The famous haiku master, Issa, was born in the late 18th century to a loving and warm mother and father. At the age of 3, his mother died. Issa’s father remarried and had anther son. The step-mother has been described as cruel and was of “Disney proportions” in promoting her son over Issa. In order to maintain family harmony, Issa was turned out at the age of 13 to seek work in the city. At the age of 50, Issa wrote this: