The Tosa nikki, or The Tosa Diary as it is called in English, was the first journal of literary value. The Tosa nikki was composed in kana by Ki no Tsurayuki, a government official and highly respected poet. During the Heian period, the proper convention 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 less valued than Chinese. Ki no Tsurayuki wrote in the guise of a woman when composing the Tosa nikki in order to avoid criticism for writing in kana, even though it was obvious that he wrote it due to masculinity jokes that appeared throughout the newspaper. The Tosa Nikki described the ex-governor of Tosa's return journey to the capital (Kyoto). Ki no Tsurayuki wrote from the perspective of one of the women in the returning group. During their journey, they traveled east by boat 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 out bad weather on land and return to sea when conditions improved. They encountered a lot of bad weather during their journey. Perhaps the most important function of the Tosa nikki was its role as an instruction manual. Of course, the journal was not formatted like any contemporary instruction manual we would use in our time; the instructions were arranged in constant examples that appeared throughout the writing. These examples showed people how to behave when faced with how fragile people were and how easily they could die prematurely, people were really fascinated by the concept of longevity. They looked at the pine trees in awe, because the trees had been around for so long, and people wondered what it might be like to be like a pine tree and not have to worry about painful goodbyes. This fascination goes hand in hand with their reflection on the brevity of life. Tosa Nikki was a great example of how to compose poetry about goodbyes, longing, mourning, the pathos of things, life and longevity. The diary also depicts how elegance was so important and that this quality had to be maintained under all circumstances, even in the event of imminent death. This collection of examples can be considered an instruction manual and demonstrates the level of sophistication that courtiers should achieve..

Essay / The Tosa nikki, or The Tosa Diary as it is called in English, was the first journal of literary value. The Tosa nikki was composed in kana by Ki no Tsurayuki, a government official and highly respected poet. During the Heian period, the proper convention 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 less valued than Chinese. Ki no Tsurayuki wrote in the guise of a woman when composing the Tosa nikki in order to avoid criticism for writing in kana, even though it was obvious that he wrote it due to masculinity jokes that appeared throughout the newspaper. The Tosa Nikki described the ex-governor of Tosa's return journey to the capital (Kyoto). Ki no Tsurayuki wrote from the perspective of one of the women in the returning group. During their journey, they traveled east by boat 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 out bad weather on land and return to sea when conditions improved. They encountered a lot of bad weather during their journey. Perhaps the most important function of the Tosa nikki was its role as an instruction manual. Of course, the journal was not formatted like any contemporary instruction manual we would use in our time; the instructions were arranged in constant examples that appeared throughout the writing. These examples showed people how to behave when faced with how fragile people were and how easily they could die prematurely, people were really fascinated by the concept of longevity. They looked at the pine trees in awe, because the trees had been around for so long, and people wondered what it might be like to be like a pine tree and not have to worry about painful goodbyes. This fascination goes hand in hand with their reflection on the brevity of life. Tosa Nikki was a great example of how to compose poetry about goodbyes, longing, mourning, the pathos of things, life and longevity. The diary also depicts how elegance was so important and that this quality had to be maintained under all circumstances, even in the event of imminent death. This collection of examples can be considered an instruction manual and demonstrates the level of sophistication that courtiers should achieve..

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