The word hiragana means cursivelrounded/easy to use and indicates both the shape and relative simplicity of the script. The hiragana symbols were developed by simplifying the man’yogana kanji which represented the sounds of the Japanese language. Hiragana was necessary in order to adapt the Chinese writing system to the Japanese language.

It was during the Heian period (794-1185) that hiragana developed to allow for a more pure expression of the Japanese language. Before this, written expression had been very limited in Japan, with the use of lots of Chinese words and phrases, and restricted mainly to official documents written by men. The Chinese system continued to be used for official matters but the kana system allowed for more creative writing and became essentially the writing system of the imperial court and, more importantly, of aristocratic court ladies and their female attendants. The Heian court women used the kana writing system to express themselves through poetry, prose and diaries and so it is that the heights of creativity in Heian literature were achieved mainly through women writers using hiragana which was given the name onnade meaning women’s hands.

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