163Haiku 俳句
やせ蛙負けるな一茶これにあり
やせがえるまけるないっさこれにありYasegaeru makeru na Issa kore ni ari
“Skinny frog, do not give up — Issa is here.”
The meaning
To the weaker one in the fight, the poet shouts his support. It is a poem of encouragement for all the small facing the big — and a friend's voice when you are the frog.
At the origin
A haiku by Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828), written watching frogs fight; Issa always sided with the weak.
The characters
- やせ蛙 yasegaeruskinny frog
- 負ける makeruto lose
- な nadon't!
- 一茶
- これ
- に
- あり
In practice
Support someone fighting against unequal odds today.
Themes
In the collections · Nanakorobi, Haijin