The culture of the Heian period was extremely harsh in terms of social stigmas and the associated punishments that came with falling out of line with the expected behaviours of the culture.
At the time, it was seen as indecent for a woman to know how to write in Chinese. As a result, many of them learned Japanese. Kana in particular was a new form of script, adapted from Chinese and allowed for much more expression than older Japanese scripts did.
The rise in ability to write in Kana, led to a golden age of literature, mainly led by women. Not only does this represent one of the first times women were able to express their unique point of view in written word, but it also led to the first-ever novel “The Tale of Genji”, written by Lady Murasaki herself.
Connections
Lady Murasaki’s Melancholy Of The Intellectual
Reference
� The Diary of Lady Murasaki