This Dewdrop World

 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.

小林一茶は松尾芭蕉、与謝蕪村と並ぶ日本の三大俳人の一人である。彼には深い人間味と思いやりの視点があり、その俳句は日常の美しさや儚さを捉えている。信濃 (現在の長野県) の貧しい農家に生まれ、様々な困難に苛まれる人生を歩んだ。その中には句作に影響を与えた妻子の喪失も含まれている。一茶の最も有名な俳句の一つは子供を亡くした時に詠んだもので、仏教概念の無常感が反映されている一方で、消えることのない人間の悲しみが表現されている。

露の世は露の世ながらさりながら

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DATA

原典

露の世は露の世ながらさりながら

俳人

小林一茶

AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION HAIKU

This Dewdrop World is but a Dewdrop World, And Yet

THE NAME OF THIS JAPANESE POET

Kobayashi Issa  (1763-1828)
Issa is the first name of his pen name, meaning “a cup of tea.”

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