"Sarashina Diary"

      It is unknown whether the Daughter of Sugawara Takasue actually kept her diary or just had some notes and memos of her tanka poems.  Presumably, she was given over 200 sheets of paper, which was equivalent to the living expenses of an ordinary noble family.  With the paper, she was supposed to provide something interesting for high-ranking nobility.  She compiled her materials and memories into a diary-style story, with her self-deprecating humor, which was suitable for her or her family's position, the middle-ranking aristocrat.  Her story or product couldn't be too refined, elegant, or advanced for high-ranking nobility, but still it should have gained some likes from those who were conceited despite their low-ranking literacy compared with the Daughter of Sugawara Takasue.  She made it.  The story didn't sound high-handed or arrogant.  It didn't sound too servile or obsequious either.  Her mother and father could have been depicted too silly or ridiculous.  I’d rather not be a parent of a novelist.