The 9th century was one of the major turning points in the history of Japanese literature, in which the kana syllabary was developed, along with the abolition of the legation in China ( Handout 8). Furthermore, the invention of native Japanese writing systems served as a stimulus to the creation of prose literature, as well as the birth of important women writers (Handout 8). Two types of prose became mainstream in Heian literature: monogatari (short story) and nikki (diary) (Handout 8). Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji) by Murasaki Shikibu is probably the most famous work of the time and therefore I will focus on it as an example of the monogatari genre in this article; As for the second genre, I will use Tosa Nikki (Tosa Diary) from Ki no Tsurayuki in the discussion here. Murasaki Shikibu uses poems as keystones of a scene to confirm truths about characters and, most interestingly, to bring surprises to the reader. An example may be the emotional poem that Kiritsubo composed for the Emperor in response to his words of pain and fear of losing her, and to the sincerity of his feelings for her: “You promised never to leave me, not even at the end” (p . 7): Now the end has come, and it fills me with pain that our paths must separate: the path I would prefer to take is the one that leads to life... If only I had known (p. 7) These words were the is the only part that shows Kiritsubo's true voice in the entire chapter, where I felt like, for the first time, I recognized his existence as a character, as well as his love for the Emperor, his humility in relationship with him and her pain at leaving him. To take another example of the characteristics of Murasaki Shikibu's poems, the pair below switched between Genji and Utsusemi at the very end of the chapter s...... middle of the paper ......y of poetry writing in the Heian Period. Poems were actually added to both plots to provide the characters' psychological situations, conclude scenes, and characterize each writer's literary styles. Furthermore, the literary works composed in that era have played a crucial role as memory keepers of Japanese history, whatever genre they belong to. Without them, we would not have been able to learn about the lifestyles, values ​​and customs of those times, as well as Japanese cultural and ethnic traits. Works Cited Kochi Literary Museum. (2010). Ki no Turaryki to Tosa Nikki. (Ki no Tsurayuki and Tosa's Diary). http://kochi-bunkazaidan.or.jp/~bungaku/tosanikki.html Retrieved June 4, 2010.NAC Hiroshima. (2010). Genji Monotagari Web Kakioroshi Gekijo (The Tale of the Genji Web Games). http://www.nac-hiroshima.jp/drama/daihon/genji/genji09.html Retrieved June 4, 2010.