Japan was the first country to keep a diary. From the beginning of the ninth century to the end of the twelfth century, Japan usually calls this period peacetime. During this period, many literary genres were created by aristocratic women, such as "essay literature" and "diary literature" based on personal life experiences. The latter's masterpiece, such as Diary of a Dragonfly written at the end of the tenth century, tells the author's half-life experience and truly records the sufferings of the aristocratic class under polygamy. This work undoubtedly influenced the earliest novel Tale of Genji in Japan and even in the world. There is also Murasaki shikibu's Diary of the Purple Department, which records the experiences and feelings in the palace. It can be inferred from the appearance of "diary literature" in heian period that Japanese diaries existed earlier. Since ancient times, the relationship has been enduring.

Diary, as a literary work, flourished in peacetime. The earliest is Ji Guanzhi (? ~ 945) Tosa's diary (935). The author is a famous singer in the Heian period and the editor of the Collection of Ancient and Modern Harmony Songs. The Diary of Tosa is the first work written in pure Japanese ("a pseudonym"), which describes the difficult sailing process of an old "National Guard" (local governor) who works in Tosa and his wife. The works concentrate on the feelings of the old couple for losing their daughter in the job, and also show all kinds of joys and sorrows in the long journey. Although the diary genre is adopted in the work, Lao Guoshou (the author himself) is described as an objective object in a woman's coat, which shows that the author consciously writes this diary as a literary work. This work expresses an old man's aloof attitude towards life. Its language is free and easy, with a sense of humor, which occupies an important position in the history of Japanese classical literature.