Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部 c. 973–c. 1014 or 1025), or Lady Murasaki as she is sometimes known in English, was a Japanese novelist, poet, and a maid of honor of the imperial court during the Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1008, one of the earliest and most famous novels in human history. "Murasaki Shikibu" was not her real name; her actual name is unknown, though some scholars have postulated that her given name might have been Takako (for Fujiwara Takako). Her diary states that she was nicknamed "Murasaki" ("purple wisteria blossom") at court, after a character in The Tale of Genji. "Shikibu" refers to her father's position in the Bureau of Ceremony (shikibu-shō).

Biography

Murasaki was born about 973 in Kyoto, Japan. She was born in a family of minor nobility and a member of the northern branch of the Fujiwara clan.

Murasaki's mother died while she was a child, so Murasaki was raised, contrary to customs of the time, by her father Fujiwara no Tametoki, a scholar and officer of the imperial court. During Heian-era Japan, couples lived separately and children were raised by the mother and her family. Also contrary to customs of the time, her father gave her a male education. Men were educated in and taught Chinese, the official language of the court, while women were taught kana and poetry. Her father praised her intelligence and ability but lamented that she was "born a woman." She was married in her early 20s and had one child, Daini no Sanmi, who was a poet in her own right.^[1]

At the royal court, she was the lady in waiting for Empress Shoshi/Akiko and may have been hired by Fujiwara Michinaga to serve the Empress.

Murasaki died either in 1014, when records show that her father suddenly returned to Kyoto from his governor's mansion, or between 1025 and 1031, when she would have been in her mid-50s, fairly old by Heian standards.

Three works are attributed to Murasaki, the most important being The Tale of Genji. The Murasaki Shikibu Diary and The Murasaki Shikibu Collection were arranged and published posthumously. The Murasaki Shikibu Collection is a compilation of 128 poems written by Murasaki.

Trivia

A fictionalized biography of Murasaki called The Tale of Murasaki: A Novel was written by Liza Dalby. A fictitious descendant of Lady Murasaki is a major character in the Thomas Harris novel and subsequent horror film Hannibal Rising.

Another fictionalized biography of Murasaki Shikibu is an Italian novel by Gabriella Magrini: Mille Autunni, vita di Murasaki Dama di Corte, Edizione Frassinelli 1985; translated into French under the titel: La Dame de Kyoto, Editions Belfond,1987, ISBN 2 7144 1973 9

The Sims 2: Seasons there is a packaged Sim with the name Cleo Shikubu, she is of Asian appearance.

See also

• Sei Shōnagon - court rival and fellow contemporary diarist
• Ono no Takamura - an earlier Japanese poet whose grave is situated across from Lady Murasaki's

References

• Dalby, Liza. The Tale of Murasaki: A Novel (Anchor, 2001). ISBN 0-385-49795-4.
• Lady Murasaki, Arthur Waley (trans.). The Tale of Genji, published in 6 volumes from 1921-33.
• Shikibu, Murasaki; Tyler, Royall (trans.). The Tale of Genji (Viking, 2001.) ISBN 0-670-03020-1.

External links

• Murasaki's Grave
• Murasaki Shikibu (Spanish)
• The Diary of Murasaki Shikibu