This Dewdrop World is but a Dewdrop World, And Yet
Kobayashi Issa was one of Japan’s most beloved haiku poets, alongside Matsuo Basho and Yosa Buson. He is known for his deeply humanistic and compassionate view of the world, often capturing the beauty and fragility of everyday life in his poems. Born into a poor farming family in the Shinano Province (modern-day Nagano), Issa experienced great personal loss and hardship throughout his life, including the deaths of his children and wives, which deeply influenced his poetry. One of Issa’s most famous haiku, written after the death of his child, reflects the Buddhist concept of impermanence while also expressing lingering human sorrow:
This dewdrop world
Is a dewdrop world
--- And yet.
