Yamato no uda no mahani no sani tsukaba soko mo ka hito no wa o koto nasamu

大和の宇陀の真埴のさ丹付かば
そこもか人の我を言なさむ

Roma-ji: Yamato no uda no mahani no sani tsukaba soko mo ka hito no wa o koto nasamu
English Translation: In Yamato land,
from Uda, the fine red clay—
if its red should stain,
would others for that alone
make of me their idle talk?
Meaning: If the red of the fine red clay of Uda in Yamato should stain my robe, would people, for that alone, make me the talk of the town?
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1376

Headnote: "On Red Clay"
The poet wonders whether, if the color of Uda's red clay should stain his robe, people would gossip about him for that alone. The fine red clay of Uda stands for a woman, and its color staining the robe for becoming intimate with her; the poem expresses the fear that any such bond would at once become the subject of rumor.
It is the poem under the heading "On Red Clay." The words "would others ... make of me their idle talk" echo "would others, if I drew it, make of me their idle talk" in poem 1329 in this book, and both are metaphorical poems fearing gossip. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "In Yamato land," has only four syllables, one short of the norm.
The second line refers to the fine red clay of Uda, a district in eastern Yamato known for it.
The third line, "if its red should stain," stands for becoming intimate with a woman.
In the fourth line, "would others for that alone," the particle "ka" is answered by the attributive "nasamu" in the final line.
The final line, "make of me their idle talk," is the same as the last line of poem 1329 in this book.
Source: Manyoshu
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