The origins of kiko, or travel literature, in Japan date back more than 1000 years. One of the earliest examples of kiko is the Tosa nikki of Ki no Tsurayuki, a diary that Tsurayuki probably wrote in 935 during Japan's Heian period. Another important example of kiko, which is similar in many ways but also very different from Ki no Tsurayuki's Tosa nikki, partly because of the many years separating the two in terms of date of composition, is Matsuo's Oku no hosomichi Basho, or Narrow Road to the Interior/Narrow Road to the Deep North, which was written in the late 17th century during the Edo period in Japan. Tosa nikki from Ki no Tsurayuki describes Tsurayuki's return home to the capital after finishing his post as governor of Tosa Province, located on the island of Shikoku, just south of Kyoto. The Tosa nikki marked the beginning of what would become a great tradition of diary literature in Japan's later periods. In the play, Tsurayuki narrates his journey through the presumed point of view of a companion in his company. In doing so, as well as writing in vernacular Japanese characters (kana) and interspersing poetry (waka), he was able to convey many emotional aspects of his journey from Tosa. Matsuo Basho's Oku no hosomichi details Basho's journey from Edo, far to the north, to territories in Japan considered rather dangerous in his day, but Basho had always dreamed of seeing, perhaps largely because of desire of Basho to imitate Saigyo, whom he considered the greatest waka. poet. Basho visited many places mentioned by Saigyo in his verses during his long journey north, as well as places that were in the middle of a paper, as well as written journals. in Japan later, notably Oku no hosomichi. And with Basho, the beginning of a different approach to a style of writing mixing both the classic culture of Japanese poetry, as in Tosa nikki, and the new popular cultures, haikai in particular, at his time. Works Cited Clark, Steven H., and Paul Smethurst. Asian crossings. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2008. McCullough, Helen Craig, and Tsurayuki Ki. Kokin Wakahu: the first imperial anthology of Japanese poetry: with Tosa Nikki and Shinsen Waka. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1985. Shirane, Haruo. Traces of dreams: landscape, cultural memory and poetry of Basho. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1998. “TOSA NIKKI (TOSA’S DIARY).” » Internet. April 20. 2011.