Research Paper on:
Literature from the Heian Period

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
century Russian literature, is considered the period when Japanese literature came into its own. The period included a break from with Chinese culture and the creation of a uniquely Japanese  culture" (Miyake, 2002). With only that in mind we can generally assume that the Heian period was a period where artists of literature truly expressed themselves in new ways that  indicated a sense of freedom and creativity. As is the case with "golden" ages there is a feeling of breaking free and experimentation and Japan was surely no exception. Bearing  that in mind the following paper examines what can be learned from the Heian period literature. Heian Period Literature Many scholars argue that the Japanese sought to find  their own sense of culture and identity that was separate and unique from China, Korea, and the region of Asia. "As part of this campaign Japanese selected the Heian period  as the pivotal moment when Japan became Japanese" (Miyake, 2002). Not surprisingly, therefore, "it is clear that this period profoundly influenced the rest of the next six centuries of Japanese  literature" for it was the Heian period which "set the standards for poetic diction, form, and subject matter, ways in which poetry was to be produced and catalogued in imperial  anthologies until the appearance of renga" (Miyake, 2002). In addition, though looking at Heian literature we find that "Although there were very special circumstances that fostered writing by women,  the Heian women writers were among the earliest practitioners. They constitute a rare commodity in world history" (Miyake, 2002). It is through their eyes that we learn of gender conditions  in the time. We note that, for example, "Loneliness, jealousy, and insecurity were all part of the world of Heian-period romance sex, and women suffered more from these emotions than