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How did women in the Heian court help establish hiragana as a literary script?

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Japanese calligraphy — Japanese language Record of a haiku exchange on *kaishi* writing paper by Japanese poet Bashō and one of his pupils in the teacher's own handwriting, 17th century, from a hanging scroll (ink on paper).

During the Heian period (794–1185), women in the imperial court played a pivotal role in establishing hiragana as a primary literary script. While the study of kanji—the complex Chinese characters used for official and scholarly documents—was largely considered a male domain, women were encouraged to adopt the more accessible, cursive syllabary for personal communication and creative expression.12

Because hiragana was derived from the simplified, flowing grass-style script of Chinese characters, it was ideally suited for the nuances of the Japanese language, allowing for the phonetic transcription of poetry and prose. This script became so closely associated with the women of the court that it was famously referred to as onna-de, or "woman’s hand".132

The literary potential of this script was solidified by court ladies who used it to produce masterpieces of Japanese literature. Most notably, Murasaki Shikibu wrote her 11th-century classic, Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji), almost entirely in hiragana, demonstrating the script's capacity to capture complex narratives and deep emotional expression.2