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The "Akane" (Rubia argyi) belongs to Rubiaceae (the Madder family). It is a perennial herb that is native to Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu in Japan, as well as Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula and China. This herb grows in fields or mountains and climbs up adjacent plants. The stem is quadrangular and bears downward spines. The leaves are triangular-ovate to narrow ovate and 4 whorled. Two leaves of them are developed stipulars. The cymes are borne on the axils and bloom pale yellowish-green flowers from August to October. Its roots are fibrous, and they have been used as a raw material for madder dyeing since ancient times. The term "akane-iro" originally referred to a deep reddish-purple color similar to the seed coat of azuki beans, but today it has come to mean a vermilion-orange hue like that of a sunset. In Taiwanese Chinese, it is called "紅藤仔草", and "東南茜草" (dong nan qian cao) in Chinese.
In Korean, it's "kkok-du-seoni" (꼭두서니). Incidentally, the color crimson is called "kkok-du-seoni-bit" (꼭두서니빛). "bit" (빛) refers to color or light.
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