Why did literature and art from the Heian (Kyoto) court flourish around the year 1000 CE?

A) Aristocratic women were taught to read and write Japanese.

B) The presence of highly cultured courtesans increased.

C) Men concentrated on art rather than military pursuits.

D) Upper-class women had greater political influence.

Answer: B. The presence of highly cultured courtesans increased.

During this time, aristocrats who lived in Kyoto placed high regards to poetry, music, and other art forms. Poetry, for example, became a staple of everyday life for the nobles. They were expected to become well-versed with the art of writing poetry as a mark of their status. Any occasion could call for a poem to be written, from the birth of a child to a royal coronation or even a pretty view of nature. Relationships succeed or fail according to the sense of a poem, for lovers court through poetry. Even the beauty of the writer"s handwriting (calligraphy) has a say on the outcome of a courtship. Men often gained more approval at court for their skill with the arts than for their bureaucratic skills. Women's tales, romances, and diaries became the classics of the literature.