A small river running through Takatsuki 高槻 City, Osaka (formerly Settsu 摂津 Province). Famous from Episode 6 of Ise monogatari 伊勢物語 (The Tales of Ise). The protagonist abducts his love and crosses the Akuta 芥 River with her on a rainy night. Seeing a dewdrop on a blade of grass, the lady asks him what it is. The man hides her in a ruined storehouse, but, as he is standing guard outside with a bow in hand, she is devoured by a demon. Discovering her absence in the morning, the man recites:
白玉か shiratama ka
何ぞと人の nanizo to hito no
問いし時 toishi toki
露と答えて tsuyu to kotaete
消えなましものを kie namashi mono woWhen my beloved asked
Is it a clear gem
Or what might it be?
Would that I had replied
A dewdrop! and perished— translated by McCullough
Pictures based on this episode typically show either the man with the woman on his back crossing a river whose grasses are thick with dew, or the man standing guard at the door of the storehouse.