うかと来て我をかがしの替哉
absent-minded
I'm the scarecrow's
replacement
—Issa
uka to kite ore wo kagashi no kawari kana
(Issa himself, or his likeness)
This is a fun haiku from Issa showing his self-deprecating humor, telling us that he might be mistaken for a scarecrow. He wrote it in 1814 and returned to the idea a few years later, writing in 1818:
ふいと立おれをかがしの替哉
fui to tatsu ore o kagashi no kawari kana
suddenly I'm
standing, mind gone—
their new scarecrow
I think all of us can relate to both of these haiku. I can't tell you how many times I have stood to do something or gone in a room to do something but then completely forgotten what it was. I suppose I might be mistaken for a scarecrow myself.
Don't miss the other great haiku in the Haiku of Japan series!
#1 - Traveling to the inn
#2 - Childless Woman
#3 - Old Dancing Butterfly
#4 - Seeing the Moon
#5 - Checking the Scarecrow
#6 - Skill of Insects
#7 - The Spider Lilies
#8 - A Thousand Green Mountains
#9 - Falling Lead Enlightenment
#10 - Lonely Night
#11 - Her Day Off
#12 - Autumn Crow
#13 - Faint Footprints
#14 - Alone on the Road
#15 - Autumn Begins
#16 - Early Morning Moon Viewing
Thank you for reading. :)
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I post one photo everyday, as well as some misc posts such as haiku, videos, more Japanese history, and so on. Let me know if there is anything about Japan you would like to know more about or would like to see.
David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time.