Issa KOBAYASHI was a Japanese poet in the Edo period. He is better known as simply Issa, a pen name meaning “Cup of tea.” He is regarded as one of the four “haiku” (a kind of Japanese poetry) masters in Japan, along with Bashou, Buson and Shiki – “the Great Four, Basho, Buson, Issa, Shiki.” Reflecting the popularity and interest in Issa as a man and poet, Japanese books on Issa outnumber those on Buson, and almost equal in number those to Bashou.

Katsunobu Kawahito, a Japanese-style painter, and Kakushou Kametani, a calligrapher, are fans of Issa. This work was created because Katsunobu Kawahito and Kakushou Kametani were inspired by Issa KOBAYASHI’s poem. This is a very interesting work, in which they apply their imagination to the life of the ant, normally a puny, insignificant creature. This is a work that is rich in imagination.