ISSA HAIKU

a good world!
crickets ring
a black kite wheels

ISSA 1818

 

.よい世とや虫が鈴ふり鳶がまふ
yoi yo to ya mushi ga suzu furi tobi ga mau

 

A combination of "bell" and "bug," suzumushi is an old word for "cricket"; the idea being that its sound is like a ringing bell. In this haiku, the "insects shaking bells" (mushi ga suzu furi) are, therefore, crickets. See Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 880. The "black kite" in the scene (tobi) is a bird, not the paper kind.

 

 

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