The 9th century was one of the major turning points in the history of Japanese literature, during which the kana syllabary was developed, alongside to the abolition of the legation in China (document 8). Additionally, the invention of native Japanese writing systems stimulated the creation of prose literature, as well as the birth of prominent female writers (Document 8). Two types of prose became common in Heian literature: monogatari (story) and nikki (diary) (document 8). Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji) by Murasaki Shikibu is probably the most famous work of the period and so I will focus on it as an example in 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, more interestingly, to bring surprises to the reader. An example might be the moving poem Kiritsubo wrote for the Emperor in return for his words of sadness and fear of losing her, and 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 I am filled with sadness that our paths must separate: the path I would rather take is the one that leads to life… If only I had su (p. 7)These words were the only part that showed Kiritsubo's true voice in the entire chapter, where I felt, for the first time, recognizing his existence as a character, as well as his love for the Emperor, his humility in the face of the relationship with him and his grief. about leaving him. To take another example of how unique Murasaki Shikibu's poems are, the pair below exchanged between Genji and Utsusemi at the very end of chapter s...... middle of paper ...... y d' poetry writing in the Heian period. Poems were actually added to both plots to describe the psychological situations of the characters, conclude the scenes and characterize the literary styles of each writer. Moreover, literary works composed during this era have played a crucial role as guardians of the memory of Japanese history, regardless of the genres to which they belong. Without them, we would not have been able to learn the ancient ways of life, values ​​and customs, as well as Japanese cultural and ethnic traits.Works CitedKochi Literary Museum. (2010). Ki no Turaryki to Tosa Nikki. (Diary of Ki no Tsurayuki and Tosa). http://kochi-bunkazaidan.or.jp/~bungaku/tosanikki.html Accessed June 4, 2010.NAC Hiroshima. (2010). Genji Monotagari Web Kakioroshi Gekijo (Tale of the Coins of Genji Web). http://www.nac-hiroshima.jp/drama/daihon/genji/genji09.html Retrieved June 4, 2010.