But what Issa really wanted to do was continue writing poetry and see more of the world. So he set out to travel around the country in the tradition of haiku poets. During his lifetime Issa composed more than 20,000 haiku. He died in 1827 at the age of 64. He is still considered to be Japan's premier haiku poet.
Traditional haiku describe a single moment in nature that the poet observes or discovers.
Traditional haiku also usually convey a sense of season in a subtle way, not by naming the season, but by using a word or phrase that suggests the season indirectly. Additional background information about the history and poetic structure of haiku can be found on the last page of the book. The author and artist selected the specific poems in this book because they shed light on significant events in Issa's life. Interspersing these poems with the prose sections describing those events enables readers to experience the subtle meaning and power of these seemingly simple poems. The artist visited Issa's village and read more than 2500 of his haiku as part of her research for the book.