Why did Japanese literature develop dramatically in the Heian period?

Link to this answer

CloseClose

Link to this answer

Share this credible answer with others. Simply paste this code into your blog or Web page:

<a href="http://qanda.encyclopedia.com/question/why-did-japanese-literature-develop-dramatically-heian-period-91033.html" >Why did Japanese literature develop dramatically in the Heian period?</a>
E-mail this answer Link to this answer

The addition of two phonetic syllabaries ( katakana and hiragana ) during the Heian era (794-1185) opened the classic age, in which Japanese literature reached its first peak of development. Classical Chinese still predominated in intellectual literary circles and official court communications, yet literature in the native language, the only written medium permitted to educated women, gained increasing prestige. In his travel journal Tosa Nikki [Tosa diary] (936), the poet Ki no Tsurayuki assumed a female persona in order to write in Japanese.

Answer verified with
Get more facts and information about Japanese literature . Or, view the full encyclopedia entry from The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.

Similar questions: What was Tosa Nikki? Why was Tosa Nikki important? When were katakana and hiragana first used for writing Japanese? When did Japanese-language literature develop? Who was Ki no Tsurayuki? [ Hide these questions ]

Related research articles

See all results at HighBeam

HighBeam gives you access to newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles plus press releases, facts, information, and biographies from thousands of sources.