Utamakura is a category of poetic words, often involving place names, that allow for greater allusions and intertextuality across Japanese poems.
Utamakura enables poets to express ideas and themes concisely—thus allowing them to stay in the confines of strict waka structures.
Since they saw many places, it was easier to remember the details of a story by using a single, consistent reference point for each recurring event in their tales.
Over time, the people across the Japan came to identify utamakura place names by the psychological feelings associated with the references made by the wandering priests.
harugasumi tateru ya izuko Miyoshino no Yoshino no yama ni yuki wa furitsutsu Where are the promised mists of spring?
Shinobuyama shinobite kayou michi mogana hito no kokoro no oku no miru beku I long to find a path to the depths of Mount Shinobu that I might fathom the secrets of another's heart.