Japanese (Heian period)

Heian Japanese (平安時代日本語, 794–1185) was the language of classical Japan during the Heian period, when the imperial capital was at Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). The age of the Tale of Genji (源氏物語, c. 1010, by Murasaki Shikibu — often called the world's first novel), the Pillow Book (枕草子, by Sei Shōnagon), and the development of waka poetry. Characterized by the /p/ > /ɸ/ shift, eight-vowel system reduction, and the flourishing of kana writing — particularly hiragana, developed by court women — alongside continued use of manʼyōgana (kanji used phonetically). Foundation of Classical Japanese (bungo) literary tradition.