There’s an old saying: “Spring is when a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love.” In the haiku world, that goes for cats too.

大猫よはやく行け行け妻が鳴く
ō neko yo hayaku ike ike tsuma ga naku

hey, big tomcat
get moving already!
the wife's calling
—Issa

(trans. David LaSpina^[1])

^{"Black Cat" by Hasegawa Sadanobu}

This is Issa at his most playful. Even in the cat world, you don't ignore your wife when she calls for you.

The kigo (season word) here is not explicit, but neko no tsuma, "cat's wife", is implied, which is usually put under the neko no koi kigo, "cats in love". With that in mind, the cat’s wife may be calling because she’s feeling frisky. All the more reason for our tomcat to hurry! Spring is the season for this kind of cat activity, making both of these kigo for spring.

We could lean into this and make the translation a bit more playful:

hey, big tom
better hustle home
she wants you

Issa was a newlywed at the time he wrote this, in 1813, having married his first wife, Kiku, the year before. This was a relatively peaceful and happy time in his life. Considering that, we might guess there is some double meaning here. He might’ve been watching a cat called by its mate — or maybe it was his own wife calling him.

【Also published on my website】

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David is an American teacher and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Mastodon. 【Support @dbooster with Hive SBI】

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1. That is, me! If you like this translation, feel free to use it. Just credit me. Also link here if you can. ↩