read more of this...

Summer night

by Kobayashi Issa
 Summer night--
even the stars
are whispering to each other....Read more of this...

The pheasant cries

by Kobayashi Issa
 The pheasant cries
as if it just noticed
the mountain....Read more of this...

Windy fall

by Kobayashi Issa
 At my daughter's grave, thirty days
after her death:

 Windy fall--
 these are the scarlet flowers
 she liked to pick....Read more of this...

Not very anxious

by Kobayashi Issa
 Not very anxious
to bloom,
my plum tree....Read more of this...

The snow is melting

by Kobayashi Issa
 The snow is melting
and the village is flooded
with children....Read more of this...

The toad! It looks like

by Kobayashi Issa
 The toad! It looks like
it could belch
a cloud....Read more of this...

Dont know about the people

by Kobayashi Issa
 Approaching my village:

 Don't know about the people,
 but all the scarecrows
 are crooked....Read more of this...

The man pulling radishes

by Kobayashi Issa
 The man pulling radishes
pointed my way
with a radish....Read more of this...

Napping at midday

by Kobayashi Issa
 Napping at midday
I hear the song of rice planters
and feel ashamed of myself....Read more of this...

New Years morning

by Kobayashi Issa
 New Year's morning:
the ducks on the pond
quack and quack....Read more of this...

These sea slugs

by Kobayashi Issa
 These sea slugs,
they just don't seem
Japanese....Read more of this...

Under my house

by Kobayashi Issa
 Under my house
an inchworm
measuring the joists....Read more of this...

With my father

by Kobayashi Issa
 With my father
I would watch dawn
over green fields....Read more of this...

This moth saw brightness

by Kobayashi Issa
 This moth saw brightness
in a woman's chamber--
burnt to a crisp....Read more of this...

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