Diary Writing in Japan

Diary writing has a long history in the wider Japanese literary tradition, beginning at least as early as the literary and travel diaries of the Heian era (794-1185). While many diaries of the Heian period are the product of onnade [the woman's hand], there was also a strong tradition of male diary writing as exemplified by the tekibae or notebooks of the warrior class and the nisshi or diaries of bureaucrats. Diary writing in the modern period was enhanced in the Meiji education system, which instituted the keeping of student diaries which were reviewed by both teachers and parents through the nikki kensa, or diary inspection process. By the end of the nineteenth century, diary writing was a cemented and quotidian activity that required ‘no special explanation’. Diaries have also been particularly evident in the modern military, with the war diaries [jinchū nikki/nisshi] kept during the Meiji era campaigns setting a precedent for military diaries of the modern era. The idea of field diaries [gunjin nikki] was suggested to the Japanese military by their Prussian advisers, and these were kept by regimental officers. Their strategic contents covered troop movements, topography, weather, supplies, and logistics. This system persisted throughout the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War.

By the 1930s, texts such as the record of self-reflection [hanseiroku], the record of self-cultivation [shūyōroku], and the training diary [kunren nikki] flourished in the military, reflecting how important diary keeping was as a tool to support the personal and professional development of the soldier. In fact, the importance with which the writing of a diary was viewed was expressed when the sergeant of the corps wrote in a new recruit's diary in 1936 ‘No matter how difficult it may seem, you must take your diary [hanseiroku] seriously! It is your “mirror of truth” [makoto no kagami]. It will be your last will and testament [igonsho]’. The Second World War saw a continuation of what had by now become a fixed practice of logistical and strategic diary writing within the Japanese military. The notebooks in which these diaries were kept were commonly distributed within the packs supplied to soldiers on their departure for the front. These packs were issued by the Army Relief Department from monies raised by the patriotic women's associations.