Chronicle of a Death

Kobayashi Issa (1763–1827) is “one of the three towering figures” of Japanese haikai poetry. His popular verses are “incised into rocks and stone slabs all over Japan” (Bolitho 61). At the age of fourteen, he “was turned out by his father and sent off to Edo” to work “as a domestic servant” (63). He visited home in 1791, then again in 1801. As it happened, his father fell ill and died during the latter visit. Issa recorded the events, and resulting grief.

From the moment his father falls ill, we can see certain patterns emerging in Issa's narrative. The first and most obvious is the centrality of attachment. We would be sad to see anyone become sick and infirm. But of course it is no accident that Issa's mourning is specifically for his father. Indeed, the link between attachment and grief has been a central feature of recent theories of mourning.

When he first discovers that his father has fallen face-down in the garden, he seems to make light of the situation, not taking it seriously. But he consults a doctor. The prognosis is bad. What he experiences then is akin to panic – indeed, it is a form of panic. He explains that he was “Overwhelmed, and not knowing what to do” (Issa 65). He was filled with fear, but he could devise no plan, short- or long-term, that would change this situation. There was no possible actional outcome that would respond to this condition.