A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z


Kobayahsi Issa [Yataro Nobuyuki] (1763-1827)

LINKS

http://webusers.xula.edu/dlanoue/issa/

This link connects you to the Haiku of Kobayashi Issa web page that contains a comprehensive collection of Issa's haiku verse, a biography of the poet, and other resources.

BIOGRAPHY

Born in the small town Kashiwabara in the mountainous central region of Japan, Issa lived there until the age of thirteen when he left to live in Edo (present-day Tokyo). Under the patronage of Seibi Natsume, Issa began writing Haiku poetry at the age of 25 after studying under his teachers Genmu and Chiku-a. Although he was elected to take the place of his teacher upon the latter's death, Issa chose instead to live the life of a wanderer until 1801 when his father died. Owing to a bitter dispute with his stepmother and half brother over his father's estate, Issa continued to travel to Kyoto, Osaka, Nagasaki, and Matsuyama until the age of 51 when he married a much younger woman. Tragedy marked his married life, however, with the death of each of his four children in infancy and, finally, the death of his wife from yet another childbirth. Moreover, his house burned to the ground. Nevertheless, during the last four years, Issa married again and fathered a girl who was born shortly after his death. Issa composed plainspoken haiku lyrics that reflect on the difficult circumstances of his private life, influenced as it was by Buddhist philosophy. Among Issa's most famous literary works are "The Diary at My Father's Death " (1801) and "My Springtime" (1819). His poetry is ranked among the best haiku verse produced by such Japanese masters of the genre as Basho Matsuo, Buson Yosa, and Shiki Masaoka.

SECONDARY SOURCES

Gollub, Matthew. Cool melons--turn to frogs!: The Life and Poems of Issa. New York: Lee & Low Books, 1998.

Issa, Kobayashi. The Year of My Life. 2nd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972.

Stryk, Lucien. "Issa." American Poetry Review. 16(3):29-32. 1987 May-June.

Wright, Neil H. "Kobayashi Issa: Poetry, Poverty, and Hermitic Tradition." Kentucky Philological Review. 13:60-66. 1998 Mar.

—. "Issa's Philosophical Haiku." Kentucky Philological Review. 14:45-51. 1999 Mar.

SECONDARY SOURCES BY CHAPTER