Sounds like classic meritocracy for me: the awards go to those classes who can afford the merits.
I'm also interested in knowing more about Heian era Japan -- my knowledge is limited to reading about the Heian Self Defense Force in Urusei Yatsura and that's probably dodgy.
For what is is worth, women played an early role in Japanese literature, probably because men thought there wasn't any status to be had writing fiction. Funny enough, many Japanese comic creators such as Rumiko Takahashi and Naoko Takeuchi are women too, but nobody in the U.S. compares to male creators such as Wolfman, Lee, Kirby, etc.
I'm also interested in knowing more about Heian era Japan -- my knowledge is limited to reading about the Heian Self Defense Force in Urusei Yatsura and that's probably dodgy.