Ki no Tusrayuki's Tosa Nikki and Matsuo Bashō's Oku no Hosomichi are both detailed travel diaries. Writers used a combination of poetry and prose to create their literary work and used their own experiences as the basis for their material. However, Oku no Hosomichi has different conventions that reflect current times and is more modernized than Tosa Nikki. Bashō appreciated the earlier works of famous poets, such as Saigyō, but some of the poems he composed would seem inelegant to Heian period readers. Bashō's negative accounts of his travels would not have been included in early Heian literature. Furthermore, the journey that Tsurayuki undertakes is different from that of Bashō. Bashō's own experiences and knowledge as a traveling monk give him a closer connection to commoners, while Tsurayuki's journal is aimed more at nobles and aristocrats. Oku no Hosomichi includes poetry that would not be considered a high literary art form in the Heian period. Most of the images he used are not commonly found in waka poetry. Bashō's poems included images that were unconventional in waka poetry, such as sleeping in an unpleasant house: Bitten by fleas and lice/I slept in a bed/A horse urinating all the time/Nearly my pillow (Bashō 120). This poem serves as an example of the brutality of some of Bashō's poems. There is no hint of the horror of the image: he had literally described an unpleasant experience. Heian writers probably did not encounter such difficulties because they were members of the court. As aristocrats, they were not subject to the kind of tribulations that ordinary travelers faced. He also created a poem about the sandals he received from a painter: "It looks like iris flowers have bloomed... middle of a paper..." various contributors. However, Bashō had a different approach: he used haiku to restate in prose what he had previously said while providing a clearer description of the scene. He had a wanderlust and decided to venture north. His journey seemed much more difficult than Tsurayuki's, and his journey took him to many famous places described in earlier Japanese literature. Bashō did not fail to include both the joys and difficulties of his journey. Oku no Hosomichi may have had a stronger connection to ordinary Japanese people in the Edo period, but Tosa Nikki was a major contribution to literature before the medieval era. Works Cited Bashō, Matsuo. “Oku no Hosomichi. » Internet. April 17, 2011 Keene, Donald. “Anthology of Japanese literature”. New York: Grove Press, 1955. Watson, Burton. “Heike’s Tales”. New York: Columbia University Press. 2006.