Murasaki Shikibu

In this Japanese name, the family name is Murasaki.

Murasaki Shikibu with male court poets

was a novelist, poet, and servant of the Imperial Court during the Heian period of Japan. She is well known as the author of The Tale of Genji, written around year 1003.

Murasaki Shikibu is a nickname; her real name is unknown.

Life

Murasaki was born in Kyoto. She was born into the Fujiwara family. Her father, Fujiwara Tametoki, was not a very nice father and when Murasaki got older he confessed that he regretted she was not a boy.

In the year 997, Murasaki married her second cousin, Fujiwara Nobutake, at age 20. In 999, they had a daughter, Kenshi, who also became a poet. Fujiwara Nobutake died about 1001.

Murasaki started as a writer soon after her husband's unexpected death. She was recognized immediately, and she was asked to the imperial court as a tutor to Empress Shoshi ( Joto Mon'in, 988–1074), daughter of the statesman Fujiwara Michinaga (966–1027). Murasaki joined the court of Empress Shōshi in 1006, probably for her skills as an author.

Murasaki started writing her diary in 1008, and finished in 1010. Her diary describes her Chinese lessons with her brother Nobunori (980?–1011), daily life and how much she missed her husband after his death.

She died in Kyoto, around the year 1020.

The Tale of Genji

The Tale of Genji is split into 54 different books, and is made up of 795 different poems. It is one of the earliest novels in Japanese, and is often thought of as the first novel in the world. It is a classic of Japanese literature. The masterpiece was about the court life of Prince Genji, and his wife, Aoi in 10th-century Japan. Prince Genji was the illegitimate son of an emperor, and the text is about his relationships in court. The Tale of Genji included many beautiful scroll paintings.

Murasaki Shikibu Media

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  Late 16th-century (Azuchi–Momoyama period) depiction of Murasaki Shikibu, by Kanō Takanobu

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  A Tosa-school mid- to late 17th century <span title=" transliteration" class="Unicode" style="white-space:normal; text-decoration: none">yamato-e of Heian courtiers by Tosa Mitsuoki, shows women dressed in <span title=" transliteration" class="Unicode" style="white-space:normal; text-decoration: none">jūnihitoe and with floor-length hair.

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  Murasaki Shikibu in monochrome, by Kikuchi Yōsai c. early 19th century

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  The Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emaki (紙本著色紫式部日記絵巻, shihonchoshoku Murasaki Shikibu nikki emaki). This is part of the handscroll located at the Gotoh Museum in Tokyo which consists of three illustrations and three pages of text. Color on paper. The scroll has been designated as

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  Genji-Garden at Rozan-ji, a temple in Kyoto associated with her former mansion

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  Murasaki is depicted writing at Ishiyama-dera in this late 17th century silk painting on the Harvard Genji Album frontispiece by Tosa Mitsuoki, housed at the Sackler Museum.

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  13th century illustration (<span title=" transliteration" class="Unicode" style="white-space:normal; text-decoration: none">emakimono) of The Diary of Lady Murasaki showing Empress Shōshi with the infant Emperor Go-Ichijō and ladies-in-waiting secluded behind a <span title=" transliteration" class="Unicode" style="white-space:normal; text-decoration: none">kichō.

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  Late 17th century or early 18th century silk scroll painting of a scene from chapter 34 of The Tale of Genji showing men playing in the garden watched by a woman sitting behind a screen.

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  17th century ink and gold paper fan showing Murasaki's writing

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  The design of the 2000-yen note was created in Murasaki's honour.