Since it is one of the earliest forms of nikki, most of the other nikki that follow do not have the same layout. The Tosa Nikki looks a lot like a real diary in which there are dates separating it, giving it a more defined time frame. Within these separate journal entries, Ki no Tsurayuki chronicles a woman's experiences on the boat while scattering poems written by the other male sailors alongside her. These poems are not the tanka, 5-7-5-7-7 that is normally used in prose, but longer poems that tell a story rather than paint a picture with its eloquence.