Who is Kobayashi Issa

Kobayashi Issa (小林 一茶, June 15, 1763 – January 5, 1828) was a Japanese poet and lay Buddhist priest of the Jōdo Shinshū. He is known for his haiku poems and journals. He is better known as simply Issa (一茶), a pen name meaning Cup-of-tea (lit. "one [cup of] tea"). He is regarded as one of the four haiku masters in Japan, along with Bashō, Buson and Shiki — "the Great Four."Reflecting the popularity and interest in Issa as man and poet, Japanese books on Issa outnumber those on Buson and almost equal in number those on Bashō.

Biography

Issa was born and registered as Kobayashi Nobuyuki (小林 信之), with a childhood name of Kobayashi Yatarō (小林 弥太郎), the first son of a farmer family of Kashiwabara, now part of Shinano-machi, Shinano ...
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Kobayashi Issa Poems

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Top 10 most used topics by Kobayashi Issa

Mountain 4 Snow 3 Spring 3 Song 2 Night 2 Woman 2 People 2 Love 2 I Love You 2 Face 2


Kobayashi Issa Quotes

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Comments about Kobayashi Issa

Mariederoy1: enjoying a break from the snow in ab - taking in the blossoms and spring here in beautiful vancouver “what a strange thing! to be alive beneath cherry blossoms.” ― kobayashi issa
Mrsmatsujundesu: "what a strange thing! to be alive beneath cherry blossoms." —kobayashi issa
Ferranbarber: "what a strange thing! to be alive beneath cherry blossoms." — kobayashi issa
Estherhawdon: "cherry blossoms -- residents of this world a short time" issa kobayashi (image: taikan yokoyama )
Estherhawdon: "without regret they fall and scatter cherry blossoms" issa kobayashi (images: eiho hirezaki / yuhan ito / shiro kasamatsu)
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Poem of the day

Edgar Albert Guest Poem
The Killing Place
 by Edgar Albert Guest

We're hiking along at a two-forty pace
We 're making life seem like a man-killing race,
With our nerves all on edge and our jaws firmly set
We go rushing along; with our brows lined with sweat
And our cheeks pale and drawn every minute we dash,
And the goal that we 're after is merely more cash.

We 're out for the money, the greenbacks and gold,
...

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