[For Seniors] Interesting spring haiku: introducing verses with striking kigo and unique expressions

Last updated:2026/2/11

Social worker / Care workermoko
My name is Moko, a mother of three who admired my mother and worked in the care industry as a care worker and as a medical social worker (MSW) in a hospital. I will be drawing on my previous experience to write mainly about caregiving. Thank you in advance.

When you sense the arrival of spring, don’t you feel like putting the scenes that catch your eye into words? Haiku is a uniquely Japanese art that expresses seasonal landscapes and feelings in the five-seven-five rhythm.

Among them, spring haiku are full of humorous works and seasonal words that make you chuckle.

For older adults especially, there’s a special joy in capturing the little “funny moments” and everyday “relatable things” from daily life in a verse.

In this article, we’ll introduce plenty of amusing haiku with a spring theme.

You can enjoy reading them—or try composing a verse of your own.

Please feel free to savor the world of haiku.

[For Seniors] Funny Spring Haiku: Introducing verses with striking unique expressions and seasonal words (1–10)

March’s sweet bean candies— ufufufufuNEW!Nenten Tsubouchi

This is a work by Nenten Tsubouchi, a haiku poet who could be called a pioneer of modern haiku.

The haiku appears in Japanese language textbooks and is known as one of Tsubouchi’s signature pieces.

Its seasonal word is “March,” signaling spring, and it sings of the delight of eating amanattō in the springtime.

Besides this poem, he also published a set called “Twelve Amanattō Haiku,” verses about amanattō for every month of the year—he must be quite particular about it.

Among them, this March haiku—one of the poet’s own favorites—is especially striking for its final “ufufufufu.” It’s rare to see spoken sounds transcribed directly into print, and it’s interesting how interpretations vary from person to person.

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Dejectedly, stumbling as I pluck—horsetails.NEW!Takarai Kikaku

The seasonal word is “tsukushi,” read as “tsukushi.” For many people, spring immediately calls to mind tsukushi, doesn’t it? You can play with them, and they’re delicious simmered in soy sauce, too! This poem is a spring verse with tsukushi as its theme, but it doesn’t feel particularly cheerful.

Because of the word “sugosugoto,” which conveys a plodding, quietly persistent manner, it gives the impression of someone gathering tsukushi as if it were mere labor.

It makes you wonder why they’re picking tsukushi, doesn’t it?

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In our world, even the grass around here turns into rice cakes.NEW!Kobayashi Issa

In spring, you often see mugwort growing wild, don’t you? Some of you may even have picked that mugwort to make kusa-mochi (mugwort rice cakes).

This haiku by Kobayashi Issa expresses just that springlike feeling.

The season word is “kusa-mochi,” which signifies spring.

The phrase “Oraga yo ya” conveys a feeling of gratitude for the world in which one lives.

It expresses thankfulness for being able to make kusa-mochi from the wild mugwort that appears in spring.

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Scrawny frog, don’t lose, Issa is here.NEW!Kobayashi Issa

This is a memorable haiku depicting Issa cheering on a scrawny frog.

The piece is famous among haiku, and the final line, “Issa is here,” is particularly distinctive and unusual.

He’s encouraging a frog that looks likely to lose a battle for a female, while declaring that he himself is present.

There are theories that he projected his own misfortune of being unable to marry onto the frog, and others that he composed it with his sickly child in mind.

Issa married for the first time at age fifty-two, but all of his children died one after another.

Knowing this background helps us understand Issa’s feelings as he cheers on the frog.

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Bamboo shoots—where on earth did they come from, tossed by fickle fate?NEW!Kobayashi Issa

The “unpu tenpu” in this verse, when written in kanji, is 運否天賦.

It means that fortune or misfortune is a matter of fate, to leave one’s luck to heaven.

In other words, this verse is likely saying that the emergence of bamboo shoots—the season word—is decided by heaven.

One might even say that deliberately using the term unpu tenpu is characteristic of Kobayashi Issa.

Around March, many people go out to dig bamboo shoots, a taste of spring.

When you’re about to give up after failing to find any, you may recall this verse.

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Sparrow chicks, out of the way, out of the way—His Lordship’s horse is passingNEW!Kobayashi Issa

The seasonal word “sparrow’s chick” is a term that signifies spring.

Also, this verse is in a broken meter, meaning it departs from haiku’s standard 5-7-5 pattern.

By doing so, it creates impact and a rhythm that’s easy to hum.

In this poem, the speaker tells the sparrows, “Move away quickly, or the horse will trample you.” It conveys the gentle character of someone who wishes to protect the tiny sparrows’ lives.

This haiku is included in Ora ga Haru (My Spring), a collection of verses Kobayashi Issa composed while he was in Shinano.

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If only I were a flower that bursts into laughter in the spring breeze.NEW!Matsuo Bashō

“Fukidashi-warau” is an expression that describes the blooming of spring flowers.

It’s lovely to portray flowers blossoming in spring as if living creatures were popping out and laughing.

From this piece, you can feel not only the beautiful spring scenery but also its light and gentle atmosphere.

Spring has pleasant weather and many perfect days for outings.

It’s also the season when grasses and flowers sprout and brim with life, so why not go out to see flowers like those in this work? It will surely become an unforgettable memory.

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