is an archaic Japanese

syllabary In the linguistic study of written languages, a syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent the syllables or (more frequently) moras which make up words. A symbol in a syllabary, called a syllabogram, typically represents an (optiona ...

, now used for aesthetic purposes only. It represents an intermediate cursive form between historic man'yōgana script and modern hiragana. Sōgana appears primarily in Heian era texts, most notably the and . Originating from

cursive Cursive (also known as script, among other names) is any style of penmanship in which characters are written joined in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster, in contrast to block letters. It varies in functionalit ...

forms of the man'yōgana characters, commonly occurring sōgana were further adapted and by the early eleventh century had evolved into the forms of modern hiragana. The principal purpose of Sōgana—nowadays its only use—was for artistic effect. It was often used for the rendition of poetry, as in the work of

Fujiwara Kozei , also known as Fujiwara no Kōzei, was a Japanese calligrapher (''shodoka'') during the Heian period. He was memorialized for his prowess in his chosen art by being remembered as one of the outstanding Three Brush Traces (Sanseki 三跡), along ...

, whose style is often cited to exemplify the use of sōgana. However, attribution of the few surviving sōgana works is disputed.

References

{{list of writing systems Japanese writing system