Hyakunin Isshu: Meet the Poets
Sanjo Udaijin

Meaning

If the name of Ōsaka carries its meaning — then let me secretly follow the vine I draw toward me, and come to you unseen.

Commentary

Because the poet held the high office of Minister of the Right, it is thought that he could not freely visit his beloved. This poem is filled with a heartfelt, earnest longing to meet in secret. In those days, it was customary to enclose a flower or plant with a love poem as a token of one's feelings. The sanekazura mentioned in this poem may well have been tucked in alongside it as just such an offering of the heart.

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