Kurenai no kozome no koromo shita ni kite ue ni toriki ba koto nasamu kamo

紅の深染めの衣下に着て
上に取り着ば言なさむかも

Roma-ji: Kurenai no kozome no koromo shita ni kite ue ni toriki ba koto nasamu kamo
English Translation: The deep-dyed robe
of crimson I have worn
underneath my clothes—
if I put it on above,
would they not begin to talk?
Meaning: The robe dyed deep crimson I have worn beneath my clothes—if I took it and wore it on top, would people start to talk?
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1313

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Robes"
The poet has worn a deep crimson robe beneath his clothes and wonders whether people will gossip if he puts it on top. The deep-dyed crimson robe stands for a woman he loves deeply, wearing it beneath for a hidden love, and wearing it on top for making that love public, so the poem is taken to express fear of gossip.
It is the third poem of the series on robes. It shares "worn beneath" with the preceding poem, 1312; where that poem made wearing the underrobe on top a proof of resolve, this one fears gossip. The device of fearing to be found out by wearing a crimson robe is shared with poem 1297 in this book. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "of crimson," corresponds to "In crimson dye" in the first line of poem 1297 in this book.
The second line, "The deep-dyed robe," stands for the one he loves deeply.
The third line, "underneath my clothes," is the same as the third line of the preceding poem.
The fourth line, "if I put it on above," contrasts "above" with "beneath" in the third line.
In the final line, "kamo" adds exclamation to the question: "would they not talk?"
Source: Manyoshu
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