The Tosa nikki, or The Tosa Diary as it is called in English, was the first diary of literary value. The Tosa nikki was composed in kana by Ki no Tsurayuki, who was a highly respected government official and poet. During the Heian period, the custom was for men to compose their works in Chinese, as this practice was considered more masculine and elegant. Kana was mainly used by women, so it was considered more feminine and was less appreciated than Chinese. Ki no Tsurayuki wrote under the guise of a woman when he composed the Tosa nikki to avoid criticism for writing in kana, although it was still obvious that he wrote it due to the masculinity of the lines that appeared throughout the diary. La Tosa Nikki illustrated the return journey of the former governor of Tosa to the capital (Kyoto). Ki no Tsurayuki wrote from the perspective of one of the women in the returning group. On their journey, they traveled east by ship along the coast. The group was not familiar enough with the geography of the area to sail directly to Kyoto, and all they were sure of was that Kyoto was to the east, so they stayed within sight of the shore so as not to get lost. Another reason for staying close to shore was to be able to wait for bad weather to pass ashore and set sail again when conditions improved. During the journey they encountered much bad weather. Perhaps the most important function of the Tosa nikki was its role as a kind of instruction manual. Of course, the journal was not structured like any contemporary instruction manual we would use in our time; the instructions were hidden in constant examples that arose as I wrote. These examples showed people how to behave in ... middle of paper ... the fragility of people and the ease with which they could die prematurely, people were really fascinated by the concept of longevity. They looked at the pines in amazement, because the trees had been around for so long, and people wondered what it would be like to be like a pine and not have to worry about painful goodbyes. This fascination goes hand in hand with their reflection on the brevity of life. The Tosa nikki served as a great example on how to compose poems about farewells, about longing, about pain, about the pathos of things, about life and longevity. The diary also painted a picture of how elegance was so important and that this quality must be maintained under all circumstances, even in the possibility of imminent death. This collection of examples can be seen as an instruction manual and demonstrates the level of sophistication that courtiers should achieve.

Topic > The Tosa nikki, or The Tosa Diary as it is called in English, was the first diary of literary value. The Tosa nikki was composed in kana by Ki no Tsurayuki, who was a highly respected government official and poet. During the Heian period, the custom was for men to compose their works in Chinese, as this practice was considered more masculine and elegant. Kana was mainly used by women, so it was considered more feminine and was less appreciated than Chinese. Ki no Tsurayuki wrote under the guise of a woman when he composed the Tosa nikki to avoid criticism for writing in kana, although it was still obvious that he wrote it due to the masculinity of the lines that appeared throughout the diary. La Tosa Nikki illustrated the return journey of the former governor of Tosa to the capital (Kyoto). Ki no Tsurayuki wrote from the perspective of one of the women in the returning group. On their journey, they traveled east by ship along the coast. The group was not familiar enough with the geography of the area to sail directly to Kyoto, and all they were sure of was that Kyoto was to the east, so they stayed within sight of the shore so as not to get lost. Another reason for staying close to shore was to be able to wait for bad weather to pass ashore and set sail again when conditions improved. During the journey they encountered much bad weather. Perhaps the most important function of the Tosa nikki was its role as a kind of instruction manual. Of course, the journal was not structured like any contemporary instruction manual we would use in our time; the instructions were hidden in constant examples that arose as I wrote. These examples showed people how to behave in ... middle of paper ... the fragility of people and the ease with which they could die prematurely, people were really fascinated by the concept of longevity. They looked at the pines in amazement, because the trees had been around for so long, and people wondered what it would be like to be like a pine and not have to worry about painful goodbyes. This fascination goes hand in hand with their reflection on the brevity of life. The Tosa nikki served as a great example on how to compose poems about farewells, about longing, about pain, about the pathos of things, about life and longevity. The diary also painted a picture of how elegance was so important and that this quality must be maintained under all circumstances, even in the possibility of imminent death. This collection of examples can be seen as an instruction manual and demonstrates the level of sophistication that courtiers should achieve.