The Year of My Life: A Translation of Issa's Oraga Haru by Nobuyuki Yuasa brings one of Japan's most beloved haiku poets into vivid English, capturing both the poignancy of his life and the deceptive simplicity of his art. First published a decade earlier and here extensively revised, Yuasa's translation refines Issa's voice-infusing colloquial immediacy, descriptive clarity, and nuanced interpretation that honors the layered meanings in the poetry. Issa (1763-1827), born Kobayashi Yataro in rural Shinano, lived a life marked by hardship: the early loss of his mother, years of conflict with his stepfamily, long periods of wandering, and repeated personal tragedies, including the deaths of his children. These sorrows, balanced with tender observation of ordinary people and creatures, permeate Oraga Haru (The Year of My Life), Issa's poetic diary of 1819.
Yuasa's introduction situates Issa in the long tradition of the poet-priest-traveler, from Saigyo to Basho, but shows how Issa transforms this heritage. For Basho, the road meant renunciation; for Issa, it deepened human connection, drawing him to friends, family, and fellow wanderers. In The Year of My Life, Issa weaves autobiography and art, reshaping historical episodes-such as the loss of his children-into a timeless meditation on impermanence. His most haunting verse, "The world of dew / is the world of dew, / and yet, and yet . . . ," epitomizes the fusion of Buddhist detachment with irreducible grief. By framing Issa's diary as both personal record and crafted literary work, Yuasa presents it as a spiritual and artistic testament: a garland of haiku that crowns a lifetime of sorrow, humor, and compassion. This edition remains an essential entry point for readers seeking Japanese literature in translation and the enduring power of haiku as world poetry.
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1960.
| ISBN: | 9780520329034 |
| Publication date: | 15th July 2022 |
| Author: | Issa Kobayashi |
| Publisher: | University of California Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 150 pages |
| Series: | UC Press Voices Revived |
| Genres: |
Translation and interpretation Literary studies: poetry and poets Literature: history and criticism |
The Year of My Life: A Translation of Issa's Oraga Haru by Nobuyuki Yuasa brings one of Japan's most beloved haiku poets into vivid English, capturing both the poignancy of his life and the deceptive simplicity of his art. First published a decade earlier and here extensively revised, Yuasa's translation refines Issa's voice-infusing colloquial immediacy, descriptive clarity, and nuanced interpretation that honors the layered meanings in the poetry. Issa (1763-1827), born Kobayashi Yataro in rural Shinano, lived a life marked by hardship: the early loss of his mother, years of conflict with his stepfamily, long periods of wandering, and repeated personal tragedies, including the deaths of his children. These sorrows, balanced with tender observation of ordinary people and creatures, permeate Oraga Haru (The Year of My Life), Issa's poetic diary of 1819.
Yuasa's introduction situates Issa in the long tradition of the poet-priest-traveler, from Saigyo to Basho, but shows how Issa transforms this heritage. For Basho, the road meant renunciation; for Issa, it deepened human connection, drawing him to friends, family, and fellow wanderers. In The Year of My Life, Issa weaves autobiography and art, reshaping historical episodes-such as the loss of his children-into a timeless meditation on impermanence. His most haunting verse, "The world of dew / is the world of dew, / and yet, and yet . . . ," epitomizes the fusion of Buddhist detachment with irreducible grief. By framing Issa's diary as both personal record and crafted literary work, Yuasa presents it as a spiritual and artistic testament: a garland of haiku that crowns a lifetime of sorrow, humor, and compassion. This edition remains an essential entry point for readers seeking Japanese literature in translation and the enduring power of haiku as world poetry.
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1960.
The Year of My Life features in the following genres: Translation and interpretation, Literary studies: poetry and poets, Literature: history and criticism
The Year of My Life is available in Hardback, Paperback
The Year of My Life was written by Issa Kobayashi and published by University of California Press
The Year of My Life has 150 pages
Yes it is part of UC Press Voices Revived series