Kagero Nikki or 'The Mayfly Diary' is a work of classical Japanese literature; written around 974 CE; that falls under the genre of nikki bungaku; or diary literature. The author of Kagero Nikki was a woman known only as the Mother of Michitsuna. Using a combination of waka poems and prose; she conveys the life of a noblewoman during the Heian period.

Kagero Nikki is often called 'The Gossamer Years' in English; which is the title given to the first English translation by Edward Seidensticker. The term kagero has three possible meanings: it may mean a mayfly; a heat wave; or a thin film of cobweb; which is the meaning proposed by English Orientalist Arthur Waley. Pictures From History