Takashiki no Uekatayama wa kurenai no yashio no iro ni narinikeru kamo

竹敷の宇敝可多山は紅の
八しほの色になりにけるかも

Roma-ji: Takashiki no Uekatayama wa kurenai no yashio no iro ni narinikeru kamo
English Translation: At Takashiki
Mount Uekata now
has turned the color
of crimson dyed again and again,
so deep has it become
Meaning: Mount Uekata at Takashiki has turned the deep color of crimson dyed over and over again.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Poems of the Envoys to Silla 3703

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Eighteen poems composed while anchored at Takashiki Bay, each expressing his feelings"
The poem praises the autumn color of Mount Uekata at Takashiki as the deep hue of crimson dyed again and again. By likening it to the art of dyeing, it vividly depicts the depth and brilliance of the leaves' color. A left note reads "the above poem is by the junior secretary," and the poems of the embassy's leading members, from ambassador to junior secretary, are set out in order. The location of Mount Uekata is unknown.
The author, Ōkura no Maro, was an official who served as junior secretary (shōhangan) of the embassy to Silla, but nothing further is known of him.
According to the headnote, this is one of eighteen poems composed while anchored at Takashiki Bay, each expressing his feelings. Takashiki Bay lies within Asō Bay in Tsushima, thought to be present-day Takeshiki in Mitsushima, Tsushima City, Nagasaki Prefecture. The first half of the sequence ranges poems by the ambassador, vice-ambassador, senior and junior secretaries, and a young woman of Tsushima, and is thought to have been composed at a banquet.

First line, "Takashiki no": Takashiki Bay in Tsushima.
Second line, "Uekatayama wa": thought to be a mountain near Takashiki Bay, but its location is unknown.
Third line, "kurenai no": "kurenai" is the vivid red dyed with safflower.
Fourth line, "yashio no iro ni": "yashio" means dyeing by steeping again and again in dye, giving a deep, rich color.
Fifth line, "narinikeru kamo": "ni" is perfective and "keru kamo" exclamatory: it has turned that color, the poem ends.
Author: Ōkura no Maro
Source: Manyoshu
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