Hyakunin Isshu: Meet the Poets
Sanuki, attendant to retired Emperor Nijō

Meaning

My sleeves are like a rock hidden beneath the tides — unseen by others, they are never dry.

Commentary

The "oki no ishi" (rock in the offing) lies just below the surface, never exposed even at low tide — a perfect metaphor for a love that is both constant and concealed. The speaker's weeping sleeves, like that rock, are always present but never visible to others. The two qualities — secrecy and constancy — reinforce each other with quiet elegance.

Sanuki no Naishi served Retired Emperor Nijō and survived the upheaval of the Genpei War (1180–1185). She left a personal diary, the Sanuki no Suke Nikki, recording her service at court. This poem is admired for the sustained precision of its central metaphor — a submerged rock that never surfaces, never dries.

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