Kurenai wa utsurou mono zo tsurubami no narenishi kinu ni naoshi kame ya mo

紅はうつろふものぞ橡の
なれにし衣になほしかめやも

Roma-ji: Kurenai wa utsurou mono zo tsurubami no narenishi kinu ni naoshi kame ya mo
English Translation: Crimson is a hue
that fades away with time—
could it ever match
the well-worn and familiar robe
dyed with the acorn's dun?
Meaning: Crimson is a color that soon fades. Could it ever be the equal of the familiar robe dyed in plain acorn brown?
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4109

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem admonishing the clerk Owari no Okui [with short poems]." "Three envoys."
The poet says that bright crimson soon fades and can never match the plain, familiar robe dyed with acorns. Likening crimson to the entertainer Saburuko and acorn dye to the wife of many years, he admonishes that long-standing affection matters more than passing glamour.
Ōtomo no Yakamochi was the son of Ōtomo no Tabito, and from 746 he served as governor of Etchū. He is believed to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū, and this book has the character of a poetic diary of his years in Etchū.
The left note reads, "The above were composed by the governor, Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi, on the fifteenth of the fifth month."

First line, "kurenai wa": the vivid red dyed with safflower, figuring the glamorous Saburuko.
Second line, "utsurou mono zo": "utsurou" means to fade or to change one's heart, and "zo" is a particle of firm assertion. The poem pauses after the second line.
Third line, "tsurubami no": "tsurubami" is the acorn of the sawtooth oak, and the plain-colored cloth dyed with it, worn by people of low rank, figures the wife. It contrasts with the "crimson" of the first line.
Fourth line, "narenishi kinu ni": "naru" means to be well worn and familiar, expressing the bond with a wife of many years.
Last line, "naoshi kame ya mo": "shiku" means to equal, and "me ya mo" is rhetorical: "could it ever equal it? Never."
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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