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寝て起て大欠して猫の恋  
*nete okite oakubi shite neko no koi*
<br>
sleeping then waking  
then a big yawn  
the cat goes out in search of love  
—Issa
<br>
(trans. David LaSpina[^1])
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[^1]: That is, me! If you like this translation, feel free to use it. Just credit me. Also link to this post or to my Peak profile page.

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![](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/dbooster/Ep3gj4nT76bo4yzjD2i4ekdNs3EVixDVbg31jed83Mp8hkbpsohu7k7nyYfHQSajQEx.jpg)
<sub>("Cat with Bell" by Shotei Takahashi)</sub>
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If you've been keeping up with my haiku posts, it may come as no surprised that Issa was a cat lover. He loved all creatures, of course, but like most of us he had a special love for cats; among all his haiku, he wrote over a hundred haiku on cats, many of them on cat courting habits, such as the one above. 

Now, in fairness, *neko no koi*, cat love, is a spring *kigo*, so this is a common haiku theme that many haiku poets make use of; still, it's one that Issa returned to time and again. I'd say that equals cat lover. 

<center><h1>❦</h1><br></center>

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|![Hi there](http://68.media.tumblr.com/9ed59bcbc3d0c81b382b0df883f91773/tumblr_inline_ni2uuza1ku1qz4uph.jpg)|[David LaSpina](https://hive.blog/about/@dbooster/about-david-laspina-v1-2) is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku.|