Friday, July 4, 2014

Carpe Diem #506 Issa (1), ''westward waves of wisteria''



Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Today we have our first haiku by Issa. As Basho did during his life so did Issa too. Issa created his own style of writing haiku and especially he wrote a lot of haiku about bugs and other little creatures e.g. spiders and flies. He also composed a lot of haiku about his children whom he all lost on a very young age. Issa had a sad life all his loved ones died eraly in their lives. Issa was a Buddhist priest of the Jodo Shinshu sect and lived from 1763 'til 1828. 

I love his haiku, but sometimes I read haiku written by him, which I haven't read earlier. Such a haiku I share here today for your inspiration. This following haiku was handed by Jen of Blog It or Lose It who has looked more closely to the ''little bugs'' haiku of Issa. However the haiku I am gonna share is not about ''little bugs'' it's about the Buddhist Paradise of Amida Buddha which lays behind the Western horizon according to their teaching.
Credits: Meditating

shônin no nishi no fujinami ima ya saku

the holy man's
westward waves of wisteria
fresh-bloomed


© Kobayashi Issa


It's a wonderful haiku with a deeper layer pointing to Amida Buddha's Paradise in the second line ... It will not be easy to write a new haiku inspired on this one by Issa, but of course I have to try and I hope I will succeed.

Wisteria waves
on the soft spring breeze -
the crow of a rooster


© Chèvrefeuille

Not a strong one, but I think I did honor Issa with this haiku ... I think it's in the same sense and tone, but is it also in the same spirit?



Credits: Wisteria
Wisteria blooming
climbing against the wall -
Ah! That blue door ...


© Chèvrefeuille

Sorry ... I couldn't help I had to write a haiku inspired on that photo ...

This episode will be open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and it will remain open until July 7th at noon. I will try to post our next episode, the first haiku by Shiki our last haiku-poet of the ''big-five'', later on. For now ... have fun, be inspired and share your haiku with us all ...

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