The Japanization of culture that had gradually advanced from the Nara period produced a Japanese-style culture, using hiragana (Japanese syllabary characters) and katakana (another set of Japanese syllabary characters) started and narrative literature, typical examples being "The Tale of Genji" and "Makura no soshi" (the Pillow Book), flourished.
奈良時代から漸次的に進んでいた文化の日本化が国風文化として結実し、平仮名・片仮名の使用が開始し、『源氏物語』・『枕草子』に代表される物語文学などが花開いた。