Haiku 27: The Cat's Child

Here is today's haiku:

猫の子にかして遊ばす手まり哉

And in romaji:

neko no ko ni kashite asobasu temari kana

And English: "A loan for the kitten to play with: New Year's handball."

This is another New Year's haiku by Issa. The hand-ball, te-mari, is a lovely little embroidered ball; you can see pictures of temari balls at Wikipedia. As that article explains, mothers make these embroidered balls for their children as New Year's gift, putting a secret good wish written on a slip of paper inside the ball. In this haiku, Issa has loaned a temari ball to a cat's-child, neko-no-ko, which is Japanese for "kitten."

temari balls

My vocabulary for today:

手
て
"hand"

Haiku 26: Toshigami

Here is today's haiku:

とし神やことしも御世話下さるる

And in romaji:

toshi-gami ya ko toshi mo o-sewa kudasaruru

And English: "New Year god: I humbly beg your help this year too."

This is a haiku by Issa, humbling invoking the help of the Shinto god, kami, of the New Year, toshi: 年神, toshi-gami. He needed help last year, and this year too: も, mo. You can read more about Toshigami at Wikipedia.

Toshigami

My vocabulary for today:

神
かみ
"god"

Haiku 25: Lonely autumn evenings

Here is today's haiku:

元日や思へば淋し秋の暮

And in romaji:

ganjitsu ya omoeba sabishi aki no kure

And English: "New Year's Day... lonely thoughts of autumn evenings."

This is a haiku by Basho, and it expresses a backward-looking take on the New Year, and the loneliness of the days that have now passed.

(late 17th-century Japanese painting)

My vocabulary for today:

暮
くれ
"dusk, twilight"

Haiku 24: New Year snow

Here is today's haiku:

あれ小雪さあ元日ぞ元日ぞ

And in romaji:

are ko yuki saa ganjitsu zo ganjitsu zo

And English: "Hey! Light snow! Get a move on! New Year's here! New Year!"

This is another haiku by Issa: it's a New Year's Day haiku, a "first day" poem, gan-jitsu, 元日. David Lanoue remarks, "Issa playfully scolds the snow. New Year's Day, the most auspicious day of the year, should be clear."

art by Itō Shūki

My vocabulary for today:

小
こ
"small"

Haiku 23: Scraggly plum tree

Here is today's haiku:

痩梅のなりどしもなき我身哉

And in romaji:

yase ume no naridoshi mo naki waga mi kana

And English: "Scraggly plum tree: no fruit again this year — me too."

This is a haiku by Issa, in his typical self-deprecating style, commiserating with the barren plum tree. You can see the word "year," toshi in naridoshi, なりどし.

art by Motsurin Jōtō

My vocabulary for today:

梅
うめ
"plum"