Murasaki Shikibu's The Diary of Lady Murasaki, translated by Richard Bowring in 1996, focuses on the birth of two sons to the empress between late 1008 and early 1010.

Sei Shonagon's The Pillow Book, composed around 1000 A.D., is a compilation of notes and essays depicting life at the Heian court. Renowned for the author's sharp wit, this work was translated into English by Ivan Morris in 1971.

The Ten Thousand Leaves, the earliest significant anthology of Japanese poetry, was created in the first half of the eighth century and translated into English by Ian Hideo Levy in 1981. This anthology is the finest surviving example of traditional Japanese literary culture.

Tales of a Time That is Now, a collection of over 1,000 Buddhist and secular stories from India, China, and Japan, emerged around 1120. It is especially notable for its vivid depictions of the lives of both nobility and commoners in Japanese society at the time.

Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, written by an unknown author in the early 10th century, is regarded as the precursor to all romance literature. It narrates the story of the stunningly beautiful Kaguya-hime, who was discovered inside a bamboo stalk.

Chinese poet Po-Chu-I's renowned poem The Song of Unending Sorrow was highly esteemed in Heian Japan. It recounts Emperor Hsuan Tsung's profound love for the beautiful Yang Kuei-fei.