Tosa Nikki

by Ki no Tsurayuki

Written with artless simplicity and quiet humor, The Tosa Diary is the story of a fifty-five day journey by ship from Tosa to Kyoto in AD 935.

Genres: Japan, Japanese Literature, Nonfiction, Classics, Poetry, History, Travel

91 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1912

About the author

Ki no Tsurayuki (紀貫之, 872 – June 30, 945) was a Japanese author, poet and courtier of the Heian period. He is best known as the principal compiler of the Kokin Wakashū and as a possible author of the Tosa Diary, although this was published anonymously.

Tsurayuki was a son of Ki no Mochiyuki. In the 890s he became a poet of waka, short poems composed in Japanese. In 905, under the order of Emperor Daigo, he was one of four poets selected to compile the Kokin Wakashū, the first imperially-sponsored anthology (chokusen-shū) of waka poetry.

After holding a few offices in Kyoto, he was appointed the provincial governor of Tosa province and stayed there from 930 until 935. Later he was presumably appointed the provincial governor of Suo province, since it was recorded that he held a waka party (Utaai) at his home in Suo.

He is well known for his waka and is counted as one of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals selected by Fujiwara no Kintō. He was also known as one of the editors of the Kokin Wakashū. Tsurayuki wrote one of two prefaces to Kokin Wakashū; the other is in Chinese. His preface was the first critical essay on waka. He wrote of its history from its mythological origin to his contemporary waka, which he grouped into genres, referred to some major poets and gave a bit of harsh criticism to his predecessors like Ariwara no Narihira.

His waka is included in one of the important Japanese poetry anthologies, the Hyakunin Isshu, which was compiled in the 13th century by Fujiwara no Teika, long after Tsurayuki's death.

Besides the Kokin Wakashū and its preface, Tsurayuki's major literary work was the Tosa Nikki(土佐日記?) (Tosa Diary), which was written using kana. The text details a trip in 935 returning to Kyoto from Tosa province, where Tsurayuki had been the provincial governor.

Tsurayuki's name is referred to in the Tale of Genjias a waka master. In this story, Emperor Uda ordered him and a number of female poets to write waka on his panels as accessories.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Tosa Diary is the oldest of the Japanese nikki or literary diaries. It is not as accomplished as the pillow book or the kagero nikki since it is lacking their emotional perspective. However it does contain beautiful poetry and a glimpse into time this piece was written (955 AD). Ultimately this is something for insiders and certainly not a key piece of world world literature like the pillow book.

This translation is also over a hundred years old but still vibrant. This edition (a 1970's reprint of the 1912 edition) is okay but more footnotes and a good map would have been welcome.

[Smiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second Review:

I found reading the 68-note appendix to accompany each diary entry when the number shows up, number by number, quite useful in terms of some Japanese words, contexts, clarifications, etc. since the added information would lighten our ongoing reading. In other words, compared to my first reading in which I consulted some of them, it was like reading in the texts with fair understanding. However, after reading this entry:

21 MAR. 14th day. -- Rain fell. This day he sent the Capital for a carriage.[65] (p. 103)

and duly consult Note No. 65 as follows:

65
21 MAR. Kuruma here does not mean a jinrikisha, which is a modern innovation of the nineteenth century. (p. 127)

I found it's quite ambiguous leading to a few queries like: How are they related? What is such a modern innovation? (for the sake of those who found the words, 'Kuruma', 'jinrikisha' Greek to them.)

First Review:

Written in 935 by the tenth-century Japanese poet Ki no Tsurayuki, this diary also known as Tosa Nikki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tosa_Nikki) has since arguably been dimmed by the more well-known, seemingly widely-read and definitely world famous The Tale of Genji published before 1021. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tal...) It is interestingly noted on its printing format as a bilingual edition, I think, it should be more beneficial to those readers capable of reading Japanese. In other words, for every two pages I could read only its English translation on the right and, consciously, it's a pity that I found its Japanese original Greek to me on the left. However, as a preamble right before the first entry, it is reverently inspiring to read and ponder on this message:

Oitaru wo, chichi to se-yo. (Japanese proverb)
That which is old should be treated with the respect due to a father. (p. 11)

Classified as diary literature initially published in 1912, each entry contains a narrative and a verse (many entries having a few or none) as we can see from an exemplary extract as follows:

20 FEB. 15th day.--This day no rice and bean gruel was cooked, and, as it was an unlucky day, they crawled slowly along, much to his regret. Today the voyage had already lasted more than twenty days, and they were but as so many days wasted. While all were gazing out to sea, a little girl recited this:

When the breezes drop
Quickly do the waves subside,
When the wind gets up
Then the waves again arise;
Comrade-like they sympathize.

This is, no doubt, hardly worth giving, but it is very appropriate. (p. 49)

As of the five-line tanka poem above, the translator has elegantly rendered into English; the classical tanka meter being limited to 5 lines and 31 syllables (5-7-5-7-7) Moreover, this sentence from him would help the readers read the poems with better understanding and more appreciation, "In the translation I have retained the original meter, and introduced a rhyme in the last couplet to emphasize the caesura between the third and fourth lines of the Japanese." (p. 8)

However, there is still something lingering on my mind in that more than once I came across a book similar to this one on display in a branch of Books Kinokuniya in Bangkok; therefore, I would find time to hunt it down to read and compare to see if it is the same title.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woop! Boat trip from Kochi City to Kyoto! Stopping off at Nahari (奈半利) (Nawa here – 奈半), Hane Cape and Muroto! Lots of waka, lots of being sad about a dead daughter they've left behind, lots of "it's a bit windy so we're going to stay in port for another week". You can totally see how Japan didn't make it to Australia.

Annoyingly, "it has proven impossible for technical reasons to reproduce the sketch of Ki no Tsurayuki's route that appeared in the original edition".

This translation is from 1912, but they have included the Japanese text and we can see the bits they left out! "海の神に怖ぢて" was considered "unsuited for translation". But doesn't it just mean "Scared of the gods of the sea"? Or is it something very raunchy?

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is about the return journey of a former Japanese Governor in the year 935 A.D. from Tosa to Kyōto, which was the capital of Japan at that time. Due to weather difficulties the journey takes longer than scheduled and the travellers are trying to shorten the time for example with writing poems. Who expects a great plot, will probably be disappointed. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this book. I mainly bought it because I liked the concept of ​​a bilingual book. Unfortunately, my Japanese is way too bad to read the original, but just the thought of having the Japanese original in my bookshelf makes me happy. Since even the translation is now more than 100 years old, I had to look up a few words because I didn't know them in English (not my mother tongue). It would certainly also be very interesting to read a more current translation to see whether and how the style would change. The author's explanations at the end of the book were very helpful, especially when it came to the poems, as it allowed puns from the original to be identified in the first place. In general, I thought it was really nice to get an insight into the Heian period of Japan and I was able to learn some things I didn't know about before.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un journal ancien qui nous fait parcourir le Japon en nous dévoilant toute la poésie que peuvent créer des personnes d’horizons différents qui prennent le temps d’observer ce qui les entoure.
Article : https://comaujapon.wordpress.com/2018...

[Kendra Strand · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 1912 translation is well worth a read, especially if you are already familiar with the more recent translations by Earl Miner, Helen McCullough and others. Porter's use of rhyme and structure in his renderings of the poetry strays too far into the realm of cultural translation by current standards of translation, but he retains the humor and beauty of each poem, and they are gems in their own right.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Binge reviewing my best-read specimens of Japanese literature of all time.

To open The Tosa Diary is to embark on a sea voyage that drifts between grief and creation, between the literal journey home and the metaphorical journey inward. Written in 935 CE, this slender masterpiece chronicles Ki no Tsurayuki’s return from the province of Tosa to the capital after serving as governor — a journey of some fifty-five days rendered in the form of a woman’s diary. In that simple conceit lies the entire brilliance of the work: a male poet writing in the kana script of women, adopting their social voice, and in doing so discovering a new mode of intimacy.

The narrative unfolds through alternating passages of prose and waka poetry, capturing both the external voyage and the internal weather of the traveller’s heart. The diarist records storms, shorelines, farewells, fleeting meetings with strangers — and, beneath all that, the ache of loss for a dead child. This undercurrent of mourning gives the diary its quiet gravity. The sea, at once vast and indifferent, becomes a mirror for the writer’s sorrow and resilience.

What makes The Tosa Diary timeless is its restraint. Tsurayuki never indulges in confession; he suggests rather than declares, letting emotion rise through imagery — the colour of the waves, the call of a crane, and the hesitation before a poem is offered. In an age where male writers used Chinese characters for formal prose, Tsurayuki’s choice to write in kana, the “women’s script,” was revolutionary. It democratized literary emotion, carving space for the private and the personal in a world of rigid decorum.

William N. Porter’s translation retains that delicate poise. His English flows with a quiet, rhythmic simplicity — a tone that mirrors the soft cadence of the original Japanese. The poetry sections, in particular, shimmer with that layered Heian beauty: the coexistence of elegance and sorrow, of artifice and sincerity. Reading it feels like overhearing someone murmuring to themselves while watching waves disappear into dusk.

The diary is small in scope — barely a novella by modern standards — but its emotional resonance is oceanic. It stands at the origin of Japanese diary literature, paving the way for later masterpieces like The Sarashina Diary and The Pillow Book. Yet it is more introspective, more subdued. It’s about the act of writing itself — the transformation of lived pain into poetic distance. The “woman” narrator becomes both mask and muse, a voice through which the male poet can express vulnerability otherwise forbidden.

In the end, The Tosa Diary is less a travelogue and more a meditation on the impermanence of experience. The waves that carry the narrator home also erase her footprints. However, perhaps that’s the point: memory itself is a tide — it recedes, but never fully disappears.

Why should you read this book today?

Because it is one of the earliest and most profound explorations of voice — how identity can be both performed and revealed through writing. In an era obsessed with authenticity, The Tosa Diary reminds us that truth often hides behind masks. It’s also a lesson in emotional precision: how to express vast sorrow in the gentlest words. You’ll come away realizing that the smallest details — a child’s poem, a reflection in water — can contain entire worlds.

What impact did the book have on me?

It made me rethink what it means to write. Tsurayuki’s quiet courage — his choice to inhabit another voice to express his own grief — struck me deeply. It reminded me that writing is not about self-display but self-translation, about finding the right voice for the soul’s weather. After reading The Tosa Diary, I felt as though I had watched someone mourn and heal at the same time — not through tears, but through the discipline of beauty.

Classic. Try it by all means.

[Sotiris Makrygiannis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Tosa Nikki (Tosa Diary 土佐日記) , is a poetic diary with the significant literature value. Why?
It is written by a man in a woman's language. I was surprised to learn that Japan "discriminated" language against women and men, but they did. Woman's language means that he used kana 仮名 and not Kanji 漢字, the one corresponds to one sound or whole syllable, and the latter corresponds to a meaning (logogram). Kana is easier to learn, while Kanji is more sophisticated, and you need to know old Chinese.

This short poem, written by a man in a woman's language, uses layers of information within the words used. In essence, he plays with the words; therefore, the poem can be read in multiple ways. Of course, that is not my knowledge, but the book contains many footnotes explaining the author's clever wordings.

It is about a 55 days journey by the sea by boat returning home. They make a lot of stops and are full of old traditional Japanese superstitions and religious practices. The "woman" that supposedly wrote the poem lost a child, so it reminded me of our practice in my country, 40 days of sorrow for the soul of the dead. So perhaps the 55 days journey, the poem has another layer beyond the technical grammatical and wording issues, a more symbolic one on how hard the trip is to forget someone you love. In this case, it is done not with words full of sorrow but proudly as a Japanese will do and purely metaphorically.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn Japanese; the footnotes are a bit treasure and give an excellent insight into the richness of their language.

[Lulu]

935

Trans in Anthology of Japanese Literature : From the Earliest Era to the Mid-Nineteenth Century.



There is one more genre that blossomed during the cultural flowering of the 10th century_worth mentioning before moving_on: the diary_(nikki), or journal. Diaries had been kept in the_past - factual accounts written mostly by men and in Chinese - but after the appearance of The Tosa Diary around 935, women took over the_genre,_ writing_in Japanese instead of Chinese and borrowing elements from current monogatari to create books that read more like first-person novels than diaries. Although narrated by_a woman, _The Tosa Diary was actually_written by_a man named Ki no Tsurayuki_(872? -945); grieving over the death of his daughter, he apparently_ felt a female persona would better allow him to express his "womanly"_grief, though he lets the mask slip so many_times nobody_was fooled.2" The Tosa Diary is only a 30page account of the narrator's trip from Tosa (on the island of Shikoku) to the capital in Kyoto, and is apparently historically accurate, but the female persona and the large number of poems inserted in the work blur its genre, resulting in a hybrid of travel journal, uta monogatari, and primer on Japanese verse. (During the trip, the narrator and her fellow passengers write poems, which are freely criticized by the narrator; Tsurayuki wrote the introduction to an important imperial anthology of poetry called the Kokinshu.) This typically_Japanese indifference to genre distinctions is even more apparent in the first major "art diary" written by a woman, The Gossamer Years (Kagero nikki, 974).2' The author's personal name is unknown, so she's called Michitsuna no Naha: Mother of Michitsuna (her most famous son). Beginning in the third person, she explains why she wrote her book: These times have passed, and there was one who drifted uncertainly through them, scarcely knowing where she was... Yet, as the days went by in monotonous succession, she had occasion to look at the old romances [rnonogatari], and found them masses of the rankest fabrication. Perhaps, she said to herself, even the story of her own dreary 1life, set down in a journal, might be of interest:22 The dreariness of her life stems from being only the second wife of a nobleman named Fujiwara Kaneie and being often neglected him not only in favor of his principal wife but a cornucopia of concubines and courtesans. This diary of a mad housewife is thus rooted in fact but reads like fiction, especially when one learns that Mrs. Michitsuna wildly overdramatized her situation, casting herself as the star of her own soap opera. (As the translator notes in his introduction, "For someone in her class to be taken as the second wife of such a well-placed young gentleman as Kaneie would have been considered a fine stroke of luck by most Heian ladies" [9].) Although the work has dates like a diary, it is made up of long dramatized narratives that are obviously fictionalized to some extent. But since the author deliberately distanced herself from "the old romances," perhaps we shouldn't try to turn her into novelist - she had enough grief in her life. But translator Edwin A. Cranston had no qualms about subtitling The Izumi Shikibu Diary "A Romance of the Heian Court," and contemporary critics agree it has more in common with a novel than a diary. The Anais Nin of Nippon, Izumi Shikibu (c. 975-after 1033)_was celebrated_poet with a reputation as a femme fatale. After an affair with one_prince of the realm ended in 1002 with his premature death - and which got Izumi divorced from her husband and disinherited from her father - she begaạn an affair with his half-brother Atsumichi in May_1003 that she dramatized a few years later in a 60-page work that has been called both a ikki and a monogatari. (Its title, like that of nearly every Japanese work I've discussed so far, is a descriptive term used by_later commentators, not the author's choice.)_As translator Cranston points out, its story_conforms to the known facts of this Heian hellion's scandalous life, but: "The narration is in the third person, and the point of view is not limited to that proper to a diarist. There are simultaneous or almost simultaneous scenes in different places, imagined conversations, and descriptions of the thoughts and feelings of different people. The work is at least partially one of imaginative fiction. "23 To a reader unacquainted with its history, it sounds like a work of imaginative fiction, beginning with its lyrical opening paragraph. it's obvious this melancholy_baby_is to be numbered with the old monogatari rather than with diary_literature,2s All it lacks is a novelistic title; just as The Sarashina Diary (which I'll discuss later) sounds mach more like a novel (which it is) under its current English title As Crossed a Bridge of Dreams, The Izumi Shikibu Diary should be replaced by something more evocative given the pervasive moon imagery and stylized melancholia, perhaps The Serious Moonlight (with apologies to David Bowie). It remains an open question whether this and the other nikki can be classified as novels, but there is no disputing their enormous influence on the developing Japanese novel. They legitimized introspection, shifted the focus from public events to private matters, and allowed women to join the ranks of authors, still a rarity at this point in history. The first-person psychological novel especially in later Japanese fiction is deeply indebted to the pioneering efforts of these Heian diarists. In the spring of 1009 Izumi Shikibu joined the brilliant court of Empress Shoshi (aka Akiko), which included another lady who wrote a nikki still read today. But she was also putting the finishing touches on a monumental monogatari longer and more ambitious than any previous one and destined to become the greatest novel in Japanese literature.
In her youth, works of romantic fiction had often been more important for Lady Sarashina tha[n] the "real" world about her; now in Sarashina Nikki she deliberately shaped the events of her actual life into sort of Tale. The modern Japanese genre it most resembles the ever-popular shi-shosetsu or "I-novel," in which the author uses the facts of his own life to create a work of quasi-fiction. (14)

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

The footnotes and introduction are quite good. Some are interesting in that they reveal the "proper" attitude of a translator at that time where some "juicy bits" are left out or translated not to offend.
His choice of how to manage poetry translation leaves the modern reader of this translation wanting more of the intent of the poem and not an English poetic rendering.
Note: Flora Best Harris translated The Tosa Nikki long before Porter.
See her translation in the 1910 reprint of her earlier translation: Log of a Japanese journey from the province of Tosa to the capital / by Tsurayuki ; with illustrations by Toshio Aoki ; translated by Flora Best Harris . 1910 Leather Bound .

Both of these translations are out of copywrite and both the translators still deserve our accolades for their work.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a thrilling account of exploration, of a journey through unknown lands fraught with peril and packed with revelations and discoveries. Very little happens: in fact, for a substantial portion of the voyage described, Ki no Tsuruyaki (or his semi-fictionalised narrator) and his party spend a lot of time not moving, receiving farewell gifts and greetings before getting underway, and finding themselves becalmed by weather or taboos once underway. Whether they move or not, they compose poems about what they see or experience, which the narrator comments on appreciatively but more often than not critically. It's thoroughly charming and, as many of the poems and observations touch on their unhealed grief at the death of a child, sometimes quietly moving. The poems are rather beautiful, and I enjoyed William M. Porter's now more than 100 year-old translation of them, and his occasionally idiosyncratic footnotes. No doubt a modern edition would include more scholarly apparatus - the lack of a map of the journey is understandable but lamentable - but the Japanese text is a bonus. I must confess that I only glanced at it occasionally, but I've forgiven myself for that already.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book used to belong to my grandfather and I was interested to read it, especially since I am interested in literature pre-16th century. This is a travel diary, focusing partly on how the journey goes and what actions are notable enough to write in this diary, but also on the author's return to the place he had called home and the fact that he is mourning his recently deceased daughter. There was a lot of verse in this diary, as it seems to be a passion of the author's but also a way to entertain the group of people as they travelled, especially when seasick.

I was very glad of the translator's notes, which helped to explain several idioms but also discussed why certain things were translated in the way they are (there was an introduction discussing why the diary used 'feminine' language despite the fact that it was written by a man, who writes about himself in 3rd person in the diary but also first person in the words of a woman. The translator also talked about the difficultly in translating verse and how much is lost when it is in English.

4 stars!

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this, the oldest extant diary in Japanese, but felt a terrible letdown. I'm sure I would have got a great deal more out of this book if I could read Japanese. If they hadn't included the original text and a whole boatload of notes, it would have been about 5 pages long. The translator kept apologizing for his work, and he felt the need (for some odd reason) to make the verse rhyme, which it does not in Japanese. I don't speak Japanese, but even I know that their poetry doesn't rhyme. This is an old translation; I wonder what Meredith McKinney would make of the original text? The non-poetry parts are repetitions of "the weather was too bad to travel today." Very little interaction with other passengers, it's mostly a collection of the author's poetry.
Trying to navigate back and forth to the notes in the ebook edition was a nightmare, particularly as there are so many of them. Half the time you discover they don't add much to the reading experience anyway.

[Ryan Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

It feels wrong to give two stars to something written in the 10th century, but realistically, reading this felt like a chore. Perhaps the simplicity of the prose was contributing to certain trends of the time, but I found it to be a rather boring diary without the kinds of reflections on the world of 10th century Japan that would have made it more interesting for me. That being said, the section in which the boat approached where I live now, as well as the (somewhat limited, despite it being a diary) glimpses into the author's inner world, were the highlights for me.

[Sjervey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 10th century diary of a 55 day journey in Japan. It is a brief but rich trove of insights into the difficulties and superstitions of the day. While there is a cultural uniqueness, there is also a universal dimension that makes this little book worthwhile for anyone interested in life at the time.

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed this book. I needed its simplicity and honesty, its subtle telling of the story of a pair of parents mourning their daughter, with the backdrop of the Japanese coast. I needed its little humors, its poetry about pine trees and goodbyes and the pain of grief and the coming of the new year and spring.
Beautiful and timeless.

[Brynne Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

The joy found in the Tosa Diary is inherent in being a writer. Every single character visited here has a different reason for writing or composing a poem. Spontaneous expression or planned, to impress someone or to release something. I found it so validating to be reminded that there is no one way to write, ever.

[Brynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The joy found in the Tosa Diary is inherent in being a writer. Every single character visited here has a different reason for writing or composing a poem. Spontaneous expression or planned, to impress someone or to release something. I found it so validating to be reminded that there is no one way to write, ever.

[Mikhail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno di quei libri che è necessario leggere in lingua originale per capirne a fondo l'importanza letteraria. Resta, anche in traduzione italiana, una lettura breve e piacevole, e l'aggiunta di alcune poesie del Kokinwakashū alla fine è un buon punto a favore.

[Angelo Montinovo · Rating 5 out of 5]

La versione italiana è magistrale , sia come introduzione all’epoca e all’opera che come traduzione.
Per chiunque fosse interessato alla letteratura giapponese questo è un must!

[Jullveig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho adorato l'introduzione sul mono no aware, è un aspetto della cultura giapponese classica che trovo molto interessante. Ho apprezzato anche le poesie, alcune sulla perdita della figlia che non nasconderò mi hanno un po' commosso.
Ciò che ho apprezzato di più è che pur essendo un diario, è un racconto corale. Ki no Tsurayuki parla, ma trascrive il pensiero di ogni passeggero della nave. Compongono poesie sia bambini che vecchi, che capitani e timonieri. E poi questo senso di meraviglia commisto a malinconia per la natura e la lenta rovina delle cose.

[alisson ramirez]

Versión en castellano: 5/5 :)))))

[pluto (elif) · Rating 3 out of 5]

no one:
heian nobility: *recites impromptu verses*

[Sahil · Rating 3 out of 5]

insightful

[Fira]

beautiful story, glass

[Calvin Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

ki no tsurayuki is a TRANSGENDER

[Simon J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A time capsule, I would say more interesting than enjoyable.

[Federico · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Tosa Nikki - Ki no Tsurayuki → ☆☆☆]

[Phillip Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE TOSA DIARY was written in 935 by a famous Japanese scholar, poet and government administrator named Ki no Tsurayuki who lived in the reign of the Emperor Sujaku. Tsurayuki had served a term as Governor of Tosa on the island of Shikoku and while returning to the capital Kyoto he kept a diary to mark the journey. It is the earliest surviving work of Japanese prose.

Other diaries of this period exist. The great novelist known as Murasaki Shikibu (the first name is a nickname taken from her book Genji Monogatori, the second is an honorary term her father was entitled to) kept a diary over the years 1008 – 1010. Sei Shonagon (again the names are ceremonial ones not personal) was a court attendant during the same period and kept a diary known as the Pillow Book. Although full of personal observations and details of court procedures unknown from any other sources, these diaries were widely circulated to show the refinement and culture of their writers.

The Tosa Diary is written in a style of sophisticated simplicity. Tsurayuki writes as a woman would, without using Chinese characters, in hiragana, and his language is thus simple, everyday style, not literary. His book is a short one, 60 pages in my edition. The journey took less than two months to cover the 200 miles distance, rowing most of the way and stopping frequently for hospitality and shelter from bad weather. To while away the time the passengers composed tankas, as they would have done at home or at court.

There are almost 60 tankas in the Tosa Diary, forming about half of its content and making the diary more like a poetry collection than we would expect. The tanka was a verse form of 5 lines and 31 syllables in the rhythm 5-7-5-7-7, and composing these extempore was a polite accomplishment of the culture (like doing YouTube videos today). There were many poor examples, which were mercilessly mocked and satirised. Good ones were very highly admired.

Among these tankas in the Diary there are a number which express personal emotions, perhaps the reason why the diary was written in hiragana. Tsurayuki was accompanied on his journey by his wife and small daughter. On one occasion he is delighted and proud when the child recites quite an accomplished tanka. But he and his wife are in mourning for another daughter, who died in Tosa at the age of nine. The grief he expresses seems very real.

These versions, made (with apologies) by the translator of my edition William Porter, give some idea of sense if not of poetry:

Though I now return
To my home the Capital
Sad it is to think
One for whom I mourn in vain
Never will return again

And again:

Could I e’er forget
What is past I still should grieve
If she were not here
Seeking for her I should say
‘Where’s my little girl today?’

And once more:

In the midst of life
Cares in plenty though there be
Yet the little child
Whom I loved beyond compare
Was by far my greatest care

There are many other examples, along with poems which express delight at the seasons and the blossoms and make comments on places passed during the journey. In the same way the prose portions of the Diary sometimes give amusing details of people afflicted with seasickness or make tart comments on the behaviour of the steersman, but also tell how Tsurayuki tries to cheer up his grieving wife. The diary ends with the comment (Tsurayuki writes of himself in the third person) “His sorrows, which he can never forget, are more than he can ever express”. Then the final words: “Well – this must be torn up at once”.

We must be thankful it wasn’t, and that this glimpse of an intelligent and sensitive man from a distant era can still make sense in our own.

[あしずり アート · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple travel diary. Insights on an era when time flowed at a different pace.
Less about Tosa and more about the return from Tosa to Kyoto and what was in the author's mind. This is a bilingual version and not merely bilingual, it has the original Japanese with plenty of useful footnotes. Lots of juicy phrases from the time（西暦935年)
On one level an historical document, on another a book reminding us how the tedium of travel allows observations and hence thoughtful meditaions on life.