Furukawa-yanagi Idle Thoughts: The Older Brother Celebrates with Red Bean Rice Without Knowing Why - Haifu Yanagidaru Volume 2 by Karai Senryu (Part 2)

This is the second installment introducing old senryu poems from Haifu Yanagidaru (The Willow Barrel of Satirical Verse), selected by Karai Senryu during the Edo period.
Following the easy-to-read notation, I will list the entry number, the original text, and the preceding phrase. Some include my own free translations.

A dependent scolds a child in a small voice

37 A dependent scolds a child in a small voice, scattering things about, scattering things about

"Kakeriudo" refers to a dependent or freeloader. Since the preceding phrase says "scattering things about," the child must have been making a mess in the house. The dependent tries to scold them, but because they are a freeloader, they cannot raise their voice to do so.

A freeloader scolds a child in a small voice

Looking closely at the mistress before leaving, the holly seller

67 Looking closely at the mistress before leaving, the holly seller, getting closer, getting closer

During Setsubun, people would stick holly leaves on gates and windows. The "holly seller" was someone who walked around selling these. Because they "got closer" to the back of the mansion to place the holly, they likely got a good look at the mistress living in the back of the house. Mistresses and second wives were a common part of Japanese society in the past.

The older brother celebrates with red bean rice without knowing why

86 The older brother celebrates with red bean rice without knowing why, it touches me, it touches me

The older brother is eating celebratory red bean rice (azuki-meshi) without knowing the reason.
The preceding phrase is "it touches me." Here, "it touches me" likely refers to a woman's cycle, or menstruation. Cooking red bean rice to celebrate is for the first menstruation, or menarche. Menarche is like a coming-of-age ceremony for a girl. She has gone from a child to a woman.
Boys don't really understand menstruation. Red bean rice appeared because there was something to celebrate, but the boy just eats it. There was no sex education.

The age of menarche these days is said to be between 10 and 15. For early bloomers, it can be around 8. I wonder if girls at that age understood the meaning of the celebration. I wonder how it was for women living in the modern day. It is quite difficult for men to understand. I wonder how many households still celebrate with red bean rice now.

A celebration that men cannot truly grasp

Recently, I have been hooked on Upiko's singing voice.
No matter how old I get, I don't understand girls. I don't understand them in any era.
In my mind, the Edo period is naturally connected to the present day. It is also connected to Upiko's songs.

Goemon composes a poem while being boiled alive

88 Goemon composes a poem while being boiled alive, a magnificent thing, a magnificent thing

Ishikawa Goemon, a great thief from the Toyotomi Hideyoshi era, was sentenced to be boiled alive in a cauldron. At that time, he composed a death poem.

Though the sands of the Ishikawa beach may run dry, the seeds of thieves in this world shall never be exhausted.

Perhaps he was still half-cooked at that moment. How admirable.
The story of Ishikawa Goemon was known to all Edo residents as a tale.

Dressed up, the nurse chases after the naked child.

156 Dressed up, the nurse chases after the naked child; how they celebrate, how they celebrate.

Since it says 'how they celebrate,' it is likely a Shichi-Go-San celebration or something similar. It is a verse about a nurse who, after getting dressed up herself, tries to change the child's clothes, but the child runs around naked.

Though there were mistresses and holly charms, the common people of Edo composed verses about daily life with the same sentiments as modern people.