The Heian period in Japan spans from 794 to 1185. During this period, the imperial court was believed to be at its peak, when literature and poetry flourished. China was thought to be an exemplary model of culture and civilization, while Japan wished to break away to become a powerful entity in its own right. Due to the steady decline of Chinese influence, Japan was able to establish its own native identity. Through literature, the Japanese raised their status to challenge China. The first imperial anthology was the Kokinshū which consisted of over 1000 poems, most of them in tanka form. This anthology showed waka as an acceptable and valuable art form. Therefore, it was through poetry that Japanese literature gained appreciation and respect. Throughout the Heian period, poetry maintained a central role in traditional Japanese literature, both in monogatari and nikki. The focus of this article will be the role of poetry in prose narrative in the Heian period as shown through Ise monogatari, Taketori monogatari, and Tosa nikki. These specific works were chosen because each represents a different style of traditional Japanese prose fiction, but they are all connected by the central thread of poetry. The explosion of literature was due to the development of kana symbols, which were easier to use than Chinese kanji. characters. Kana was used to compose Japanese poetry and was used among court ladies. Therefore, some of the best works of Heian literature are thought to have been produced by women. In the Heian period, there were two basic types of prose literature: monogatari and nikki. Monogatari are short stories of poems whose topics range from novels to historical articles to short anecdotes. They are stories written mainly in prose but... middle of paper... poetry was not reserved only for the higher social classes. All in all, in the Heian period, poetry formed the foundation of narrative literature, without which, I believe, Japan would not have been able to rival China. Works Cited1. Keene, Donald. Anthology of Japanese literature, from the early to the mid-19th century. New York: Grove, 1955.2. Ise Monogatari reads from class.3. Taketori Monogatari reading by class.4. Handout 5 of the lesson.5. Handout 6 of the lesson.6. Distribute 8 from the class.7. "Japanese History: Nara, Heian Periods". Japan-guide.com - Tourist and life guide in Japan. 9 June 2002. Web. 03 June 2011. .8. "Japan References - Culture - Japanese History: Heian Period 平安時代." Reference for Japan (JREF). Network. 03 June 2011. .