Key Differences in Tosa Nikki and Oku no Hosomichi

These two journals or kiko have basically the same ideology of telling the readers of their journey from one place to the other. The details within every stop they made, every scenery that they come across and the literature that were involved through their experiences. Both encountered ups and downs during their journey and saw much beautiful scenery as well. However, the key difference in the two journeys is that, in Oku no Hosomichi, seemed to have no particular destination of where to go, where as Tosa Nikki, and had a set destination for their journey to Kyoto. They both had religious components that reflected upon their journey. On Tosa Nikki, the religious aspects are focused very much on the worship side, while the Oku no Hosomichi showed self focused matters. Though there are many obvious differences such as the method of travel, but that is not what we are looking for. So how are these two literatures alike and how are they different? I believe that the main difference lies within the view of the writer and the way the journey is told.

Tosa Nikki, as a literature has very interesting and has focus on religious matters throughout the story. However, what makes this more interesting is that it is a journey written by man who pretends to be a woman. This I believe is one of the biggest differences between these two journals. The author, Ki no Tsurayuki, being a government official during his time meant manly hood was a key factor. Writing a journey from a women’s perspective is a very creative approach as a literal work. Throughout the reading, we can see that the author had a very emotional or a feminine side to him by including texts such as, missing their children etc. As you mentioned in class while back, that many...

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...journey which was enlightenment. Because of this analysis, I believe that Oku no Hosomichi includes both the Chinese and Japanese understanding of the Dao ideology. His own path to accomplish his desire to see the places which were only heard of, and to show honor or his path to enlightenment through integrity.

These two stories, although they seem like just an ordinary diary of their experience, one can have more meaningful story behind than the other story. By not only paying attention to the small details and the information, but by looking at the bigger picture as one. The most important theme in both diary was honoring the gods and appreciating them for their doings. Though Oku no Hosomichi seems less religious compare to the Tosa Nikki, the story behind the normal understanding of Oku no Hosomichi shows us a deeper involvement of religion for Matsuo Bashō.