This book has a dual purpose.

A Stanford University Press classic.

This book sketches the life and poetry of Kobayishi Issa, a major Japanese haiku poet, and tries to identify the sources of his bold individualism and all-embracing humanism in terms of his long and checkered carrier.

Michigan Classics in Japanese Studies No. 6

This book presents an overview of Buson's life and poetry, beginning with speculations on the mysterious circumstances of his birth and then tracing the various stages of his career as poet.