Poetry was the most popular form of literature at the Kyoto court, though early poetry was written in Chinese. As Japanese wanted to use syllables instead of just pictures/ideas, they developed hiragana to write words with syllables. Diaries were also very popular at the Kyoto court, with the most famous being The Tale of Genji.

1. I. The Literature of the Court
A.Poetry- the most popular form of
literature
B.Early poetry was written in Chinese
C.Japanese wanted to use syllable
1.Kanji uses pictures/ ideas
2.Hiragana- uses syllables to make
words.
D.Diaries were very popular in the Kyoto
court.
1.The most famous diary was Tale of
Genji