When a guest arrives, Matsuo Basho has only tiny mosquitos to offer for a feast.
わが宿は蚊の小さきを馳走かな
Matsuo Basho, at Genju-an, Summer 1690
waga yado wa / ka no chiisaki o / chisō kana
In my hut
the tiny mosquitos,
are my treat!
My Treat
Matsuo Basho was staying at the Genju-an (Phantom Dwelling) in Otsu on Lake Biwa, which explains the presence of mosquitos. His guest, Akinobo, was a Japanese monk about whom little is known. Akinobo lived as a hermit in complete simplicity and poverty, begging for some rice to eat in summer and a little charcoal in winter to keep warm. So, it may be that Basho was visiting Akinobo and not the other way around.
waga わが my and yado wa 宿は, inn or hermitage
ka 蚊, mosquito; chiisaki 小さきを, a small thing
chiso 馳走, treat, banquet, feast
