Haiku – seventeen-syllable poems that evoke worlds despite their brevity – have captivated Japanese readers since the seventeenth century. Today the form is practiced worldwide and has become established as part of our common global heritage. This beautiful traditionally hand-bound volume presents new English translations of classic poems by the four great masters of Japanese haiku – Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, Kobayashi Issa, and Masaoka Shiki – accompanied by both the original Japanese and a phonetic transcription. With a timeless design, Haiku is an expert introduction and celebration of one of the most beautiful and accessible forms of poetry in the world.

Hart Larrabee is an American translator who lives with his family in the little town of Obuse in northern Nagano, Japan, right in the heart of Issa country. His translations of short stories by Fumio Takano and Mitsuyo Kakuta have appeared, respectively, in the anthologies Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction and The Book of Tokyo: A City in Short Fiction. He also translates non-fiction, particularly in the fields of art, design, and architecture.