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{{Redirect|Lady Murasaki|the character|Murasaki no Ue}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
[[File:Murasaki-Shikibu-composing-Genji-Monogatari.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Depiction of Murasaki Shikibu by [[Tosa Mitsuoki]]|alt=Japanese woman in multi-layered clothing writing at a desk]]
{{Nihongo|'''Murasaki Shikibu'''|紫式部||extra={{gloss|Lady Murasaki}}; {{circa|973|1014 or 1025}}}} was a Japanese novelist, [[Japanese poetry#Age of Nyobo or court ladies|poet]] and [[lady-in-waiting]] at the [[Imperial Court in Kyoto|Imperial court]] in the [[Heian period]]. She is best known as the author of ''[[The Tale of Genji]]'', widely considered to be one of the world's first [[Novel|novels]], written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012. Murasaki Shikibu is a descriptive name; her personal name is unknown, but she may have been {{Nihongo|'''Fujiwara no Kaoriko'''|藤原香子}}, who was mentioned in a 1007 court diary as an imperial lady-in-waiting.
[[Heian period|Heian]] women were traditionally excluded from learning [[Classical Chinese|Chinese]], the written language of government, but Murasaki, raised in her erudite father's household, showed a precocious aptitude for the [[Chinese classics]] and managed to acquire fluency. She married in her mid-to-late twenties and gave birth to a daughter, [[Daini no Sanmi]]. Her husband died after two years of marriage. It is uncertain when she began to write ''The Tale of Genji'', but it was probably while she was married or shortly after she was widowed. In about 1005, she was invited to serve as a lady-in-waiting to [[Empress Shōshi]] at the Imperial court by [[Fujiwara no Michinaga]], probably because of her reputation as a writer. She continued to write during her service, adding scenes from court life to her work. After five or six years, she left court and retired with Shōshi to the [[Lake Biwa]] region. Scholars differ on the year of her death; although most agree on 1014, others have suggested she was alive in 1025.
Murasaki wrote ''[[The Diary of Lady Murasaki]]'', a volume of poetry, as well as ''The Tale of Genji''. Within a decade of its completion, ''Genji'' was distributed throughout the provinces; within a century it was recognized as a classic of [[Japanese literature]] and had become a subject of [[scholarly criticism]]. Between 1925 and 1933, ''The Tale of Genji'' was published in English. Scholars continue to recognize the importance of her work, which reflects Heian court society at its peak. Since the 13th century her works have been illustrated by Japanese artists and well-known [[ukiyo-e]] woodblock masters.
==Early life==
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| caption1 = Designated one of the [[Ogura Hyakunin Isshu|One Hundred Poets]], Murasaki is shown dressed in a violet [[kimono]], the color associated with her name, in this [[Edo period]] illustration.
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| caption2 = [[Fujiwara no Michinaga]] (19th century monochrome illustration by [[Kikuchi Yōsai]]) became extremely powerful during Murasaki's lifetime.
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Murasaki Shikibu was born {{circa|973}}<ref group="note" name="note1">Bowring believes her date of birth most likely to have been 973; Mulhern places it somewhere between 970 and 978, and Waley states it was 978. See Bowring (2004), 4; Mulhern (1994), 257; Waley (1960), vii.</ref> in [[Heian-kyō]], Japan, into the northern [[Fujiwara clan]] descending from [[Fujiwara no Yoshifusa]], the first 9th century [[Heian period#Fujiwara regency|Fujiwara regent]].<ref name="ShiraneB293">Shirane (2008b), 293</ref> The Fujiwara clan dominated court politics until the end of the 11th century through strategically marrying their daughters into the imperial family and the use of regencies. In the late 10th century and early 11th century, [[Fujiwara no Michinaga]], the so-called Mido Kampaku, arranged his four daughters into marriages with emperors, giving him unprecedented power.<ref name="Henshall24ff"/> Murasaki's great-grandfather, [[Fujiwara no Kanesuke]], had been in the top tier of the aristocracy, but her branch of the family gradually lost power and by the time of Murasaki's birth was at the middle to lower ranks of the Heian aristocracy—the level of [[provincial governor]]s.<ref name="Shirane215">Shirane (1987), 215</ref> The lower ranks of the nobility were typically posted away from court to undesirable positions in the provinces, exiled from the centralized power and court in [[Kyoto]].<ref name="Bowring, 2004, 4"/>
Despite the loss of status, the family had a reputation among the [[Scholar-official|literati]] through Murasaki's paternal great-grandfather and grandfather, both of whom were well-known poets. Her great-grandfather, Fujiwara no Kanesuke, had 56 poems included in 13 of the [[Nijūichidaishū|Twenty-one Imperial Anthologies]],<ref>Chokusen Sakusha Burui 勅撰作者部類</ref> the ''[[Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry|Collections of Thirty-six Poets]]'' and the {{transl|ja|[[Yamato Monogatari]]}} (''Tales of Yamato'').<ref name="M257ff">Mulhern (1994), 257–258</ref> Her great-grandfather and grandfather were both friendly with [[Ki no Tsurayuki]], who became notable for popularizing Japanese-language [[Verse (poetry)|verse]].<ref name="Bowring, 2004, 4">Bowring (2004), 4</ref> Her father, [[Fujiwara no Tametoki]], attended the State Academy ([[Daigaku-ryō]])<ref name="Inge9">Inge (1990), 9</ref> and became a well-respected scholar of [[Chinese classics]] and poetry; his own verse was anthologized.<ref name="Mulhern78ff">Mulhern (1991), 79</ref> He entered public service around 968 as a minor official and was given a governorship in 996, staying in service until about 1018.<ref name="Bowring, 2004, 4"/><ref>Adolphson (2007), 111</ref> Murasaki's mother was descended from the same branch of northern Fujiwara as Tametoki. The couple had three children, a son and two daughters.<ref name="Mulhern78ff"/>
In the [[Heian period|Heian era]] the use of names, insofar as they were recorded, did not follow a modern pattern. A court lady, as well as being known by the title of her own position, if any, took a name referring to the rank or title of a male relative. Thus "Shikibu" is not a modern surname, but refers to {{transl|ja|[[Shikibu-shō]]}}, the Ministry of Ceremonials where Murasaki's father was a functionary. "Murasaki", an additional name possibly derived from the color violet associated with [[wisteria]], the meaning of the word {{transl|ja|fuji}} (an element of her clan name), may have been bestowed on her at court in reference to the name she herself had given to the main female character in "Genji". Michinaga mentions the names of several ladies-in-waiting in a 1007 diary entry; one, Fujiwara no Takako (Kyōshi), may be Murasaki's personal name.<ref name="M257ff"/><ref group="note">Seven women were named in the entry, with the actual names of four women known. Of the remaining three women, one was not a Fujiwara, one held a high rank and therefore had to be older, leaving the possibility that the third, Fujiwara no Takako, was Murasaki. See Tsunoda (1963), 1–27.</ref>
In Heian-era Japan, husbands and wives kept separate households; children were raised with their mothers, although the [[patrilineal]] system was still followed.<ref>Ueno (2009), 254</ref> Murasaki was unconventional because she lived in her father's household, most likely on [[Teramachi Street]] in Kyoto, with her younger brother Nobunori. Their mother died, perhaps in childbirth, when they were quite young. Murasaki had at least three half-siblings raised with their mothers; she was very close to one sister who died in her twenties.<ref name="Shirane218">Shirane (1987), 218</ref><ref name="P50ff">Puette (1983), 50–51</ref><ref name ="NYT">Green, Michelle. [http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/travel/04footsteps.html?pagewanted=all "Kyoto Celebrates a 1000-Year Love Affair"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407121533/http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/travel/04footsteps.html?pagewanted=all |date=April 7, 2012 }}. (December 31, 2008). ''The New York Times''. Retrieved August 9, 2011</ref>
Murasaki was born at a period when Japan was becoming more isolated, after [[Japanese missions to Imperial China|missions to China]] had ended and a stronger national culture was emerging.<ref>Bowring (1996), xii</ref> In the 9th and 10th centuries, Japanese gradually became a written language through the development of {{transl|ja|[[kana]]}}, a [[syllabary]] based on abbreviations of Chinese characters. In Murasaki's lifetime, men continued to write formally in [[Chinese characters|Chinese]], but {{transl|ja|kana}} became the written language of intimacy and of noblewomen, setting the foundation for unique forms of [[Japanese literature]].<ref name= "Reischauer28ff">Reischauer (1999), 29–29</ref>
Chinese was taught to Murasaki's brother as preparation for a career in government, and during her childhood, living in her father's household, she learned and became proficient in [[classical Chinese]].<ref name="Inge9"/> In her diary she wrote, "When my brother ... was a young boy learning the Chinese classics, I was in the habit of listening to him and I became unusually proficient at understanding those passages that he found too difficult to understand and memorize. Father, a most learned man, was always regretting the fact: 'Just my luck,' he would say, 'What a pity she was not born a man!{{'"}}<ref>qtd in Bowring (2004), 11–12</ref> With her brother she studied [[Chinese literature]], and she probably also received instruction in more traditional subjects such as music, [[calligraphy]] and [[Waka (poetry)|Japanese poetry]].<ref name="Shirane218"/> Murasaki's education was unorthodox. Louis Perez explains in ''The History of Japan'' that "Women ... were thought to be incapable of real intelligence and therefore were not educated in Chinese."<ref name="Perez21ff">Perez (1998), 21</ref> Murasaki was aware that others saw her as "pretentious, awkward, difficult to approach, prickly, too fond of her tales, haughty, prone to versifying, disdainful, cantankerous and scornful".<ref>qtd in Inge (1990), 9</ref> Asian literature scholar Thomas Inge believes she had "a forceful personality that seldom won her friends."<ref name="Inge9"/>
==Marriage==
Aristocratic Heian women lived restricted and secluded lives, allowed to speak to men only when they were close relatives or household members. Murasaki's autobiographical poetry shows that she socialized with women but had limited contact with men other than her father and brother; she often exchanged poetry with women but never with men.<ref name="Shirane218"/> Unlike most noblewomen of her status, however, she did not marry on reaching puberty; instead she stayed in her father's household until her mid-twenties or perhaps even to her early thirties.<ref name="Shirane218"/><ref name ="Knapp">Knapp, Bettina. "Lady Murasaki's ''The Tale of the Genji''". ''Symposium''. (1992). (46).</ref><!-- html version w/out pg numbers -->
In 996 when her father was posted to a four-year governorship in [[Echizen Province]], Murasaki went with him, although it was uncommon for a noblewoman of the period to travel such a distance that could take as long as five days.<ref name= "Mulhern83ff">Mulhern (1991), 83–85</ref> She returned to Kyoto, probably in 998, to marry her father's friend {{Interlanguage link multi|Fujiwara no Nobutaka|ja|藤原宣孝}}, a much older second cousin.<ref name="Bowring, 2004, 4"/><ref name="Shirane218"/> Descended from the same branch of the Fujiwara clan, he was a court functionary and bureaucrat at the Ministry of Ceremonials, with a reputation for dressing extravagantly and as a talented dancer.<ref name= "Mulhern83ff"/> In his late forties at the time of their marriage, he had multiple households with an unknown number of wives and offspring.<ref name="M257ff"/> Gregarious and well-known at court, he was involved in numerous romantic relationships that may have continued after his marriage to Murasaki.<ref name="Shirane218"/> As was customary, she would have remained in her father's household where her husband would have visited her.<ref name="M257ff"/> Nobutaka had been granted more than one governorship, and by the time of his marriage to Murasaki he was probably quite wealthy. Interpretations of their marital relationship differ among scholars: [[Richard Bowring]] suggests a harmonious marriage, while Japanese literature scholar [[Haruo Shirane]] finds evidence of resentment towards her husband in Murasaki’s poems.<ref name="Bowring, 2004, 4"/><ref name="Shirane218"/>
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| image1 = Lady Murasaki writing.png|thumb
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| caption1 = Murasaki shown writing at her desk at [[Ishiyama-dera]] inspired by the Moon, [[ukiyo-e]] by [[Suzuki Harunobu]], c. 1767
| alt1 = Painting of a woman on a veranda looking to the left
| image2 = Ishiyama Moon Lady Murasaki.png
| width2 = 160
| caption2 = Murasaki depicted gazing at the Moon for inspiration at [[Ishiyama-dera]] by [[Yoshitoshi]] (1889)
| alt2 = Painting of a woman gazing at the full Moon
}}
The couple's daughter, Kenshi (Kataiko), was born in 999. Two years later Nobutaka died during a [[cholera]] epidemic.<ref name="Shirane218"/> As a married woman Murasaki would have had servants to run the household and care for her daughter, giving her ample leisure time. She enjoyed reading and had access to romances ({{transl|ja|[[monogatari]]}}) such as ''[[The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter]]'' and ''[[The Tales of Ise]].''<ref name= "Mulhern83ff"/> Scholars believe she may have started writing ''The Tale of Genji'' before her husband's death; it is known she was writing after she was widowed, perhaps in a state of grief.<ref name="ShiraneB293"/><ref name="Bowring, 2004, 4"/> In her diary she describes her feelings after her husband's death: "I felt depressed and confused. For some years I had existed from day to day in listless fashion ... doing little more than registering the passage of time ... The thought of my continuing loneliness was quite unbearable".<ref>qtd in Mulhern (1991), 84</ref>
According to legend, Murasaki retreated to [[Ishiyama-dera]] at [[Lake Biwa]], where she was inspired to write ''The Tale of Genji'' on an August night while looking at the Moon. Although scholars dismiss the factual basis of the story of her retreat, Japanese artists often depicted her at Ishiyama Temple staring at the Moon for inspiration.<ref name="P50ff"/> She may have been commissioned to write the story and may have known an exiled courtier in a similar position to her hero [[Hikaru Genji|Prince Genji]].<ref name="Royall"/> Murasaki would have distributed newly written chapters of ''Genji'' to friends who in turn would have re-copied them and passed them on. By this practice the story became known and she gained a reputation as an author.<ref name="M258ff">Mulhern (1994), 258–259</ref>
In her early to mid-thirties, she became a [[lady-in-waiting]] ({{transl|ja|nyōbō}}) at court, most likely because of her reputation as an author.<ref name="ShiraneB293"/><ref name="M258ff"/> Chieko Mulhern writes in ''Japanese Women Writers, a Biocritical Sourcebook'' that scholars have wondered why Murasaki made such a move at a comparatively late period in her life. Her diary evidences that she exchanged poetry with Michinaga after her husband's death, leading to speculation that the two may have been lovers. Bowring sees no evidence that she was brought to court as Michinaga's [[Concubinage|concubine]], although he did bring her to court without following official channels. Mulhern thinks Michinaga wanted to have Murasaki at court to educate his daughter Shōshi.<ref>Bowring (2004), 4; Mulhern (1994), 259</ref>
==Court life==
[[File:Ch5 wakamurasaki.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Tosa school|Tosa-school]] mid- to late 17th century {{transl|ja|[[yamato-e]]}} of Heian [[courtier]]s by [[Tosa Mitsuoki]], shows women dressed in {{transl|ja|[[jūnihitoe]]}} and with floor-length hair.|alt=Japanese courtiers in the gardens.]]
Heian culture and court life reached a peak early in the 11th century.<ref name="Henshall24ff"/> The population of Kyoto grew to around 100,000 as the nobility became increasingly isolated at the [[Heian Palace]] in government posts and court service.<ref name="Lockard292">Lockard (2008), 292</ref> Courtiers became overly refined with little to do, insulated from reality, preoccupied with the minutiae of court life, turning to artistic endeavors.<ref name= "Henshall24ff">Henshall (1999), 24–25</ref><ref name="Lockard292"/> Emotions were commonly expressed through the artistic use of textiles, fragrances, calligraphy, colored paper, poetry, and layering of clothing in pleasing color combinations—according to mood and season. Those who showed an inability to follow conventional aesthetics quickly lost popularity, particularly at court.<ref name="Perez21ff"/> Popular pastimes for Heian noblewomen—who adhered to rigid fashions of floor-length hair, whitened skin and blackened teeth—included having love affairs, writing poetry and keeping diaries. The literature that Heian court women wrote is recognized as some of the earliest and among the best literature written in Japanese [[Canon (fiction)|canon]].<ref name="Henshall24ff"/><ref name="Lockard292"/>
===Rival courts and women poets===
When in 995 Michinaga's two brothers [[Fujiwara no Michitaka]] and [[Fujiwara no Michikane]] died, leaving the regency vacant, Michinaga quickly won a power struggle against his nephew [[Fujiwara no Korechika]] (brother to [[Fujiwara no Teishi|Teishi]], [[Emperor Ichijō]]'s wife), and, aided by his sister Senshi, he assumed power. Teishi had supported her brother Korechika, who was discredited and banished from court in 996 following a scandal involving his shooting at the retired [[Emperor Kazan]], causing her to lose power.<ref name="Shively67ff">Shively and McCullough (1999), 67–69</ref> Four years later Michinaga sent Shōshi, his eldest daughter, to Emperor Ichijō's harem when she was about 12.<ref name="McCullough201ff">McCullough (1990), 201</ref> A year after placing Shōshi in the imperial harem, in an effort to undermine Teishi's influence and increase Shōshi's standing, Michinaga had her named Empress although Teishi already held the title. As historian [[Donald Shively]] explains, "Michinaga shocked even his admirers by arranging for the unprecedented appointment of Teishi (or Sadako) and Shōshi as concurrent empresses of the same emperor, Teishi holding the usual title of "Lustrous Heir-bearer" {{transl|ja|kōgō}} and Shōshi that of "Inner Palatine" ({{transl|ja|chūgū}}), a toponymically derived equivalent coined for the occasion".<ref name="Shively67ff"/> About five years later, Michinaga brought Murasaki to Shōshi's court, in a position that Bowring describes as a companion-tutor.<ref>Bowring (1996), xiv</ref>
Women of high status lived in seclusion at court and, through strategic marriages, were used to gain political power for their families. In the case of Shōshi and other such marriages to members of the imperial clan, it enabled the woman's clan to exercise influence over the emperor—this was how Michinaga, and other Fujiwara Regents, achieved their power. Despite their seclusion, some women wielded considerable influence, often achieved through competitive [[Salon (gathering)|salons]], dependent on the quality of those attending.<ref name ="Bowringxvff">Bowring (1996), xv–xvii</ref> Ichijō's mother and Michinaga's sister, Senshi, had an influential salon, and Michinaga probably wanted Shōshi to surround herself with skilled women such as Murasaki to build a rival salon.<ref name="M258ff"/>
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| width =
| image1 = Izumi Shikibu.png
| caption1 = [[Izumi Shikibu]], shown here in a {{transl|ja|[[Kusazōshi]]}} by [[Komatsuken]] from about 1765, was a poet at Empress Teishi's court.
| alt1 = Painting of a woman poet in a kimono looking left
| image2 = Akazome Emon.png
| caption2 = [[Akazome Emon]], a rival court poet, depicted in a {{circa|1765}} [[Woodblock printing|ink]] and color {{transl|ja|[[Kusazōshi]]}} by Komatsuken
| alt2 = Painting of a woman poet in a kimono looking right
| image3 = Sei Shonagon artist unknown.png
| caption3 = [[Sei Shōnagon]], Murasaki's court rival, depicted in a {{transl|ja|[[Benizuri-e]]}} ({{circa|1760s}})
| alt3 = Painting of a standing man and a seated woman looking at each other
| total_width = 500
}}
Shōshi was 16 to 19 when Murasaki joined her court,<ref>According to Mulhern Shōshi was 19 when Murasaki arrived; Waley states she was 16. See Mulhern (1994), 259 and Waley (1960), vii</ref> either in 1005 or 1006.<ref>Bowring (1996), xxxv</ref> According to [[Arthur Waley]], Shōshi was a serious-minded young lady, whose living arrangements were divided between her father's household and her court at the Imperial Palace.<ref>Waley (1960), vii</ref> She gathered around her talented women writers such as [[Izumi Shikibu]] and [[Akazome Emon]]—the author of an early [[vernacular]] history, ''[[Eiga Monogatari|The Tale of Flowering Fortunes]]''.<ref name ="Mulhern156ff">Mulhern (1994), 156</ref> The rivalry that existed among the women is evident in Murasaki's diary, where she wrote disparagingly of Izumi: "Izumi Shikibu is an amusing letter-writer; but there is something not very satisfactory about her. She has a gift for dashing off informal compositions in a careless running-hand; but in poetry she needs either an interesting subject or some classic model to imitate. Indeed it does not seem to me that in herself she is really a poet at all."<ref>Waley (1960), xii</ref>
[[Sei Shōnagon]], author of ''[[The Pillow Book]]'', had been in service as lady-in-waiting to Teishi when Shōshi came to court; it is possible that Murasaki was invited to Shōshi's court as a rival to Shōnagon. Teishi died in 1001, before Murasaki entered service with Shōshi, so the two writers were not there concurrently, but Murasaki, who wrote about Shōnagon in her diary, certainly knew of her, and to an extent was influenced by her.<ref name="Keene414ff">Keene (1999), 414–415</ref> Shōnagon's ''The Pillow Book'' may have been commissioned as a type of propaganda to highlight Teishi's court, known for its educated ladies-in-waiting. Japanese literature scholar Joshua Mostow believes Michinaga provided Murasaki to Shōshi as an equally or better educated woman, so as to showcase Shōshi's court in a similar manner.<ref name="Mostow130ff">Mostow (2001), 130</ref>
The two writers had different temperaments: Shōnagon was witty, clever, and outspoken; Murasaki was withdrawn and sensitive. Entries in Murasaki's diary show that the two may not have been on good terms. Murasaki wrote, "Sei Shōnagon ... was dreadfully conceited. She thought herself so clever, littered her writing with Chinese characters, [which] left a great deal to be desired."<ref>qtd in Keene (1999), 414</ref> Keene thinks that Murasaki's impression of Shōnagon could have been influenced by Shōshi and the women at her court, as Shōnagon served Shōshi's rival empress. Furthermore, he believes Murasaki was brought to court to write ''Genji'' in response to Shōnagon's popular ''Pillow Book''.<ref name="Keene414ff"/> Murasaki contrasted herself to Shōnagon in a variety of ways. She denigrated the pillow book genre and, unlike Shōnagon, who flaunted her knowledge of Chinese, Murasaki pretended to not know the language, regarding it as pretentious and affected.<ref name="Mostow130ff"/>
{{clear}}
==="The Lady of the Chronicles"===
Although the popularity of the Chinese language diminished in the late Heian era, Chinese ballads continued to be popular, including those written by [[Bai Juyi]]. Murasaki taught Chinese to Shōshi who was interested in Chinese art and Juyi's ballads. Upon becoming Empress, Shōshi installed screens decorated with [[Chinese characters|Chinese script]], causing outrage because written Chinese was considered the language of men, far removed from the women's quarters.<ref>Adolphson (2007), 110, 119</ref> The study of Chinese was thought to be unladylike and went against the notion that only men should have access to the literature. Women were supposed to read and write only in Japanese, which separated them through language from government and the power structure. Murasaki, with her unconventional classical Chinese education, was one of the few women available to teach Shōshi classical Chinese.<ref>Adolphson (2007), 110</ref> Bowring writes it was "almost subversive" that Murasaki knew Chinese and taught the language to Shōshi.<ref>Bowring (2004), 11</ref> Murasaki, who was reticent about her Chinese education, held the lessons between the two women in secret, writing in her diary, "Since last summer ... very secretly, in odd moments when there happened to be no one about, I have been reading with Her Majesty ... There has of course been no question of formal lessons ... I have thought it best to say nothing about the matter to anybody."<ref>qtd in Waley (1960), ix–x</ref>
{{multiple image
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| header =
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| footer_background =
| image1 = Ilustration of The Tale of Genji.jpg
| caption1 = A [[Tosa Mitsuoki]] illustration of [[Heian period|Heian]] court women in the winter, late 17th century
| alt1 = Court women in the snow
| image2 = Portrait of Murasaki Shikibu.jpg
| caption2 = Late 16th-century ([[Azuchi–Momoyama period]]) depiction of Murasaki Shikibu, by [[Kanō Takanobu]]
| alt2 = Painting of a woman poet in a kimono at a desk, writing
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Murasaki probably earned an ambiguous nickname, "The Lady of the Chronicles" ({{transl|ja|[[Nihon Shoki|Nihongi]] no tsubone}}), for teaching Shōshi Chinese literature.<ref name="M258ff"/> A lady-in-waiting who disliked Murasaki accused her of flaunting her knowledge of Chinese and began calling her "The Lady of the Chronicles"—an allusion to the classic ''Chronicles of Japan''—after an incident in which chapters from ''Genji'' were read aloud to the Emperor and his courtiers, one of whom remarked that the author showed a high level of education. Murasaki wrote in her diary, "How utterly ridiculous! Would I, who hesitate to reveal my learning to my women at home, ever think of doing so at court?"<ref>qtd in Mostow (2001), 133</ref> Although the nickname was apparently meant to be disparaging, Mulhern believes Murasaki was flattered by it.<ref name="M258ff"/>
The attitude toward the Chinese language was contradictory. In Teishi's court, the Chinese language had been flaunted and considered a symbol of imperial rule and superiority. Yet, in Shōshi's salon there was a great deal of hostility towards the language—perhaps owing to political expedience during a period when Chinese began to be rejected in favor of Japanese—even though Shōshi herself was a student of the language. The hostility may have affected Murasaki and her opinion of the court, and forced her to hide her knowledge of Chinese. Unlike Shōnagon, who was both ostentatious and flirtatious, as well as outspoken about her knowledge of Chinese, Murasaki seems to have been humble, an attitude which possibly impressed Michinaga. Although Murasaki used Chinese and incorporated it in her writing, she publicly rejected the language, a commendable attitude during a period of burgeoning Japanese culture.<ref>Mostow (2001), 131, 137</ref>
<!-- [[Image:Murasaki Shikibu.jpg|thumb|upright|Murasaki Shikibu in [[monochrome]], by [[Kikuchi Yōsai]] c. early 19th century]]-->
Murasaki seems to have been unhappy with court life and was withdrawn and somber. No surviving records show that she entered poetry competitions; she appears to have exchanged few poems or letters with other women during her service.<ref name="Bowring, 2004, 4"/> In general, unlike Shōnagon, Murasaki gives the impression in her diary that she disliked court life, the other ladies-in-waiting, and the drunken revelry. She did, however, become close friends with a lady-in-waiting named Lady Saishō, and she wrote of the winters that she enjoyed, "I love to see the snow here".<ref>Waley (1960), xiii</ref><ref>Waley (1960), xi</ref>
According to Waley, Murasaki may not have been unhappy with court life in general but bored in Shōshi's court. He speculates she would have preferred to serve with the Lady Senshi, whose household seems to have been less strict and more light-hearted. In her diary, Murasaki wrote about Shōshi's court, "[she] has gathered round her a number of very worthy young ladies ... Her Majesty is beginning to acquire more experience of life, and no longer judges others by the same rigid standards as before; but meanwhile her Court has gained a reputation for extreme dullness".<ref>Waley (1960), viii</ref>
[[File:Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emakimono (Gotoh Museum) 6.jpg|thumb|In this 13th century painting from the [[Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emaki]], drunk, disarranged, and disordered Heian [[courtier]]s are shown joking and flirting with court ladies.|upright=1.3]]
Murasaki disliked the men at court, whom she thought were drunken and stupid. However, some scholars, such as Waley, are certain she was involved romantically with Michinaga. At the least, Michinaga pursued her and pressured her strongly, and her flirtation with him is recorded in her diary as late as 1010. Yet, she wrote to him in a poem, "You have neither read my book, nor won my love."<ref>Waley (1960), x</ref> In her diary she records having to avoid advances from Michinaga—one night he sneaked into her room, stealing a newly written chapter of ''Genji.''<ref name="Mulhern260ff">Mulhern (1994), 260–261</ref> However, Michinaga's patronage was essential if she was to continue writing.<ref name ="Shirane221ff">Shirane (1987), 221–222</ref> Murasaki described her daughter's court activities: the lavish ceremonies, the complicated courtships, the "complexities of the marriage system",<ref name ="Knapp"/> and in elaborate detail, the birth of Shōshi's two sons.<ref name="Mulhern260ff"/>
It is likely that Murasaki enjoyed writing in solitude.<ref name="Mulhern260ff"/> She believed she did not fit well with the general atmosphere of the court, writing of herself: "I am wrapped up in the study of ancient stories ... living all the time in a poetical world of my own scarcely realizing the existence of other people .... But when they get to know me, they find to their extreme surprise that I am kind and gentle".<ref name="Waley 1960, xv">Waley (1960), xv</ref> Inge says that she was too outspoken to make friends at court, and Mulhern thinks Murasaki's court life was comparatively quiet compared to other [[court poets]].<ref name="Inge9"/><ref name="M258ff"/> Mulhern speculates that her remarks about Izumi were not so much directed at Izumi's poetry but at her behavior, lack of morality and her court liaisons, of which Murasaki disapproved.<ref name= "Mulhern156ff"/>
Rank was important in Heian court society and Murasaki would not have felt herself to have much, if anything, in common with the higher ranked and more powerful Fujiwaras.<ref>Bowring (2004), 3</ref> In her diary, she wrote of her life at court: "I realized that my branch of the family was a very humble one; but the thought seldom troubled me, and I was in those days far indeed from the painful consciousness of inferiority which makes life at Court a continual torment to me."<ref>Waley (1960), xiv</ref> A court position would have increased her social standing, but more importantly she gained a greater experience to write about.<ref name="M258ff"/> Court life, as she experienced it, is well reflected in the chapters of ''Genji'' written after she joined Shōshi. The name Murasaki was most probably given to her at a court dinner in an incident she recorded in her diary: in 1008 the well-known court poet [[Fujiwara no Kintō]] inquired after the "Young Murasaki"—an allusion to the character named Murasaki in ''Genji''—which would have been considered a compliment from a male court poet to a female author.<ref name="M258ff"/>
==Later life and death==
[[File:RosanjiTeien.jpg|thumb|Genji-Garden at [[Rozan-ji]], a temple in Kyoto associated with her former mansion]]
When Emperor Ichijō died in 1011, Shōshi retired from the Imperial Palace to live in a Fujiwara mansion in Biwa, most likely accompanied by Murasaki, who is recorded as being there with Shōshi in 1013.<ref name ="Shirane221ff"/> [[William George Aston|George Aston]] explains that when Murasaki retired from court she was again associated with Ishiyama-dera: "To this beautiful spot, it is said, Murasaki no Shikibu ''[sic]'' retired from court life to devote the remainder of her days to literature and religion. There are sceptics, however, [[Motoori Norinaga|Motoori]] being one, who refuse to believe this story, pointing out ... that it is irreconcilable with known facts. On the other hand, the very chamber in the temple where the ''Genji'' was written is shown—with the ink-slab which the author used, and a Buddhist [[Sutra]] in her handwriting, which, if they do not satisfy the critic, still are sufficient to carry conviction to the minds of ordinary visitors to the temple."<ref>Aston (1899), 93</ref>
Murasaki may have died in 1014. Her father made a hasty return to Kyoto from his post at [[Echigo Province]] that year, possibly because of her death. Writing in ''A Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of "The Tale of Genji"'', Shirane mentions that 1014 is generally accepted as the date of Murasaki Shikibu's death and 973 as the date of her birth, making her 41 when she died.<ref name ="Shirane221ff"/> Bowring considers 1014 to be speculative, and believes she may have lived with Shōshi until as late as 1025.<ref>Bowring (2004), 5</ref> Waley agrees given that Murasaki may have attended ceremonies with Shōshi held for Shōshi's son, [[Emperor Go-Ichijō]] around 1025.<ref name="Waley 1960, xv"/>
Murasaki's brother Nobunori died in around 1011, which, combined with the death of his daughter, may have prompted her father to resign his post and take vows at [[Mii-dera|Miidera]] temple where he died in 1029.<ref name="ShiraneB293"/><ref name ="Shirane221ff"/> Murasaki's daughter entered court service in 1025 as a [[wet nurse]] to the future [[Emperor Go-Reizei]] (1025–1068). She went on to become a well-known poet as [[Daini no Sanmi]].<ref>Mulhern (1996), 259</ref>
==Works==
[[File:Murasaki Shikibu at Ishiyama-dera.png|thumb|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 [[Arthur M. Sackler Museum|Sackler Museum]].]]
Three works are attributed to Murasaki: ''The Tale of Genji'', ''[[The Diary of Lady Murasaki]]'' and ''[[Poetic Memoirs]]'', a collection of 128 poems.<ref name="Mulhern260ff"/> Her work is considered important for its reflection of the creation and development of Japanese writing, during a period when Japanese shifted from an unwritten vernacular to a written language.<ref name ="Bowringxvff"/> Until the 9th century, Japanese language texts were written in [[Chinese characters]] using the {{transl|ja|[[man'yōgana]]}} writing system.<ref>Mason (1997), 81</ref> A revolutionary achievement was the development of {{transl|ja|kana}}, a true Japanese script, in the mid-to late 9th century. Japanese authors began to write prose in their own language, which led to genres such as tales ({{transl|ja|monogatari}}) and poetic journals ({{transl|ja|[[Nikki Bungaku]]}}).<ref name="kodanshainternat-p120">Kodansha International (2004), 475, 120</ref><ref name="shiraneb-p2-113-114">Shirane (2008b), 2, 113–114</ref><ref name="frederic-p594">Frédéric (2005), 594</ref> Historian [[Edwin O. Reischauer|Edwin Reischauer]] writes that genres such as the monogatari were distinctly Japanese and that ''Genji'', written in {{transl|ja|kana}}, "was the outstanding work of the period".<ref name= "Reischauer28ff"/>
===Diary and poetry===
[[File:Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emakimono (Gotoh Museum) 4.jpg|thumb|13th century illustration ({{transl|ja|[[emakimono]]}}) of ''The Diary of Lady Murasaki'' showing Empress Shōshi with the infant [[Emperor Go-Ichijō]] and ladies-in-waiting secluded behind a {{transl|ja|[[kichō]]}}.]]
Murasaki began her diary after she entered service at Shōshi's court.<ref name="Mulhern260ff"/> Much of what is known about her and her experiences at court comes from the diary, which covers the period from about 1008 to 1010. The long descriptive passages, some of which may have originated as letters, cover her relationships with the other ladies-in-waiting, Michinaga's temperament, the birth of Shōshi's sons—at Michinaga's mansion rather than at the Imperial Palace—and the process of writing ''Genji'', including descriptions of passing newly written chapters to [[calligraphy|calligraphers]] for transcriptions.<ref name ="Mulhern260ff"/><ref>McCullough (1990), 16</ref> Typical of contemporary court diaries written to honor patrons, Murasaki devotes half to the birth of Shōshi's son Emperor Go-Ichijō, an event of enormous importance to Michinaga: he had planned for it with his daughter's marriage which made him grandfather and ''de facto'' regent to an emperor.<ref name ="ShiraneB448">Shirane (2008b), 448</ref>
''Poetic Memoirs'' is a collection of 128 poems Mulhern describes as "arranged in a biographical sequence".<ref name="Mulhern260ff"/> The original set has been lost. According to custom, the verses would have been passed from person to person and often copied. Some appear written for a lover—possibly her husband before he died—but she may have merely followed tradition and written simple love poems. They contain biographical details: she mentions a sister who died, the visit to Echizen province with her father and that she wrote poetry for Shōshi. Murasaki's poems were published in 1206 by [[Fujiwara no Teika]], in what Mulhern believes to be the collection that is closest to the original form; at around the same time Teika included a selection of Murasaki's works in an imperial anthology, ''[[Shin Kokin Wakashū|New Collections of Ancient and Modern Times]]''.<ref name="Mulhern260ff"/>
===''The Tale of Genji''===
{{Main|The Tale of Genji}}
Murasaki is best known for her ''The Tale of Genji'', a three-part novel spanning 1100 pages and 54 chapters,<ref name ="M262">Mulhern (1994), 262</ref><ref>McCullough (1990), 9</ref> which is thought to have taken a decade to complete. The earliest chapters were possibly written for a private patron either during her marriage or shortly after her husband's death. She continued writing while at court and probably finished while still in service to Shōshi.<ref name="Shively 1999, 445">Shively (1999), 445</ref> She would have needed patronage to produce a work of such length. Michinaga provided her with costly paper and ink, and with calligraphers. The first handwritten volumes were probably assembled and bound by ladies-in-waiting.<ref name ="Shirane221ff"/>
[[File:Genji monogatari (ch. 34).jpg|thumb|left|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.]]
In his ''The Pleasures of Japanese Literature'', Keene claims Murasaki wrote the "supreme work of Japanese fiction" by drawing on traditions of {{transl|ja|waka}} court diaries, and earlier {{transl|ja|monogatari}}—written in a mixture of Chinese script and Japanese script—such as ''[[The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter]]'' or ''[[The Tales of Ise]]''.<ref>Keene (1988), 75–79, 81–84</ref> She drew on and blended styles from Chinese histories, narrative poetry and contemporary Japanese prose.<ref name ="M262"/> Adolphson writes that the juxtaposition of formal Chinese style with mundane subjects resulted in a sense of parody or satire, giving her a distinctive voice.<ref>Adolphson (2007), 121–122</ref> ''Genji'' follows the traditional format of {{transl|ja|monogatari}}—telling a tale—particularly evident in its use of a narrator, but Keene claims Murasaki developed the genre far beyond its bounds, and by doing so created a form that is utterly modern. The story of the "shining prince" Genji is set in the late 9th to early 10th centuries, and Murasaki eliminated from it the elements of fairy tales and fantasy frequently found in earlier {{transl|ja|monogatari}}.<ref name="K1988">Keene (1988), 81–84</ref>
The themes in ''Genji'' are common to the period, and are defined by Shively as encapsulating "the tyranny of time and the inescapable sorrow of romantic love".<ref>Shively (1990), 444</ref> The main theme is that of the fragility of life, "the sorrow of human existence" ({{transl|ja|[[mono no aware]]}}), a term used over a thousand times in ''Genji''.<ref>Henshall (1999), 27</ref> Keene speculates that in her tale of the "shining prince", Murasaki may have created for herself an idealistic escape from court life, which she found less than savory. In Prince Genji she formed a gifted, comely, refined, yet human and sympathetic [[protagonist]]. Keene writes that ''Genji'' gives a view into the Heian period; for example love affairs flourished, although women typically remained unseen behind screens, curtains or {{transl|ja|[[fusuma]]}}.<ref name="K1988"/>
[[Helen McCullough]] describes Murasaki's writing as of universal appeal and believes ''The Tale of Genji'' "transcends both its genre and age. Its basic subject matter and setting—love at the Heian court—are those of the romance, and its cultural assumptions are those of the mid-Heian period, but Murasaki Shikibu's unique genius has made the work for many a powerful statement of human relationships, the impossibility of permanent happiness in love ... and the vital importance, in a world of sorrows, of sensitivity to the feelings of others."<ref>McCullough (1999), 9</ref> Prince Genji recognizes in each of his lovers the inner beauty of the woman and the fragility of life, which according to Keene, makes him heroic. The story was popular: Emperor Ichijō had it read to him, even though it was written in Japanese. By 1021 all the chapters were known to be complete and the work was sought after in the provinces where it was scarce.<ref name="K1988"/><ref name="Bowring 2004, 79">Bowring (2004), 79</ref>
==Legacy==
Murasaki's reputation and influence have not diminished since her lifetime when she, with other Heian women writers, was instrumental in developing Japanese into a written language.<ref>Bowring (2004), 12</ref> Her writing was required reading for court poets as early as the 12th century as her work began to be studied by scholars who generated authoritative versions and criticism. Within a century of her death she was highly regarded as a classical writer.<ref name="Bowring 2004, 79"/> In the 17th century, Murasaki's work became emblematic of [[Confucius|Confucian]] philosophy and women were encouraged to read her books. In 1673, [[Kumazawa Banzan]] argued that her writing was valuable for its sensitivity and depiction of emotions. He wrote in his ''Discursive Commentary on Genji'' that when "human feelings are not understood the harmony of the Five Human Relationships is lost."<ref>qtd in Lillehoj (2007), 110</ref>
{{multiple image
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| image1 = Genji emaki YADORIGI 2.JPG
| caption1 = Early 12th century [[Emakimono|handscroll]] scene from ''Genji'', showing lovers separated from ladies-in-waiting by two screens, a {{transl|ja|kichō}} and a {{transl|ja|[[byōbu]]}}.
| alt1 = Painting of women sleeping in a screen area; a woman and a man in a separate screened area
| image2 = Genji emaki azumaya.jpg
| caption2 = Early 12th century painting showing a scene from ''Genji'' of women in a traditional room partitioned by {{transl|ja|[[fusuma]]}}, {{transl|ja|[[shōji]]}} and a {{transl|ja|kichō}}. This work is listed as [[List of National Treasures of Japan (paintings)|National Treasure of Japan]].
| alt2 = Court women in a room
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''The Tale of Genji'' was copied and illustrated in various forms as early as a century after Murasaki's death. ''The [[Genji Monogatari Emaki]]'', is a late Heian era 12th century [[Emakimono|handscroll]], consisting of four scrolls, 19 paintings, and 20 sheets of calligraphy. The illustrations, definitively dated to between 1110 and 1120, have been tentatively attributed to Fujiwara no Takachika and the calligraphy to various well-known contemporary calligraphers. The scroll is housed at the [[Gotoh Museum]] and the [[Tokugawa Art Museum]].<ref>Frédéric (2005), 238</ref>
Female virtue was tied to literary knowledge in the 17th century, leading to a demand for Murasaki or ''Genji'' inspired artifacts, known as {{transl|ja|genji-e}}. [[Dowry]] sets decorated with scenes from ''Genji'' or illustrations of Murasaki became particularly popular for noblewomen: in the 17th century {{transl|ja|genji-e}} symbolically imbued a bride with an increased level of cultural status; by the 18th century they had come to symbolize marital success. In 1628, [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]]'s daughter had a set of [[Lacquerware|lacquer]] boxes made for her wedding; Prince Toshitada received a pair of silk {{transl|ja|genji-e}} [[Folding screen|screens]], painted by [[Kanō Tan'yū]] as a wedding gift in 1649.<ref>Lillehoj (2007), 110–113</ref>
Murasaki became a popular subject of paintings and illustrations highlighting her as a virtuous woman and poet. She is often shown at her desk in Ishiyama Temple, staring at the Moon for inspiration. [[Tosa Mitsuoki]] made her the subject of hanging scrolls in the 17th century.<ref>Lillehoj, 108–109</ref> ''The Tale of Genji'' became a favorite subject of Japanese {{transl|ja|[[ukiyo-e]]}} artists for centuries with artists such as [[Hiroshige]], [[Torii Kiyonaga|Kiyonaga]], and [[Utamaro]] illustrating various editions of the novel.<ref>Geczy (2008), 13</ref> While early Genji art was considered symbolic of court culture, by the middle of the [[Edo period]] the mass-produced {{transl|ja|ukiyo-e}} prints made the illustrations accessible for the [[samurai]] classes and commoners.<ref name="2008a1ff"/>
In ''Envisioning the "Tale of Genji"'' Shirane observes that "''The Tale of Genji'' has become many things to many different audiences through many different media over a thousand years ... unmatched by any other Japanese text or artifact."<ref name="2008a1ff">Shirane (2008a), 1–2</ref> The work and its author were popularized through its illustrations in various media: {{transl|ja|[[emaki]]}} (illustrated handscrolls); {{transl|ja|[[Byōbu|byōbu-e]]}} (screen paintings), {{transl|ja|ukiyo-e}} (woodblock prints); films, comics, and in the modern period, [[manga]].<ref name="2008a1ff"/> In her fictionalized account of Murasaki's life, ''The Tale of Murasaki: A Novel'', [[Liza Dalby]] has Murasaki involved in a romance during her travels with her father to Echizen Province.<ref name="Royall">Tyler, Royall. [http://harvardmagazine.com/2002/05/murasaki-shikibu.html "Murasaki Shikibu: Brief Life of a Legendary Novelist: c. 973 – c. 1014"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824130015/https://harvardmagazine.com/2002/05/murasaki-shikibu.html |date=August 24, 2020 }}. (May 2002) ''Harvard Magazine''. Retrieved August 21, 2011.</ref>
[[File:'Lady Murasaki', anonymous ink, color and gold paper fan, 17th century Japan.jpg|left|thumb|17th century ink and gold paper fan showing Murasaki's writing]]
''The Tale of the Genji'' is recognized as an enduring classic. McCullough writes that Murasaki "is both the quintessential representative of a unique society and a writer who speaks to universal human concerns with a timeless voice. Japan has not seen another such genius."<ref name="Shively 1999, 445"/> Keene writes that ''The Tale of Genji'' continues to captivate, because, in the story, her characters and their concerns are universal. When Waley's translation (''The Tale of Genji: A Novel in Six Parts'') was published in 1933, reviewers compared ''Genji'' to [[Jane Austen|Austen]], [[Marcel Proust|Proust]], and [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]].<ref>Keene (1999), 508</ref> Mulhern says of Murasaki that she is similar to Shakespeare, who represented his [[Elizabethan era|Elizabethan England]], in that she captured the essence of the Heian court and as a novelist "succeeded perhaps even beyond her own expectations."<ref name="M264"/> Like Shakespeare, her work has been the subject of reams of criticism and many books.<ref name="M264">Mulhern (1994), 264</ref>
[[Image:2000 Yen Murasaki Shikibu.jpg|thumb|The design of the 2000-yen note was created in Murasaki's honour.]]
Kyoto held a year-long celebration commemorating the 1000th anniversary of ''Genji'' in 2008, with poetry competitions, visits to the [[the Tale of Genji Museum|Tale of Genji Museum]] in [[Uji, Kyoto|Uji]] and Ishiyama-dera (where a life size rendition of Murasaki at her desk was displayed), and women dressing in traditional 12-layer Heian court {{transl|ja|jūnihitoe}} and ankle-length wigs. The author and her work inspired museum exhibits and Genji manga spin-offs.<ref name ="NYT"/> The design on the reverse of the first [[Banknotes of the Japanese yen#2000|2000 yen]] note commemorated her and ''The Tale of Genji''.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/02/world/main517343.shtml "Japanese Feminist to Adorn Yen"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518005327/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/02/world/main517343.shtml |date=May 18, 2013 }}. (February 11, 2009). CBSNews.com. Retrieved August 11, 2011.</ref> A [[Callicarpa japonica|plant]] bearing purple berries has been named after her.<ref>Kondansha (1983), 269</ref>
A ''Genji Album'', only in the 1970s dated to 1510, is housed at [[Harvard University]]. The album is considered the earliest of its kind and consists of 54 paintings by [[Tosa Mitsunobu]] and 54 sheets of calligraphy on {{transl|ja|shikishi}} paper in five colors, written by master calligraphers. The leaves are housed in a case dated to the [[Edo period]], with a silk frontispiece painted by Tosa Mitsuoki, dated to around 1690. The album contains Mitsuoki's authentication slips for his ancestor's 16th century paintings.<ref>McCormick (2003), 54–56</ref>
===Gallery===
{{gallery
|height= 150
|width= 180
|File:Tale of Genji Royal Outing.jpg|In ''[[The Tale of Genji]]'', Murasaki described court life, as depicted in this exterior scene titled "Royal Outing", late 16th century by [[Tosa school|Tosa Mitsuyoshi]].
|File:Murasaki Genji Hiroshige.jpg|[[Hiroshige]] {{transl|ja|ukiyo-e}} print (1852) shows an interior court scene from ''The Tale of Genji''.
|File:Murasaki Shikibu with male court poets.png|In this 1795 [[woodcut]], Murasaki is shown in discussion with five male court poets.
|File:Murasaki Shikibu composing the Tale of Genji at Ishiyamadera, by Yashima Gakutei.jpg|Murasaki Shikibu composing ''The Tale of Genji'', by [[Yashima Gakutei]] (1786–1868).
}}
== Notes ==
{{reflist|group="note"|30em}}
==References==
{{reflist|19em}}
==Sources==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* Adolphson, Mikhael; Kamens, Edward and Matsumoto, Stacie. ''Heian Japan: Centers and Peripheries''. (2007). Honolulu: Hawaii UP. {{ISBN|978-0-8248-3013-7}}
* [[William George Aston|Aston, William]]. ''[[s:A History of Japanese Literature|A History of Japanese Literature]]''. (1899). London: Heinemann.
* [[Richard Bowring|Bowring, Richard John]] (ed). "Introduction". in ''The Diary of Lady Murasaki''. (1996). London: Penguin. {{ISBN|978-0-14-043576-4}}
* Bowring, Richard John (ed). "The Cultural Background". in ''The Tale of Genji''. (2004). Cambridge: Cambridge UP. {{ISBN|978-0-521-83208-3}}
* Frédéric, Louis. ''Japan Encyclopedia''. (2005). Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP. {{ISBN|978-0-674-01753-5}}
* Geczy, Adam. ''Art: Histories, Theories and Exceptions''. (2008). London: Oxford International Publishers. {{ISBN|978-1-84520-700-7}}
* Inge, Thomas. "Lady Murasaki and the Craft of Fiction". (May 1990) ''Atlantic Review''. (55). 7–14.
* Henshall, Kenneth G. ''A History of Japan''. (1999). New York: St. Martin's. {{ISBN|978-0-312-21986-4}}
* ''Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan''. (1983) New York: Kōdansha. {{ISBN|978-0-87011-620-9}}
* [[Donald Keene|Keene, Donald]]. ''Seeds in the Heart: Japanese Literature from Earliest times to the Late Sixteenth Century''. (1999). New York: Columbia UP. {{ISBN|978-0-231-11441-7}}
* Keene, Donald. ''The Pleasures of Japanese Literature''. (1988). New York: Columbia UP. {{ISBN|978-0-231-06736-2}}
* ''The Japan Book: A Comprehensive Pocket Guide''. (2004). New York: Kodansha International. {{ISBN|978-4-7700-2847-1}}
* Lillehoj, Elizabeth. ''Critical Perspectives on Classicism in Japanese Painting, 1600–17''. (2004). Honolulu: Hawaii UP. {{ISBN|978-0-8248-2699-4}}
* Lockard, Craig. ''Societies, Networks, and Transitions, Volume I: To 1500: A Global History''. (2008). Boston: Wadsworth. {{ISBN|978-1-4390-8535-6}}
* Mason, R.H.P. and Caiger, John Godwin. ''A History of Japan''. (1997). North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-8048-2097-4}}
* McCormick, Melissa. "''Genji'' Goes West: The 1510 Genji Album and the Visualization of Court and Capital". (March 2003). ''Art Bulletin''. (85). 54–85
* [[Helen Craig McCullough|McCullough, Helen]]. ''Classical Japanese Prose: An Anthology''. (1990). Stanford CA: Stanford UP. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-1960-5}}
* Mostow, Joshua. "Mother Tongue and Father Script: The relationship of Sei Shonagon and Murasaki Shikibu". in Copeland, Rebecca L. and Ramirez-Christensen Esperanza (eds). ''The Father-Daughter Plot: Japanese Literary Women and the Law of the Father''. (2001). Honolulu: Hawaii UP. {{ISBN|978-0-8248-2438-9}}
* Mulhern, Chieko Irie. ''Heroic with Grace: Legendary Women of Japan''. (1991). Armonk NY: M.E. Sharpe. {{ISBN|978-0-87332-527-1}}
* Mulhern, Chieko Irie. ''Japanese Women Writers: a Bio-critical Sourcebook''. (1994). Westport CT: Greenwood Press. {{ISBN|978-0-313-25486-4}}
* Perez, Louis G. ''The History of Japan''. (1990). Westport CT: Greenwood Press. {{ISBN|978-0-313-30296-1}}
* Puette, William J. ''The Tale of Genji: A Reader's Guide''. (1983). North Clarendon VT: Tuttle Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-8048-3331-8}}
* [[Edwin O. Reischauer|Reschauer, Edwin]]. ''Japan: The Story of a Nation''. (1999). New York: McGraw-Hill. {{ISBN|978-0-07-557074-5}}
* Shirane, Haruo. ''The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of "The Tale of Genji''". (1987). Stanford CA: Stanford UP. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-1719-9}}
* Shirane, Haruo. ''Envisioning the Tale of Genji: Media, Gender, and Cultural Production''. (2008a). New York: Columbia UP. {{ISBN|978-0-231-14237-3}}
* Shirane, Haruo. ''Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600''. (2008b). New York: Columbia UP. {{ISBN|978-0-231-13697-6}}
* [[Donald Shively|Shively, Donald]] and McCullough, William H. ''The Cambridge History of Japan: Heian Japan''. (1999). Cambridge UP. {{ISBN|978-0-521-22353-9}}
* Tsunoda, Bunei. "Real name of Murasahiki Shikibu". ''Kodai Bunka (Cultura antiqua)''. (1963) (55). 1–27.
* Ueno, Chizuko. ''The Modern Family in Japan: Its Rise and Fall''. (2009). Melbourne: Transpacific Press. {{ISBN|978-1-876843-56-4}}
* [[Arthur Waley|Waley, Arthur]]. "Introduction". in Shikibu, Murasaki, ''The Tale of Genji: A Novel in Six Parts''. translated by Arthur Waley. (1960). New York: Modern Library.
{{refend}}
==External links==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|viaf=95154208}}
*{{commonscat-inline}}
* {{wikisource author-inline|Murasaki Shikibu}}
*{{wikiquote-inline}}
* [http://www.taleofgenji.org/rozanji.html Rozan-ji Temple, Kyoto]
* {{Gutenberg author|id=46975}}
* {{OL author}}
* {{librivox author|Murasaki+Shikibu}}
* [https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2019/tale-of-genji Exhibition: The Tale of Genji, A Japanese Classic Illuminated] at Metropolitan Museum of Art, March 5 – June 16, 2019
{{Murasaki Shikibu}}
{{The Tale of Genji}}
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[[Category:Murasaki Shikibu| ]]
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New page wikitext, after the edit (new_wikitext) | '{{Short description|Japanese novelist and poet (c. 973 – c. 1014)}}
{{Redirect|Lady Murasaki|the character|Murasaki no Ue}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
[[File:Murasaki-Shikibu-composing-Genji-Monogatari.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Depiction of Murasaki Shikibu by [[Tosa Mitsuoki]]|alt=Japanese woman in multi-layered clothing writing at a desk]]
{{Nihongo|'''Murasaki Shikibu'''|紫式部||extra={{gloss|Lady Murasaki}}; {{circa|973|1014 or 1025}}}} was a Japanese novelist, [[Japanese poetry#Age of Nyobo or court ladies|poet]] and [[lady-in-waiting]] at the [[Imperial Court in Kyoto|Imperial court]] in the [[Heian period]]. She is best known as the author of ''[[The Tale of Genji]]'', widely considered to be one of the world's first [[Novel|novels]], written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012. Murasaki Shikibu is a descriptive name; her personal name is unknown, but she may have been {{Nihongo|'''Fujiwara no Kaoriko'''|藤原香子}}, who was mentioned in a 1007 court diary as an imperial lady-in-waiting.
[[Heian period|Heian]] women were traditionally excluded from learning [[Classical Chinese|Chinese]], the written language of government, but Murasaki, raised in her erudite father's household, showed a precocious aptitude for the [[Chinese classics]] and managed to acquire fluency. She married in her mid-to-late twenties and gave birth to a daughter, [[Daini no Sanmi]]. Her husband died after two years of marriage. It is uncertain when she began to write ''The Tale of Genji'', but it was probably while she was married or shortly after she was widowed. In about 1005, she was invited to serve as a lady-in-waiting to [[Empress Shōshi]] at the Imperial court by [[Fujiwara no Michinaga]], probably because of her reputation as a writer. She continued to write during her service, adding scenes from court life to her work. After five or six years, she left court and retired with Shōshi to the [[Lake Biwa]] region. Scholars differ on the year of her death; although most agree on 1014, others have suggested she was alive in 1025.
Murasaki wrote ''[[The Diary of Lady Murasaki]]'', a volume of poetry, as well as ''The Tale of Genji''. Within a decade of its completion, ''Genji'' was distributed throughout the provinces; within a century it was recognized as a classic of [[Japanese literature]] and had become a subject of [[scholarly criticism]]. Between 1925 and 1933, ''The Tale of Genji'' was published in English. Scholars continue to recognize the importance of her work, which reflects Heian court society at its peak. Since the 13th century her works have been illustrated by Japanese artists and well-known [[ukiyo-e]] woodblock masters.
==Early life==
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Murasaki Shikibu was born {{circa|973}}<ref group="note" name="note1">Bowring believes her date of birth most likely to have been 973; Mulhern places it somewhere between 970 and 978, and Waley states it was 978. See Bowring (2004), 4; Mulhern (1994), 257; Waley (1960), vii.</ref> in [[Heian-kyō]], Japan, into the northern [[Fujiwara clan]] descending from [[Fujiwara no Yoshifusa]], the first 9th century [[Heian period#Fujiwara regency|Fujiwara regent]].<ref name="ShiraneB293">Shirane (2008b), 293</ref> The Fujiwara clan dominated court politics until the end of the 11th century through strategically marrying their daughters into the imperial family and the use of regencies. In the late 10th century and early 11th century, [[Fujiwara no Michinaga]], the so-called Mido Kampaku, arranged his four daughters into marriages with emperors, giving him unprecedented power.<ref name="Henshall24ff"/> Murasaki's great-grandfather, [[Fujiwara no Kanesuke]], had been in the top tier of the aristocracy, but her branch of the family gradually lost power and by the time of Murasaki's birth was at the middle to lower ranks of the Heian aristocracy—the level of [[provincial governor]]s.<ref name="Shirane215">Shirane (1987), 215</ref> The lower ranks of the nobility were typically posted away from court to undesirable positions in the provinces, exiled from the centralized power and court in [[Kyoto]].<ref name="Bowring, 2004, 4"/>
Despite the loss of status, the family had a reputation among the [[Scholar-official|literati]] through Murasaki's paternal great-grandfather and grandfather, both of whom were well-known poets. Her great-grandfather, Fujiwara no Kanesuke, had 56 poems included in 13 of the [[Nijūichidaishū|Twenty-one Imperial Anthologies]],<ref>Chokusen Sakusha Burui 勅撰作者部類</ref> the ''[[Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry|Collections of Thirty-six Poets]]'' and the {{transl|ja|[[Yamato Monogatari]]}} (''Tales of Yamato'').<ref name="M257ff">Mulhern (1994), 257–258</ref> Her great-grandfather and grandfather were both friendly with [[Ki no Tsurayuki]], who became notable for popularizing Japanese-language [[Verse (poetry)|verse]].<ref name="Bowring, 2004, 4">Bowring (2004), 4</ref> Her father, [[Fujiwara no Tametoki]], attended the State Academy ([[Daigaku-ryō]])<ref name="Inge9">Inge (1990), 9</ref> and became a well-respected scholar of [[Chinese classics]] and poetry; his own verse was anthologized.<ref name="Mulhern78ff">Mulhern (1991), 79</ref> He entered public service around 968 as a minor official and was given a governorship in 996, staying in service until about 1018.<ref name="Bowring, 2004, 4"/><ref>Adolphson (2007), 111</ref> Murasaki's mother was descended from the same branch of northern Fujiwara as Tametoki. The couple had three children, a son and two daughters.<ref name="Mulhern78ff"/>
In the [[Heian period|Heian era]] the use of names, insofar as they were recorded, did not follow a modern pattern. A court lady, as well as being known by the title of her own position, if any, took a name referring to the rank or title of a male relative. Thus "Shikibu" is not a modern surname, but refers to {{transl|ja|[[Shikibu-shō]]}}, the Ministry of Ceremonials where Murasaki's father was a functionary. "Murasaki", an additional name possibly derived from the color violet associated with [[wisteria]], the meaning of the word {{transl|ja|fuji}} (an element of her clan name), may have been bestowed on her at court in reference to the name she herself had given to the main female character in "Genji". Michinaga mentions the names of several ladies-in-waiting in a 1007 diary entry; one, Fujiwara no Takako (Kyōshi), may be Murasaki's personal name.<ref name="M257ff"/><ref group="note">Seven women were named in the entry, with the actual names of four women known. Of the remaining three women, one was not a Fujiwara, one held a high rank and therefore had to be older, leaving the possibility that the third, Fujiwara no Takako, was Murasaki. See Tsunoda (1963), 1–27.</ref>
In Heian-era Japan, husbands and wives kept separate households; children were raised with their mothers, although the [[patrilineal]] system was still followed.<ref>Ueno (2009), 254</ref> Murasaki was unconventional because she lived in her father's household, most likely on [[Teramachi Street]] in Kyoto, with her younger brother Nobunori. Their mother died, perhaps in childbirth, when they were quite young. Murasaki had at least three half-siblings raised with their mothers; she was very close to one sister who died in her twenties.<ref name="Shirane218">Shirane (1987), 218</ref><ref name="P50ff">Puette (1983), 50–51</ref><ref name ="NYT">Green, Michelle. [http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/travel/04footsteps.html?pagewanted=all "Kyoto Celebrates a 1000-Year Love Affair"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407121533/http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/travel/04footsteps.html?pagewanted=all |date=April 7, 2012 }}. (December 31, 2008). ''The New York Times''. Retrieved August 9, 2011</ref>
Murasaki was born at a period when Japan was becoming more isolated, after [[Japanese missions to Imperial China|missions to China]] had ended and a stronger national culture was emerging.<ref>Bowring (1996), xii</ref> In the 9th and 10th centuries, Japanese gradually became a written language through the development of {{transl|ja|[[kana]]}}, a [[syllabary]] based on abbreviations of Chinese characters. In Murasaki's lifetime, men continued to write formally in [[Chinese characters|Chinese]], but {{transl|ja|kana}} became the written language of intimacy and of noblewomen, setting the foundation for unique forms of [[Japanese literature]].<ref name= "Reischauer28ff">Reischauer (1999), 29–29</ref>
Chinese was taught to Murasaki's brother as preparation for a career in government, and during her childhood, living in her father's household, she learned and became proficient in [[classical Chinese]].<ref name="Inge9"/> In her diary she wrote, "When my brother ... was a young boy learning the Chinese classics, I was in the habit of listening to him and I became unusually proficient at understanding those passages that he found too difficult to understand and memorize. Father, a most learned man, was always regretting the fact: 'Just my luck,' he would say, 'What a pity she was not born a man!{{'"}}<ref>qtd in Bowring (2004), 11–12</ref> With her brother she studied [[Chinese literature]], and she probably also received instruction in more traditional subjects such as music, [[calligraphy]] and [[Waka (poetry)|Japanese poetry]].<ref name="Shirane218"/> Murasaki's education was unorthodox. Louis Perez explains in ''The History of Japan'' that "Women ... were thought to be incapable of real intelligence and therefore were not educated in Chinese."<ref name="Perez21ff">Perez (1998), 21</ref> Murasaki was aware that others saw her as "pretentious, awkward, difficult to approach, prickly, too fond of her tales, haughty, prone to versifying, disdainful, cantankerous and scornful".<ref>qtd in Inge (1990), 9</ref> Asian literature scholar Thomas Inge believes she had "a forceful personality that seldom won her friends."<ref name="Inge9"/>
==Marriage==
Aristocratic Heian women lived restricted and secluded lives, allowed to speak to men only when they were close relatives or household members. Murasaki's autobiographical poetry shows that she socialized with women but had limited contact with men other than her father and brother; she often exchanged poetry with women but never with men.<ref name="Shirane218"/> Unlike most noblewomen of her status, however, she did not marry on reaching puberty; instead she stayed in her father's household until her mid-twenties or perhaps even to her early thirties.<ref name="Shirane218"/><ref name ="Knapp">Knapp, Bettina. "Lady Murasaki's ''The Tale of the Genji''". ''Symposium''. (1992). (46).</ref><!-- html version w/out pg numbers -->
In 996 when her father was posted to a four-year governorship in [[Echizen Province]], Murasaki went with him, although it was uncommon for a noblewoman of the period to travel such a distance that could take as long as five days.<ref name= "Mulhern83ff">Mulhern (1991), 83–85</ref> She returned to Kyoto, probably in 998, to marry her father's friend {{Interlanguage link multi|Fujiwara no Nobutaka|ja|藤原宣孝}}, a much older second cousin.<ref name="Bowring, 2004, 4"/><ref name="Shirane218"/> Descended from the same branch of the Fujiwara clan, he was a court functionary and bureaucrat at the Ministry of Ceremonials, with a reputation for dressing extravagantly and as a talented dancer.<ref name= "Mulhern83ff"/> In his late forties at the time of their marriage, he had multiple households with an unknown number of wives and offspring.<ref name="M257ff"/> Gregarious and well-known at court, he was involved in numerous romantic relationships that may have continued after his marriage to Murasaki.<ref name="Shirane218"/> As was customary, she would have remained in her father's household where her husband would have visited her.<ref name="M257ff"/> Nobutaka had been granted more than one governorship, and by the time of his marriage to Murasaki he was probably quite wealthy. Interpretations of their marital relationship differ among scholars: [[Richard Bowring]] suggests a harmonious marriage, while Japanese literature scholar [[Haruo Shirane]] finds evidence of resentment towards her husband in Murasaki’s poems.<ref name="Bowring, 2004, 4"/><ref name="Shirane218"/>
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The couple's daughter, Kenshi (Kataiko), was born in 999. Two years later Nobutaka died during a [[cholera]] epidemic.<ref name="Shirane218"/> As a married woman Murasaki would have had servants to run the household and care for her daughter, giving her ample leisure time. She enjoyed reading and had access to romances ({{transl|ja|[[monogatari]]}}) such as ''[[The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter]]'' and ''[[The Tales of Ise]].''<ref name= "Mulhern83ff"/> Scholars believe she may have started writing ''The Tale of Genji'' before her husband's death; it is known she was writing after she was widowed, perhaps in a state of grief.<ref name="ShiraneB293"/><ref name="Bowring, 2004, 4"/> In her diary she describes her feelings after her husband's death: "I felt depressed and confused. For some years I had existed from day to day in listless fashion ... doing little more than registering the passage of time ... The thought of my continuing loneliness was quite unbearable".<ref>qtd in Mulhern (1991), 84</ref>
According to legend, Murasaki retreated to [[Ishiyama-dera]] at [[Lake Biwa]], where she was inspired to write ''The Tale of Genji'' on an August night while looking at the Moon. Although scholars dismiss the factual basis of the story of her retreat, Japanese artists often depicted her at Ishiyama Temple staring at the Moon for inspiration.<ref name="P50ff"/> She may have been commissioned to write the story and may have known an exiled courtier in a similar position to her hero [[Hikaru Genji|Prince Genji]].<ref name="Royall"/> Murasaki would have distributed newly written chapters of ''Genji'' to friends who in turn would have re-copied them and passed them on. By this practice the story became known and she gained a reputation as an author.<ref name="M258ff">Mulhern (1994), 258–259</ref>
In her early to mid-thirties, she became a [[lady-in-waiting]] ({{transl|ja|nyōbō}}) at court, most likely because of her reputation as an author.<ref name="ShiraneB293"/><ref name="M258ff"/> Chieko Mulhern writes in ''Japanese Women Writers, a Biocritical Sourcebook'' that scholars have wondered why Murasaki made such a move at a comparatively late period in her life. Her diary evidences that she exchanged poetry with Michinaga after her husband's death, leading to speculation that the two may have been lovers. Bowring sees no evidence that she was brought to court as Michinaga's [[Concubinage|concubine]], although he did bring her to court without following official channels. Mulhern thinks Michinaga wanted to have Murasaki at court to educate his daughter Shōshi.<ref>Bowring (2004), 4; Mulhern (1994), 259</ref>
Can you suck my dick???
==Later life and death==
[[File:RosanjiTeien.jpg|thumb|Genji-Garden at [[Rozan-ji]], a temple in Kyoto associated with her former mansion]]
When Emperor Ichijō died in 1011, Shōshi retired from the Imperial Palace to live in a Fujiwara mansion in Biwa, most likely accompanied by Murasaki, who is recorded as being there with Shōshi in 1013.<ref name ="Shirane221ff"/> [[William George Aston|George Aston]] explains that when Murasaki retired from court she was again associated with Ishiyama-dera: "To this beautiful spot, it is said, Murasaki no Shikibu ''[sic]'' retired from court life to devote the remainder of her days to literature and religion. There are sceptics, however, [[Motoori Norinaga|Motoori]] being one, who refuse to believe this story, pointing out ... that it is irreconcilable with known facts. On the other hand, the very chamber in the temple where the ''Genji'' was written is shown—with the ink-slab which the author used, and a Buddhist [[Sutra]] in her handwriting, which, if they do not satisfy the critic, still are sufficient to carry conviction to the minds of ordinary visitors to the temple."<ref>Aston (1899), 93</ref>
Murasaki may have died in 1014. Her father made a hasty return to Kyoto from his post at [[Echigo Province]] that year, possibly because of her death. Writing in ''A Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of "The Tale of Genji"'', Shirane mentions that 1014 is generally accepted as the date of Murasaki Shikibu's death and 973 as the date of her birth, making her 41 when she died.<ref name ="Shirane221ff"/> Bowring considers 1014 to be speculative, and believes she may have lived with Shōshi until as late as 1025.<ref>Bowring (2004), 5</ref> Waley agrees given that Murasaki may have attended ceremonies with Shōshi held for Shōshi's son, [[Emperor Go-Ichijō]] around 1025.<ref name="Waley 1960, xv"/>
Murasaki's brother Nobunori died in around 1011, which, combined with the death of his daughter, may have prompted her father to resign his post and take vows at [[Mii-dera|Miidera]] temple where he died in 1029.<ref name="ShiraneB293"/><ref name ="Shirane221ff"/> Murasaki's daughter entered court service in 1025 as a [[wet nurse]] to the future [[Emperor Go-Reizei]] (1025–1068). She went on to become a well-known poet as [[Daini no Sanmi]].<ref>Mulhern (1996), 259</ref>
==Works==
[[File:Murasaki Shikibu at Ishiyama-dera.png|thumb|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 [[Arthur M. Sackler Museum|Sackler Museum]].]]
Three works are attributed to Murasaki: ''The Tale of Genji'', ''[[The Diary of Lady Murasaki]]'' and ''[[Poetic Memoirs]]'', a collection of 128 poems.<ref name="Mulhern260ff"/> Her work is considered important for its reflection of the creation and development of Japanese writing, during a period when Japanese shifted from an unwritten vernacular to a written language.<ref name ="Bowringxvff"/> Until the 9th century, Japanese language texts were written in [[Chinese characters]] using the {{transl|ja|[[man'yōgana]]}} writing system.<ref>Mason (1997), 81</ref> A revolutionary achievement was the development of {{transl|ja|kana}}, a true Japanese script, in the mid-to late 9th century. Japanese authors began to write prose in their own language, which led to genres such as tales ({{transl|ja|monogatari}}) and poetic journals ({{transl|ja|[[Nikki Bungaku]]}}).<ref name="kodanshainternat-p120">Kodansha International (2004), 475, 120</ref><ref name="shiraneb-p2-113-114">Shirane (2008b), 2, 113–114</ref><ref name="frederic-p594">Frédéric (2005), 594</ref> Historian [[Edwin O. Reischauer|Edwin Reischauer]] writes that genres such as the monogatari were distinctly Japanese and that ''Genji'', written in {{transl|ja|kana}}, "was the outstanding work of the period".<ref name= "Reischauer28ff"/>
===Diary and poetry===
[[File:Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emakimono (Gotoh Museum) 4.jpg|thumb|13th century illustration ({{transl|ja|[[emakimono]]}}) of ''The Diary of Lady Murasaki'' showing Empress Shōshi with the infant [[Emperor Go-Ichijō]] and ladies-in-waiting secluded behind a {{transl|ja|[[kichō]]}}.]]
Murasaki began her diary after she entered service at Shōshi's court.<ref name="Mulhern260ff"/> Much of what is known about her and her experiences at court comes from the diary, which covers the period from about 1008 to 1010. The long descriptive passages, some of which may have originated as letters, cover her relationships with the other ladies-in-waiting, Michinaga's temperament, the birth of Shōshi's sons—at Michinaga's mansion rather than at the Imperial Palace—and the process of writing ''Genji'', including descriptions of passing newly written chapters to [[calligraphy|calligraphers]] for transcriptions.<ref name ="Mulhern260ff"/><ref>McCullough (1990), 16</ref> Typical of contemporary court diaries written to honor patrons, Murasaki devotes half to the birth of Shōshi's son Emperor Go-Ichijō, an event of enormous importance to Michinaga: he had planned for it with his daughter's marriage which made him grandfather and ''de facto'' regent to an emperor.<ref name ="ShiraneB448">Shirane (2008b), 448</ref>
''Poetic Memoirs'' is a collection of 128 poems Mulhern describes as "arranged in a biographical sequence".<ref name="Mulhern260ff"/> The original set has been lost. According to custom, the verses would have been passed from person to person and often copied. Some appear written for a lover—possibly her husband before he died—but she may have merely followed tradition and written simple love poems. They contain biographical details: she mentions a sister who died, the visit to Echizen province with her father and that she wrote poetry for Shōshi. Murasaki's poems were published in 1206 by [[Fujiwara no Teika]], in what Mulhern believes to be the collection that is closest to the original form; at around the same time Teika included a selection of Murasaki's works in an imperial anthology, ''[[Shin Kokin Wakashū|New Collections of Ancient and Modern Times]]''.<ref name="Mulhern260ff"/>
===''The Tale of Genji''===
{{Main|The Tale of Genji}}
Murasaki is best known for her ''The Tale of Genji'', a three-part novel spanning 1100 pages and 54 chapters,<ref name ="M262">Mulhern (1994), 262</ref><ref>McCullough (1990), 9</ref> which is thought to have taken a decade to complete. The earliest chapters were possibly written for a private patron either during her marriage or shortly after her husband's death. She continued writing while at court and probably finished while still in service to Shōshi.<ref name="Shively 1999, 445">Shively (1999), 445</ref> She would have needed patronage to produce a work of such length. Michinaga provided her with costly paper and ink, and with calligraphers. The first handwritten volumes were probably assembled and bound by ladies-in-waiting.<ref name ="Shirane221ff"/>
[[File:Genji monogatari (ch. 34).jpg|thumb|left|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.]]
In his ''The Pleasures of Japanese Literature'', Keene claims Murasaki wrote the "supreme work of Japanese fiction" by drawing on traditions of {{transl|ja|waka}} court diaries, and earlier {{transl|ja|monogatari}}—written in a mixture of Chinese script and Japanese script—such as ''[[The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter]]'' or ''[[The Tales of Ise]]''.<ref>Keene (1988), 75–79, 81–84</ref> She drew on and blended styles from Chinese histories, narrative poetry and contemporary Japanese prose.<ref name ="M262"/> Adolphson writes that the juxtaposition of formal Chinese style with mundane subjects resulted in a sense of parody or satire, giving her a distinctive voice.<ref>Adolphson (2007), 121–122</ref> ''Genji'' follows the traditional format of {{transl|ja|monogatari}}—telling a tale—particularly evident in its use of a narrator, but Keene claims Murasaki developed the genre far beyond its bounds, and by doing so created a form that is utterly modern. The story of the "shining prince" Genji is set in the late 9th to early 10th centuries, and Murasaki eliminated from it the elements of fairy tales and fantasy frequently found in earlier {{transl|ja|monogatari}}.<ref name="K1988">Keene (1988), 81–84</ref>
The themes in ''Genji'' are common to the period, and are defined by Shively as encapsulating "the tyranny of time and the inescapable sorrow of romantic love".<ref>Shively (1990), 444</ref> The main theme is that of the fragility of life, "the sorrow of human existence" ({{transl|ja|[[mono no aware]]}}), a term used over a thousand times in ''Genji''.<ref>Henshall (1999), 27</ref> Keene speculates that in her tale of the "shining prince", Murasaki may have created for herself an idealistic escape from court life, which she found less than savory. In Prince Genji she formed a gifted, comely, refined, yet human and sympathetic [[protagonist]]. Keene writes that ''Genji'' gives a view into the Heian period; for example love affairs flourished, although women typically remained unseen behind screens, curtains or {{transl|ja|[[fusuma]]}}.<ref name="K1988"/>
[[Helen McCullough]] describes Murasaki's writing as of universal appeal and believes ''The Tale of Genji'' "transcends both its genre and age. Its basic subject matter and setting—love at the Heian court—are those of the romance, and its cultural assumptions are those of the mid-Heian period, but Murasaki Shikibu's unique genius has made the work for many a powerful statement of human relationships, the impossibility of permanent happiness in love ... and the vital importance, in a world of sorrows, of sensitivity to the feelings of others."<ref>McCullough (1999), 9</ref> Prince Genji recognizes in each of his lovers the inner beauty of the woman and the fragility of life, which according to Keene, makes him heroic. The story was popular: Emperor Ichijō had it read to him, even though it was written in Japanese. By 1021 all the chapters were known to be complete and the work was sought after in the provinces where it was scarce.<ref name="K1988"/><ref name="Bowring 2004, 79">Bowring (2004), 79</ref>
==Legacy==
Murasaki's reputation and influence have not diminished since her lifetime when she, with other Heian women writers, was instrumental in developing Japanese into a written language.<ref>Bowring (2004), 12</ref> Her writing was required reading for court poets as early as the 12th century as her work began to be studied by scholars who generated authoritative versions and criticism. Within a century of her death she was highly regarded as a classical writer.<ref name="Bowring 2004, 79"/> In the 17th century, Murasaki's work became emblematic of [[Confucius|Confucian]] philosophy and women were encouraged to read her books. In 1673, [[Kumazawa Banzan]] argued that her writing was valuable for its sensitivity and depiction of emotions. He wrote in his ''Discursive Commentary on Genji'' that when "human feelings are not understood the harmony of the Five Human Relationships is lost."<ref>qtd in Lillehoj (2007), 110</ref>
{{multiple image
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| image1 = Genji emaki YADORIGI 2.JPG
| caption1 = Early 12th century [[Emakimono|handscroll]] scene from ''Genji'', showing lovers separated from ladies-in-waiting by two screens, a {{transl|ja|kichō}} and a {{transl|ja|[[byōbu]]}}.
| alt1 = Painting of women sleeping in a screen area; a woman and a man in a separate screened area
| image2 = Genji emaki azumaya.jpg
| caption2 = Early 12th century painting showing a scene from ''Genji'' of women in a traditional room partitioned by {{transl|ja|[[fusuma]]}}, {{transl|ja|[[shōji]]}} and a {{transl|ja|kichō}}. This work is listed as [[List of National Treasures of Japan (paintings)|National Treasure of Japan]].
| alt2 = Court women in a room
| total_width = 400
}}
''The Tale of Genji'' was copied and illustrated in various forms as early as a century after Murasaki's death. ''The [[Genji Monogatari Emaki]]'', is a late Heian era 12th century [[Emakimono|handscroll]], consisting of four scrolls, 19 paintings, and 20 sheets of calligraphy. The illustrations, definitively dated to between 1110 and 1120, have been tentatively attributed to Fujiwara no Takachika and the calligraphy to various well-known contemporary calligraphers. The scroll is housed at the [[Gotoh Museum]] and the [[Tokugawa Art Museum]].<ref>Frédéric (2005), 238</ref>
Female virtue was tied to literary knowledge in the 17th century, leading to a demand for Murasaki or ''Genji'' inspired artifacts, known as {{transl|ja|genji-e}}. [[Dowry]] sets decorated with scenes from ''Genji'' or illustrations of Murasaki became particularly popular for noblewomen: in the 17th century {{transl|ja|genji-e}} symbolically imbued a bride with an increased level of cultural status; by the 18th century they had come to symbolize marital success. In 1628, [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]]'s daughter had a set of [[Lacquerware|lacquer]] boxes made for her wedding; Prince Toshitada received a pair of silk {{transl|ja|genji-e}} [[Folding screen|screens]], painted by [[Kanō Tan'yū]] as a wedding gift in 1649.<ref>Lillehoj (2007), 110–113</ref>
Murasaki became a popular subject of paintings and illustrations highlighting her as a virtuous woman and poet. She is often shown at her desk in Ishiyama Temple, staring at the Moon for inspiration. [[Tosa Mitsuoki]] made her the subject of hanging scrolls in the 17th century.<ref>Lillehoj, 108–109</ref> ''The Tale of Genji'' became a favorite subject of Japanese {{transl|ja|[[ukiyo-e]]}} artists for centuries with artists such as [[Hiroshige]], [[Torii Kiyonaga|Kiyonaga]], and [[Utamaro]] illustrating various editions of the novel.<ref>Geczy (2008), 13</ref> While early Genji art was considered symbolic of court culture, by the middle of the [[Edo period]] the mass-produced {{transl|ja|ukiyo-e}} prints made the illustrations accessible for the [[samurai]] classes and commoners.<ref name="2008a1ff"/>
In ''Envisioning the "Tale of Genji"'' Shirane observes that "''The Tale of Genji'' has become many things to many different audiences through many different media over a thousand years ... unmatched by any other Japanese text or artifact."<ref name="2008a1ff">Shirane (2008a), 1–2</ref> The work and its author were popularized through its illustrations in various media: {{transl|ja|[[emaki]]}} (illustrated handscrolls); {{transl|ja|[[Byōbu|byōbu-e]]}} (screen paintings), {{transl|ja|ukiyo-e}} (woodblock prints); films, comics, and in the modern period, [[manga]].<ref name="2008a1ff"/> In her fictionalized account of Murasaki's life, ''The Tale of Murasaki: A Novel'', [[Liza Dalby]] has Murasaki involved in a romance during her travels with her father to Echizen Province.<ref name="Royall">Tyler, Royall. [http://harvardmagazine.com/2002/05/murasaki-shikibu.html "Murasaki Shikibu: Brief Life of a Legendary Novelist: c. 973 – c. 1014"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824130015/https://harvardmagazine.com/2002/05/murasaki-shikibu.html |date=August 24, 2020 }}. (May 2002) ''Harvard Magazine''. Retrieved August 21, 2011.</ref>
[[File:'Lady Murasaki', anonymous ink, color and gold paper fan, 17th century Japan.jpg|left|thumb|17th century ink and gold paper fan showing Murasaki's writing]]
''The Tale of the Genji'' is recognized as an enduring classic. McCullough writes that Murasaki "is both the quintessential representative of a unique society and a writer who speaks to universal human concerns with a timeless voice. Japan has not seen another such genius."<ref name="Shively 1999, 445"/> Keene writes that ''The Tale of Genji'' continues to captivate, because, in the story, her characters and their concerns are universal. When Waley's translation (''The Tale of Genji: A Novel in Six Parts'') was published in 1933, reviewers compared ''Genji'' to [[Jane Austen|Austen]], [[Marcel Proust|Proust]], and [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]].<ref>Keene (1999), 508</ref> Mulhern says of Murasaki that she is similar to Shakespeare, who represented his [[Elizabethan era|Elizabethan England]], in that she captured the essence of the Heian court and as a novelist "succeeded perhaps even beyond her own expectations."<ref name="M264"/> Like Shakespeare, her work has been the subject of reams of criticism and many books.<ref name="M264">Mulhern (1994), 264</ref>
[[Image:2000 Yen Murasaki Shikibu.jpg|thumb|The design of the 2000-yen note was created in Murasaki's honour.]]
Kyoto held a year-long celebration commemorating the 1000th anniversary of ''Genji'' in 2008, with poetry competitions, visits to the [[the Tale of Genji Museum|Tale of Genji Museum]] in [[Uji, Kyoto|Uji]] and Ishiyama-dera (where a life size rendition of Murasaki at her desk was displayed), and women dressing in traditional 12-layer Heian court {{transl|ja|jūnihitoe}} and ankle-length wigs. The author and her work inspired museum exhibits and Genji manga spin-offs.<ref name ="NYT"/> The design on the reverse of the first [[Banknotes of the Japanese yen#2000|2000 yen]] note commemorated her and ''The Tale of Genji''.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/02/world/main517343.shtml "Japanese Feminist to Adorn Yen"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518005327/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/02/world/main517343.shtml |date=May 18, 2013 }}. (February 11, 2009). CBSNews.com. Retrieved August 11, 2011.</ref> A [[Callicarpa japonica|plant]] bearing purple berries has been named after her.<ref>Kondansha (1983), 269</ref>
A ''Genji Album'', only in the 1970s dated to 1510, is housed at [[Harvard University]]. The album is considered the earliest of its kind and consists of 54 paintings by [[Tosa Mitsunobu]] and 54 sheets of calligraphy on {{transl|ja|shikishi}} paper in five colors, written by master calligraphers. The leaves are housed in a case dated to the [[Edo period]], with a silk frontispiece painted by Tosa Mitsuoki, dated to around 1690. The album contains Mitsuoki's authentication slips for his ancestor's 16th century paintings.<ref>McCormick (2003), 54–56</ref>
===Gallery===
{{gallery
|height= 150
|width= 180
|File:Tale of Genji Royal Outing.jpg|In ''[[The Tale of Genji]]'', Murasaki described court life, as depicted in this exterior scene titled "Royal Outing", late 16th century by [[Tosa school|Tosa Mitsuyoshi]].
|File:Murasaki Genji Hiroshige.jpg|[[Hiroshige]] {{transl|ja|ukiyo-e}} print (1852) shows an interior court scene from ''The Tale of Genji''.
|File:Murasaki Shikibu with male court poets.png|In this 1795 [[woodcut]], Murasaki is shown in discussion with five male court poets.
|File:Murasaki Shikibu composing the Tale of Genji at Ishiyamadera, by Yashima Gakutei.jpg|Murasaki Shikibu composing ''The Tale of Genji'', by [[Yashima Gakutei]] (1786–1868).
}}
== Notes ==
{{reflist|group="note"|30em}}
==References==
{{reflist|19em}}
==Sources==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* Adolphson, Mikhael; Kamens, Edward and Matsumoto, Stacie. ''Heian Japan: Centers and Peripheries''. (2007). Honolulu: Hawaii UP. {{ISBN|978-0-8248-3013-7}}
* [[William George Aston|Aston, William]]. ''[[s:A History of Japanese Literature|A History of Japanese Literature]]''. (1899). London: Heinemann.
* [[Richard Bowring|Bowring, Richard John]] (ed). "Introduction". in ''The Diary of Lady Murasaki''. (1996). London: Penguin. {{ISBN|978-0-14-043576-4}}
* Bowring, Richard John (ed). "The Cultural Background". in ''The Tale of Genji''. (2004). Cambridge: Cambridge UP. {{ISBN|978-0-521-83208-3}}
* Frédéric, Louis. ''Japan Encyclopedia''. (2005). Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP. {{ISBN|978-0-674-01753-5}}
* Geczy, Adam. ''Art: Histories, Theories and Exceptions''. (2008). London: Oxford International Publishers. {{ISBN|978-1-84520-700-7}}
* Inge, Thomas. "Lady Murasaki and the Craft of Fiction". (May 1990) ''Atlantic Review''. (55). 7–14.
* Henshall, Kenneth G. ''A History of Japan''. (1999). New York: St. Martin's. {{ISBN|978-0-312-21986-4}}
* ''Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan''. (1983) New York: Kōdansha. {{ISBN|978-0-87011-620-9}}
* [[Donald Keene|Keene, Donald]]. ''Seeds in the Heart: Japanese Literature from Earliest times to the Late Sixteenth Century''. (1999). New York: Columbia UP. {{ISBN|978-0-231-11441-7}}
* Keene, Donald. ''The Pleasures of Japanese Literature''. (1988). New York: Columbia UP. {{ISBN|978-0-231-06736-2}}
* ''The Japan Book: A Comprehensive Pocket Guide''. (2004). New York: Kodansha International. {{ISBN|978-4-7700-2847-1}}
* Lillehoj, Elizabeth. ''Critical Perspectives on Classicism in Japanese Painting, 1600–17''. (2004). Honolulu: Hawaii UP. {{ISBN|978-0-8248-2699-4}}
* Lockard, Craig. ''Societies, Networks, and Transitions, Volume I: To 1500: A Global History''. (2008). Boston: Wadsworth. {{ISBN|978-1-4390-8535-6}}
* Mason, R.H.P. and Caiger, John Godwin. ''A History of Japan''. (1997). North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-8048-2097-4}}
* McCormick, Melissa. "''Genji'' Goes West: The 1510 Genji Album and the Visualization of Court and Capital". (March 2003). ''Art Bulletin''. (85). 54–85
* [[Helen Craig McCullough|McCullough, Helen]]. ''Classical Japanese Prose: An Anthology''. (1990). Stanford CA: Stanford UP. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-1960-5}}
* Mostow, Joshua. "Mother Tongue and Father Script: The relationship of Sei Shonagon and Murasaki Shikibu". in Copeland, Rebecca L. and Ramirez-Christensen Esperanza (eds). ''The Father-Daughter Plot: Japanese Literary Women and the Law of the Father''. (2001). Honolulu: Hawaii UP. {{ISBN|978-0-8248-2438-9}}
* Mulhern, Chieko Irie. ''Heroic with Grace: Legendary Women of Japan''. (1991). Armonk NY: M.E. Sharpe. {{ISBN|978-0-87332-527-1}}
* Mulhern, Chieko Irie. ''Japanese Women Writers: a Bio-critical Sourcebook''. (1994). Westport CT: Greenwood Press. {{ISBN|978-0-313-25486-4}}
* Perez, Louis G. ''The History of Japan''. (1990). Westport CT: Greenwood Press. {{ISBN|978-0-313-30296-1}}
* Puette, William J. ''The Tale of Genji: A Reader's Guide''. (1983). North Clarendon VT: Tuttle Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-8048-3331-8}}
* [[Edwin O. Reischauer|Reschauer, Edwin]]. ''Japan: The Story of a Nation''. (1999). New York: McGraw-Hill. {{ISBN|978-0-07-557074-5}}
* Shirane, Haruo. ''The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of "The Tale of Genji''". (1987). Stanford CA: Stanford UP. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-1719-9}}
* Shirane, Haruo. ''Envisioning the Tale of Genji: Media, Gender, and Cultural Production''. (2008a). New York: Columbia UP. {{ISBN|978-0-231-14237-3}}
* Shirane, Haruo. ''Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600''. (2008b). New York: Columbia UP. {{ISBN|978-0-231-13697-6}}
* [[Donald Shively|Shively, Donald]] and McCullough, William H. ''The Cambridge History of Japan: Heian Japan''. (1999). Cambridge UP. {{ISBN|978-0-521-22353-9}}
* Tsunoda, Bunei. "Real name of Murasahiki Shikibu". ''Kodai Bunka (Cultura antiqua)''. (1963) (55). 1–27.
* Ueno, Chizuko. ''The Modern Family in Japan: Its Rise and Fall''. (2009). Melbourne: Transpacific Press. {{ISBN|978-1-876843-56-4}}
* [[Arthur Waley|Waley, Arthur]]. "Introduction". in Shikibu, Murasaki, ''The Tale of Genji: A Novel in Six Parts''. translated by Arthur Waley. (1960). New York: Modern Library.
{{refend}}
==External links==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|viaf=95154208}}
*{{commonscat-inline}}
* {{wikisource author-inline|Murasaki Shikibu}}
*{{wikiquote-inline}}
* [http://www.taleofgenji.org/rozanji.html Rozan-ji Temple, Kyoto]
* {{Gutenberg author|id=46975}}
* {{OL author}}
* {{librivox author|Murasaki+Shikibu}}
* [https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2019/tale-of-genji Exhibition: The Tale of Genji, A Japanese Classic Illuminated] at Metropolitan Museum of Art, March 5 – June 16, 2019
{{Murasaki Shikibu}}
{{The Tale of Genji}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murasaki Shikibu}}
[[Category:Murasaki Shikibu| ]]
[[Category:10th-century novelists]]
[[Category:11th-century deaths]]
[[Category:11th-century novelists]]
[[Category:11th-century Japanese poets]]
[[Category:11th-century Japanese women writers]]
[[Category:11th-century Japanese writers]]
[[Category:970s births]]
[[Category:Buddhist poets]]
[[Category:Fujiwara clan]]
[[Category:Heian period Buddhists]]
[[Category:Hyakunin Isshu poets]]
[[Category:Japanese diarists]]
[[Category:Japanese literature|Japanese literature]]
[[Category:Japanese novelists]]
[[Category:Japanese poetry|Japanese poetry]]
[[Category:Japanese women novelists]]
[[Category:Japanese women poets]]
[[Category:Ladies-in-waiting of Heian-period Japan]]
[[Category:Mythopoeic writers]]
[[Category:Nobility from Kyoto]]
[[Category:People of Heian-period Japan]]
[[Category:The Tale of Genji]]
[[Category:Unidentified people]]
[[Category:Women memoirists]]
[[Category:Women of medieval Japan]]
[[Category:Writers from Kyoto]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:Year of death uncertain]]' |
Unified diff of changes made by edit (edit_diff) | '@@ -72,77 +72,5 @@
In her early to mid-thirties, she became a [[lady-in-waiting]] ({{transl|ja|nyōbō}}) at court, most likely because of her reputation as an author.<ref name="ShiraneB293"/><ref name="M258ff"/> Chieko Mulhern writes in ''Japanese Women Writers, a Biocritical Sourcebook'' that scholars have wondered why Murasaki made such a move at a comparatively late period in her life. Her diary evidences that she exchanged poetry with Michinaga after her husband's death, leading to speculation that the two may have been lovers. Bowring sees no evidence that she was brought to court as Michinaga's [[Concubinage|concubine]], although he did bring her to court without following official channels. Mulhern thinks Michinaga wanted to have Murasaki at court to educate his daughter Shōshi.<ref>Bowring (2004), 4; Mulhern (1994), 259</ref>
-==Court life==
-[[File:Ch5 wakamurasaki.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Tosa school|Tosa-school]] mid- to late 17th century {{transl|ja|[[yamato-e]]}} of Heian [[courtier]]s by [[Tosa Mitsuoki]], shows women dressed in {{transl|ja|[[jūnihitoe]]}} and with floor-length hair.|alt=Japanese courtiers in the gardens.]]
-Heian culture and court life reached a peak early in the 11th century.<ref name="Henshall24ff"/> The population of Kyoto grew to around 100,000 as the nobility became increasingly isolated at the [[Heian Palace]] in government posts and court service.<ref name="Lockard292">Lockard (2008), 292</ref> Courtiers became overly refined with little to do, insulated from reality, preoccupied with the minutiae of court life, turning to artistic endeavors.<ref name= "Henshall24ff">Henshall (1999), 24–25</ref><ref name="Lockard292"/> Emotions were commonly expressed through the artistic use of textiles, fragrances, calligraphy, colored paper, poetry, and layering of clothing in pleasing color combinations—according to mood and season. Those who showed an inability to follow conventional aesthetics quickly lost popularity, particularly at court.<ref name="Perez21ff"/> Popular pastimes for Heian noblewomen—who adhered to rigid fashions of floor-length hair, whitened skin and blackened teeth—included having love affairs, writing poetry and keeping diaries. The literature that Heian court women wrote is recognized as some of the earliest and among the best literature written in Japanese [[Canon (fiction)|canon]].<ref name="Henshall24ff"/><ref name="Lockard292"/>
-
-===Rival courts and women poets===
-When in 995 Michinaga's two brothers [[Fujiwara no Michitaka]] and [[Fujiwara no Michikane]] died, leaving the regency vacant, Michinaga quickly won a power struggle against his nephew [[Fujiwara no Korechika]] (brother to [[Fujiwara no Teishi|Teishi]], [[Emperor Ichijō]]'s wife), and, aided by his sister Senshi, he assumed power. Teishi had supported her brother Korechika, who was discredited and banished from court in 996 following a scandal involving his shooting at the retired [[Emperor Kazan]], causing her to lose power.<ref name="Shively67ff">Shively and McCullough (1999), 67–69</ref> Four years later Michinaga sent Shōshi, his eldest daughter, to Emperor Ichijō's harem when she was about 12.<ref name="McCullough201ff">McCullough (1990), 201</ref> A year after placing Shōshi in the imperial harem, in an effort to undermine Teishi's influence and increase Shōshi's standing, Michinaga had her named Empress although Teishi already held the title. As historian [[Donald Shively]] explains, "Michinaga shocked even his admirers by arranging for the unprecedented appointment of Teishi (or Sadako) and Shōshi as concurrent empresses of the same emperor, Teishi holding the usual title of "Lustrous Heir-bearer" {{transl|ja|kōgō}} and Shōshi that of "Inner Palatine" ({{transl|ja|chūgū}}), a toponymically derived equivalent coined for the occasion".<ref name="Shively67ff"/> About five years later, Michinaga brought Murasaki to Shōshi's court, in a position that Bowring describes as a companion-tutor.<ref>Bowring (1996), xiv</ref>
-
-Women of high status lived in seclusion at court and, through strategic marriages, were used to gain political power for their families. In the case of Shōshi and other such marriages to members of the imperial clan, it enabled the woman's clan to exercise influence over the emperor—this was how Michinaga, and other Fujiwara Regents, achieved their power. Despite their seclusion, some women wielded considerable influence, often achieved through competitive [[Salon (gathering)|salons]], dependent on the quality of those attending.<ref name ="Bowringxvff">Bowring (1996), xv–xvii</ref> Ichijō's mother and Michinaga's sister, Senshi, had an influential salon, and Michinaga probably wanted Shōshi to surround herself with skilled women such as Murasaki to build a rival salon.<ref name="M258ff"/>
-
-{{multiple image
-| align = right
-| direction = horizontal
-| header =
-| header_align = left/right/center
-| header_background = |footer
-| footer_align = left/right/center
-| footer_background =
-| width =
-| image1 = Izumi Shikibu.png
-| caption1 = [[Izumi Shikibu]], shown here in a {{transl|ja|[[Kusazōshi]]}} by [[Komatsuken]] from about 1765, was a poet at Empress Teishi's court.
-| alt1 = Painting of a woman poet in a kimono looking left
-| image2 = Akazome Emon.png
-| caption2 = [[Akazome Emon]], a rival court poet, depicted in a {{circa|1765}} [[Woodblock printing|ink]] and color {{transl|ja|[[Kusazōshi]]}} by Komatsuken
-| alt2 = Painting of a woman poet in a kimono looking right
-| image3 = Sei Shonagon artist unknown.png
-| caption3 = [[Sei Shōnagon]], Murasaki's court rival, depicted in a {{transl|ja|[[Benizuri-e]]}} ({{circa|1760s}})
-| alt3 = Painting of a standing man and a seated woman looking at each other
-| total_width = 500
-}}
-
-Shōshi was 16 to 19 when Murasaki joined her court,<ref>According to Mulhern Shōshi was 19 when Murasaki arrived; Waley states she was 16. See Mulhern (1994), 259 and Waley (1960), vii</ref> either in 1005 or 1006.<ref>Bowring (1996), xxxv</ref> According to [[Arthur Waley]], Shōshi was a serious-minded young lady, whose living arrangements were divided between her father's household and her court at the Imperial Palace.<ref>Waley (1960), vii</ref> She gathered around her talented women writers such as [[Izumi Shikibu]] and [[Akazome Emon]]—the author of an early [[vernacular]] history, ''[[Eiga Monogatari|The Tale of Flowering Fortunes]]''.<ref name ="Mulhern156ff">Mulhern (1994), 156</ref> The rivalry that existed among the women is evident in Murasaki's diary, where she wrote disparagingly of Izumi: "Izumi Shikibu is an amusing letter-writer; but there is something not very satisfactory about her. She has a gift for dashing off informal compositions in a careless running-hand; but in poetry she needs either an interesting subject or some classic model to imitate. Indeed it does not seem to me that in herself she is really a poet at all."<ref>Waley (1960), xii</ref>
-
-[[Sei Shōnagon]], author of ''[[The Pillow Book]]'', had been in service as lady-in-waiting to Teishi when Shōshi came to court; it is possible that Murasaki was invited to Shōshi's court as a rival to Shōnagon. Teishi died in 1001, before Murasaki entered service with Shōshi, so the two writers were not there concurrently, but Murasaki, who wrote about Shōnagon in her diary, certainly knew of her, and to an extent was influenced by her.<ref name="Keene414ff">Keene (1999), 414–415</ref> Shōnagon's ''The Pillow Book'' may have been commissioned as a type of propaganda to highlight Teishi's court, known for its educated ladies-in-waiting. Japanese literature scholar Joshua Mostow believes Michinaga provided Murasaki to Shōshi as an equally or better educated woman, so as to showcase Shōshi's court in a similar manner.<ref name="Mostow130ff">Mostow (2001), 130</ref>
-
-The two writers had different temperaments: Shōnagon was witty, clever, and outspoken; Murasaki was withdrawn and sensitive. Entries in Murasaki's diary show that the two may not have been on good terms. Murasaki wrote, "Sei Shōnagon ... was dreadfully conceited. She thought herself so clever, littered her writing with Chinese characters, [which] left a great deal to be desired."<ref>qtd in Keene (1999), 414</ref> Keene thinks that Murasaki's impression of Shōnagon could have been influenced by Shōshi and the women at her court, as Shōnagon served Shōshi's rival empress. Furthermore, he believes Murasaki was brought to court to write ''Genji'' in response to Shōnagon's popular ''Pillow Book''.<ref name="Keene414ff"/> Murasaki contrasted herself to Shōnagon in a variety of ways. She denigrated the pillow book genre and, unlike Shōnagon, who flaunted her knowledge of Chinese, Murasaki pretended to not know the language, regarding it as pretentious and affected.<ref name="Mostow130ff"/>
-{{clear}}
-
-==="The Lady of the Chronicles"===
-Although the popularity of the Chinese language diminished in the late Heian era, Chinese ballads continued to be popular, including those written by [[Bai Juyi]]. Murasaki taught Chinese to Shōshi who was interested in Chinese art and Juyi's ballads. Upon becoming Empress, Shōshi installed screens decorated with [[Chinese characters|Chinese script]], causing outrage because written Chinese was considered the language of men, far removed from the women's quarters.<ref>Adolphson (2007), 110, 119</ref> The study of Chinese was thought to be unladylike and went against the notion that only men should have access to the literature. Women were supposed to read and write only in Japanese, which separated them through language from government and the power structure. Murasaki, with her unconventional classical Chinese education, was one of the few women available to teach Shōshi classical Chinese.<ref>Adolphson (2007), 110</ref> Bowring writes it was "almost subversive" that Murasaki knew Chinese and taught the language to Shōshi.<ref>Bowring (2004), 11</ref> Murasaki, who was reticent about her Chinese education, held the lessons between the two women in secret, writing in her diary, "Since last summer ... very secretly, in odd moments when there happened to be no one about, I have been reading with Her Majesty ... There has of course been no question of formal lessons ... I have thought it best to say nothing about the matter to anybody."<ref>qtd in Waley (1960), ix–x</ref>
-
-{{multiple image
-| align = left
-| direction = horizontal
-| header =
-| header_align = left/right/center
-| header_background = |footer
-| footer_align = left/right/center
-| footer_background =
-| image1 = Ilustration of The Tale of Genji.jpg
-| caption1 = A [[Tosa Mitsuoki]] illustration of [[Heian period|Heian]] court women in the winter, late 17th century
-| alt1 = Court women in the snow
-| image2 = Portrait of Murasaki Shikibu.jpg
-| caption2 = Late 16th-century ([[Azuchi–Momoyama period]]) depiction of Murasaki Shikibu, by [[Kanō Takanobu]]
-| alt2 = Painting of a woman poet in a kimono at a desk, writing
-| total_width = 400
-}}
-
-Murasaki probably earned an ambiguous nickname, "The Lady of the Chronicles" ({{transl|ja|[[Nihon Shoki|Nihongi]] no tsubone}}), for teaching Shōshi Chinese literature.<ref name="M258ff"/> A lady-in-waiting who disliked Murasaki accused her of flaunting her knowledge of Chinese and began calling her "The Lady of the Chronicles"—an allusion to the classic ''Chronicles of Japan''—after an incident in which chapters from ''Genji'' were read aloud to the Emperor and his courtiers, one of whom remarked that the author showed a high level of education. Murasaki wrote in her diary, "How utterly ridiculous! Would I, who hesitate to reveal my learning to my women at home, ever think of doing so at court?"<ref>qtd in Mostow (2001), 133</ref> Although the nickname was apparently meant to be disparaging, Mulhern believes Murasaki was flattered by it.<ref name="M258ff"/>
-
-The attitude toward the Chinese language was contradictory. In Teishi's court, the Chinese language had been flaunted and considered a symbol of imperial rule and superiority. Yet, in Shōshi's salon there was a great deal of hostility towards the language—perhaps owing to political expedience during a period when Chinese began to be rejected in favor of Japanese—even though Shōshi herself was a student of the language. The hostility may have affected Murasaki and her opinion of the court, and forced her to hide her knowledge of Chinese. Unlike Shōnagon, who was both ostentatious and flirtatious, as well as outspoken about her knowledge of Chinese, Murasaki seems to have been humble, an attitude which possibly impressed Michinaga. Although Murasaki used Chinese and incorporated it in her writing, she publicly rejected the language, a commendable attitude during a period of burgeoning Japanese culture.<ref>Mostow (2001), 131, 137</ref>
-
-<!-- [[Image:Murasaki Shikibu.jpg|thumb|upright|Murasaki Shikibu in [[monochrome]], by [[Kikuchi Yōsai]] c. early 19th century]]-->
-Murasaki seems to have been unhappy with court life and was withdrawn and somber. No surviving records show that she entered poetry competitions; she appears to have exchanged few poems or letters with other women during her service.<ref name="Bowring, 2004, 4"/> In general, unlike Shōnagon, Murasaki gives the impression in her diary that she disliked court life, the other ladies-in-waiting, and the drunken revelry. She did, however, become close friends with a lady-in-waiting named Lady Saishō, and she wrote of the winters that she enjoyed, "I love to see the snow here".<ref>Waley (1960), xiii</ref><ref>Waley (1960), xi</ref>
-
-According to Waley, Murasaki may not have been unhappy with court life in general but bored in Shōshi's court. He speculates she would have preferred to serve with the Lady Senshi, whose household seems to have been less strict and more light-hearted. In her diary, Murasaki wrote about Shōshi's court, "[she] has gathered round her a number of very worthy young ladies ... Her Majesty is beginning to acquire more experience of life, and no longer judges others by the same rigid standards as before; but meanwhile her Court has gained a reputation for extreme dullness".<ref>Waley (1960), viii</ref>
-
-[[File:Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emakimono (Gotoh Museum) 6.jpg|thumb|In this 13th century painting from the [[Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emaki]], drunk, disarranged, and disordered Heian [[courtier]]s are shown joking and flirting with court ladies.|upright=1.3]]
-
-Murasaki disliked the men at court, whom she thought were drunken and stupid. However, some scholars, such as Waley, are certain she was involved romantically with Michinaga. At the least, Michinaga pursued her and pressured her strongly, and her flirtation with him is recorded in her diary as late as 1010. Yet, she wrote to him in a poem, "You have neither read my book, nor won my love."<ref>Waley (1960), x</ref> In her diary she records having to avoid advances from Michinaga—one night he sneaked into her room, stealing a newly written chapter of ''Genji.''<ref name="Mulhern260ff">Mulhern (1994), 260–261</ref> However, Michinaga's patronage was essential if she was to continue writing.<ref name ="Shirane221ff">Shirane (1987), 221–222</ref> Murasaki described her daughter's court activities: the lavish ceremonies, the complicated courtships, the "complexities of the marriage system",<ref name ="Knapp"/> and in elaborate detail, the birth of Shōshi's two sons.<ref name="Mulhern260ff"/>
-
-It is likely that Murasaki enjoyed writing in solitude.<ref name="Mulhern260ff"/> She believed she did not fit well with the general atmosphere of the court, writing of herself: "I am wrapped up in the study of ancient stories ... living all the time in a poetical world of my own scarcely realizing the existence of other people .... But when they get to know me, they find to their extreme surprise that I am kind and gentle".<ref name="Waley 1960, xv">Waley (1960), xv</ref> Inge says that she was too outspoken to make friends at court, and Mulhern thinks Murasaki's court life was comparatively quiet compared to other [[court poets]].<ref name="Inge9"/><ref name="M258ff"/> Mulhern speculates that her remarks about Izumi were not so much directed at Izumi's poetry but at her behavior, lack of morality and her court liaisons, of which Murasaki disapproved.<ref name= "Mulhern156ff"/>
-
-Rank was important in Heian court society and Murasaki would not have felt herself to have much, if anything, in common with the higher ranked and more powerful Fujiwaras.<ref>Bowring (2004), 3</ref> In her diary, she wrote of her life at court: "I realized that my branch of the family was a very humble one; but the thought seldom troubled me, and I was in those days far indeed from the painful consciousness of inferiority which makes life at Court a continual torment to me."<ref>Waley (1960), xiv</ref> A court position would have increased her social standing, but more importantly she gained a greater experience to write about.<ref name="M258ff"/> Court life, as she experienced it, is well reflected in the chapters of ''Genji'' written after she joined Shōshi. The name Murasaki was most probably given to her at a court dinner in an incident she recorded in her diary: in 1008 the well-known court poet [[Fujiwara no Kintō]] inquired after the "Young Murasaki"—an allusion to the character named Murasaki in ''Genji''—which would have been considered a compliment from a male court poet to a female author.<ref name="M258ff"/>
+Can you suck my dick???
==Later life and death==
' |
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0 => '==Court life==',
1 => '[[File:Ch5 wakamurasaki.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Tosa school|Tosa-school]] mid- to late 17th century {{transl|ja|[[yamato-e]]}} of Heian [[courtier]]s by [[Tosa Mitsuoki]], shows women dressed in {{transl|ja|[[jūnihitoe]]}} and with floor-length hair.|alt=Japanese courtiers in the gardens.]]',
2 => 'Heian culture and court life reached a peak early in the 11th century.<ref name="Henshall24ff"/> The population of Kyoto grew to around 100,000 as the nobility became increasingly isolated at the [[Heian Palace]] in government posts and court service.<ref name="Lockard292">Lockard (2008), 292</ref> Courtiers became overly refined with little to do, insulated from reality, preoccupied with the minutiae of court life, turning to artistic endeavors.<ref name= "Henshall24ff">Henshall (1999), 24–25</ref><ref name="Lockard292"/> Emotions were commonly expressed through the artistic use of textiles, fragrances, calligraphy, colored paper, poetry, and layering of clothing in pleasing color combinations—according to mood and season. Those who showed an inability to follow conventional aesthetics quickly lost popularity, particularly at court.<ref name="Perez21ff"/> Popular pastimes for Heian noblewomen—who adhered to rigid fashions of floor-length hair, whitened skin and blackened teeth—included having love affairs, writing poetry and keeping diaries. The literature that Heian court women wrote is recognized as some of the earliest and among the best literature written in Japanese [[Canon (fiction)|canon]].<ref name="Henshall24ff"/><ref name="Lockard292"/>',
3 => '',
4 => '===Rival courts and women poets===',
5 => 'When in 995 Michinaga's two brothers [[Fujiwara no Michitaka]] and [[Fujiwara no Michikane]] died, leaving the regency vacant, Michinaga quickly won a power struggle against his nephew [[Fujiwara no Korechika]] (brother to [[Fujiwara no Teishi|Teishi]], [[Emperor Ichijō]]'s wife), and, aided by his sister Senshi, he assumed power. Teishi had supported her brother Korechika, who was discredited and banished from court in 996 following a scandal involving his shooting at the retired [[Emperor Kazan]], causing her to lose power.<ref name="Shively67ff">Shively and McCullough (1999), 67–69</ref> Four years later Michinaga sent Shōshi, his eldest daughter, to Emperor Ichijō's harem when she was about 12.<ref name="McCullough201ff">McCullough (1990), 201</ref> A year after placing Shōshi in the imperial harem, in an effort to undermine Teishi's influence and increase Shōshi's standing, Michinaga had her named Empress although Teishi already held the title. As historian [[Donald Shively]] explains, "Michinaga shocked even his admirers by arranging for the unprecedented appointment of Teishi (or Sadako) and Shōshi as concurrent empresses of the same emperor, Teishi holding the usual title of "Lustrous Heir-bearer" {{transl|ja|kōgō}} and Shōshi that of "Inner Palatine" ({{transl|ja|chūgū}}), a toponymically derived equivalent coined for the occasion".<ref name="Shively67ff"/> About five years later, Michinaga brought Murasaki to Shōshi's court, in a position that Bowring describes as a companion-tutor.<ref>Bowring (1996), xiv</ref>',
6 => '',
7 => 'Women of high status lived in seclusion at court and, through strategic marriages, were used to gain political power for their families. In the case of Shōshi and other such marriages to members of the imperial clan, it enabled the woman's clan to exercise influence over the emperor—this was how Michinaga, and other Fujiwara Regents, achieved their power. Despite their seclusion, some women wielded considerable influence, often achieved through competitive [[Salon (gathering)|salons]], dependent on the quality of those attending.<ref name ="Bowringxvff">Bowring (1996), xv–xvii</ref> Ichijō's mother and Michinaga's sister, Senshi, had an influential salon, and Michinaga probably wanted Shōshi to surround herself with skilled women such as Murasaki to build a rival salon.<ref name="M258ff"/>',
8 => '',
9 => '{{multiple image',
10 => '| align = right',
11 => '| direction = horizontal',
12 => '| header = ',
13 => '| header_align = left/right/center',
14 => '| header_background = |footer',
15 => '| footer_align = left/right/center',
16 => '| footer_background = ',
17 => '| width = ',
18 => '| image1 = Izumi Shikibu.png',
19 => '| caption1 = [[Izumi Shikibu]], shown here in a {{transl|ja|[[Kusazōshi]]}} by [[Komatsuken]] from about 1765, was a poet at Empress Teishi's court.',
20 => '| alt1 = Painting of a woman poet in a kimono looking left',
21 => '| image2 = Akazome Emon.png',
22 => '| caption2 = [[Akazome Emon]], a rival court poet, depicted in a {{circa|1765}} [[Woodblock printing|ink]] and color {{transl|ja|[[Kusazōshi]]}} by Komatsuken',
23 => '| alt2 = Painting of a woman poet in a kimono looking right',
24 => '| image3 = Sei Shonagon artist unknown.png',
25 => '| caption3 = [[Sei Shōnagon]], Murasaki's court rival, depicted in a {{transl|ja|[[Benizuri-e]]}} ({{circa|1760s}})',
26 => '| alt3 = Painting of a standing man and a seated woman looking at each other',
27 => '| total_width = 500',
28 => '}}',
29 => '',
30 => 'Shōshi was 16 to 19 when Murasaki joined her court,<ref>According to Mulhern Shōshi was 19 when Murasaki arrived; Waley states she was 16. See Mulhern (1994), 259 and Waley (1960), vii</ref> either in 1005 or 1006.<ref>Bowring (1996), xxxv</ref> According to [[Arthur Waley]], Shōshi was a serious-minded young lady, whose living arrangements were divided between her father's household and her court at the Imperial Palace.<ref>Waley (1960), vii</ref> She gathered around her talented women writers such as [[Izumi Shikibu]] and [[Akazome Emon]]—the author of an early [[vernacular]] history, ''[[Eiga Monogatari|The Tale of Flowering Fortunes]]''.<ref name ="Mulhern156ff">Mulhern (1994), 156</ref> The rivalry that existed among the women is evident in Murasaki's diary, where she wrote disparagingly of Izumi: "Izumi Shikibu is an amusing letter-writer; but there is something not very satisfactory about her. She has a gift for dashing off informal compositions in a careless running-hand; but in poetry she needs either an interesting subject or some classic model to imitate. Indeed it does not seem to me that in herself she is really a poet at all."<ref>Waley (1960), xii</ref>',
31 => '',
32 => '[[Sei Shōnagon]], author of ''[[The Pillow Book]]'', had been in service as lady-in-waiting to Teishi when Shōshi came to court; it is possible that Murasaki was invited to Shōshi's court as a rival to Shōnagon. Teishi died in 1001, before Murasaki entered service with Shōshi, so the two writers were not there concurrently, but Murasaki, who wrote about Shōnagon in her diary, certainly knew of her, and to an extent was influenced by her.<ref name="Keene414ff">Keene (1999), 414–415</ref> Shōnagon's ''The Pillow Book'' may have been commissioned as a type of propaganda to highlight Teishi's court, known for its educated ladies-in-waiting. Japanese literature scholar Joshua Mostow believes Michinaga provided Murasaki to Shōshi as an equally or better educated woman, so as to showcase Shōshi's court in a similar manner.<ref name="Mostow130ff">Mostow (2001), 130</ref>',
33 => '',
34 => 'The two writers had different temperaments: Shōnagon was witty, clever, and outspoken; Murasaki was withdrawn and sensitive. Entries in Murasaki's diary show that the two may not have been on good terms. Murasaki wrote, "Sei Shōnagon ... was dreadfully conceited. She thought herself so clever, littered her writing with Chinese characters, [which] left a great deal to be desired."<ref>qtd in Keene (1999), 414</ref> Keene thinks that Murasaki's impression of Shōnagon could have been influenced by Shōshi and the women at her court, as Shōnagon served Shōshi's rival empress. Furthermore, he believes Murasaki was brought to court to write ''Genji'' in response to Shōnagon's popular ''Pillow Book''.<ref name="Keene414ff"/> Murasaki contrasted herself to Shōnagon in a variety of ways. She denigrated the pillow book genre and, unlike Shōnagon, who flaunted her knowledge of Chinese, Murasaki pretended to not know the language, regarding it as pretentious and affected.<ref name="Mostow130ff"/>',
35 => '{{clear}}',
36 => '',
37 => '==="The Lady of the Chronicles"===',
38 => 'Although the popularity of the Chinese language diminished in the late Heian era, Chinese ballads continued to be popular, including those written by [[Bai Juyi]]. Murasaki taught Chinese to Shōshi who was interested in Chinese art and Juyi's ballads. Upon becoming Empress, Shōshi installed screens decorated with [[Chinese characters|Chinese script]], causing outrage because written Chinese was considered the language of men, far removed from the women's quarters.<ref>Adolphson (2007), 110, 119</ref> The study of Chinese was thought to be unladylike and went against the notion that only men should have access to the literature. Women were supposed to read and write only in Japanese, which separated them through language from government and the power structure. Murasaki, with her unconventional classical Chinese education, was one of the few women available to teach Shōshi classical Chinese.<ref>Adolphson (2007), 110</ref> Bowring writes it was "almost subversive" that Murasaki knew Chinese and taught the language to Shōshi.<ref>Bowring (2004), 11</ref> Murasaki, who was reticent about her Chinese education, held the lessons between the two women in secret, writing in her diary, "Since last summer ... very secretly, in odd moments when there happened to be no one about, I have been reading with Her Majesty ... There has of course been no question of formal lessons ... I have thought it best to say nothing about the matter to anybody."<ref>qtd in Waley (1960), ix–x</ref>',
39 => '',
40 => '{{multiple image',
41 => '| align = left',
42 => '| direction = horizontal',
43 => '| header = ',
44 => '| header_align = left/right/center',
45 => '| header_background = |footer',
46 => '| footer_align = left/right/center',
47 => '| footer_background = ',
48 => '| image1 = Ilustration of The Tale of Genji.jpg',
49 => '| caption1 = A [[Tosa Mitsuoki]] illustration of [[Heian period|Heian]] court women in the winter, late 17th century',
50 => '| alt1 = Court women in the snow',
51 => '| image2 = Portrait of Murasaki Shikibu.jpg',
52 => '| caption2 = Late 16th-century ([[Azuchi–Momoyama period]]) depiction of Murasaki Shikibu, by [[Kanō Takanobu]]',
53 => '| alt2 = Painting of a woman poet in a kimono at a desk, writing',
54 => '| total_width = 400',
55 => '}}',
56 => '',
57 => 'Murasaki probably earned an ambiguous nickname, "The Lady of the Chronicles" ({{transl|ja|[[Nihon Shoki|Nihongi]] no tsubone}}), for teaching Shōshi Chinese literature.<ref name="M258ff"/> A lady-in-waiting who disliked Murasaki accused her of flaunting her knowledge of Chinese and began calling her "The Lady of the Chronicles"—an allusion to the classic ''Chronicles of Japan''—after an incident in which chapters from ''Genji'' were read aloud to the Emperor and his courtiers, one of whom remarked that the author showed a high level of education. Murasaki wrote in her diary, "How utterly ridiculous! Would I, who hesitate to reveal my learning to my women at home, ever think of doing so at court?"<ref>qtd in Mostow (2001), 133</ref> Although the nickname was apparently meant to be disparaging, Mulhern believes Murasaki was flattered by it.<ref name="M258ff"/>',
58 => '',
59 => 'The attitude toward the Chinese language was contradictory. In Teishi's court, the Chinese language had been flaunted and considered a symbol of imperial rule and superiority. Yet, in Shōshi's salon there was a great deal of hostility towards the language—perhaps owing to political expedience during a period when Chinese began to be rejected in favor of Japanese—even though Shōshi herself was a student of the language. The hostility may have affected Murasaki and her opinion of the court, and forced her to hide her knowledge of Chinese. Unlike Shōnagon, who was both ostentatious and flirtatious, as well as outspoken about her knowledge of Chinese, Murasaki seems to have been humble, an attitude which possibly impressed Michinaga. Although Murasaki used Chinese and incorporated it in her writing, she publicly rejected the language, a commendable attitude during a period of burgeoning Japanese culture.<ref>Mostow (2001), 131, 137</ref>',
60 => '',
61 => '<!-- [[Image:Murasaki Shikibu.jpg|thumb|upright|Murasaki Shikibu in [[monochrome]], by [[Kikuchi Yōsai]] c. early 19th century]]-->',
62 => 'Murasaki seems to have been unhappy with court life and was withdrawn and somber. No surviving records show that she entered poetry competitions; she appears to have exchanged few poems or letters with other women during her service.<ref name="Bowring, 2004, 4"/> In general, unlike Shōnagon, Murasaki gives the impression in her diary that she disliked court life, the other ladies-in-waiting, and the drunken revelry. She did, however, become close friends with a lady-in-waiting named Lady Saishō, and she wrote of the winters that she enjoyed, "I love to see the snow here".<ref>Waley (1960), xiii</ref><ref>Waley (1960), xi</ref>',
63 => '',
64 => 'According to Waley, Murasaki may not have been unhappy with court life in general but bored in Shōshi's court. He speculates she would have preferred to serve with the Lady Senshi, whose household seems to have been less strict and more light-hearted. In her diary, Murasaki wrote about Shōshi's court, "[she] has gathered round her a number of very worthy young ladies ... Her Majesty is beginning to acquire more experience of life, and no longer judges others by the same rigid standards as before; but meanwhile her Court has gained a reputation for extreme dullness".<ref>Waley (1960), viii</ref>',
65 => '',
66 => '[[File:Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emakimono (Gotoh Museum) 6.jpg|thumb|In this 13th century painting from the [[Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emaki]], drunk, disarranged, and disordered Heian [[courtier]]s are shown joking and flirting with court ladies.|upright=1.3]]',
67 => '',
68 => 'Murasaki disliked the men at court, whom she thought were drunken and stupid. However, some scholars, such as Waley, are certain she was involved romantically with Michinaga. At the least, Michinaga pursued her and pressured her strongly, and her flirtation with him is recorded in her diary as late as 1010. Yet, she wrote to him in a poem, "You have neither read my book, nor won my love."<ref>Waley (1960), x</ref> In her diary she records having to avoid advances from Michinaga—one night he sneaked into her room, stealing a newly written chapter of ''Genji.''<ref name="Mulhern260ff">Mulhern (1994), 260–261</ref> However, Michinaga's patronage was essential if she was to continue writing.<ref name ="Shirane221ff">Shirane (1987), 221–222</ref> Murasaki described her daughter's court activities: the lavish ceremonies, the complicated courtships, the "complexities of the marriage system",<ref name ="Knapp"/> and in elaborate detail, the birth of Shōshi's two sons.<ref name="Mulhern260ff"/>',
69 => '',
70 => 'It is likely that Murasaki enjoyed writing in solitude.<ref name="Mulhern260ff"/> She believed she did not fit well with the general atmosphere of the court, writing of herself: "I am wrapped up in the study of ancient stories ... living all the time in a poetical world of my own scarcely realizing the existence of other people .... But when they get to know me, they find to their extreme surprise that I am kind and gentle".<ref name="Waley 1960, xv">Waley (1960), xv</ref> Inge says that she was too outspoken to make friends at court, and Mulhern thinks Murasaki's court life was comparatively quiet compared to other [[court poets]].<ref name="Inge9"/><ref name="M258ff"/> Mulhern speculates that her remarks about Izumi were not so much directed at Izumi's poetry but at her behavior, lack of morality and her court liaisons, of which Murasaki disapproved.<ref name= "Mulhern156ff"/>',
71 => '',
72 => 'Rank was important in Heian court society and Murasaki would not have felt herself to have much, if anything, in common with the higher ranked and more powerful Fujiwaras.<ref>Bowring (2004), 3</ref> In her diary, she wrote of her life at court: "I realized that my branch of the family was a very humble one; but the thought seldom troubled me, and I was in those days far indeed from the painful consciousness of inferiority which makes life at Court a continual torment to me."<ref>Waley (1960), xiv</ref> A court position would have increased her social standing, but more importantly she gained a greater experience to write about.<ref name="M258ff"/> Court life, as she experienced it, is well reflected in the chapters of ''Genji'' written after she joined Shōshi. The name Murasaki was most probably given to her at a court dinner in an incident she recorded in her diary: in 1008 the well-known court poet [[Fujiwara no Kintō]] inquired after the "Young Murasaki"—an allusion to the character named Murasaki in ''Genji''—which would have been considered a compliment from a male court poet to a female author.<ref name="M258ff"/>'
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Parsed HTML source of the new revision (new_html) | '<div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Japanese novelist and poet (c. 973 – c. 1014)</div>
<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1033289096">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">"Lady Murasaki" redirects here. For the character, see <a href="/wiki/Murasaki_no_Ue" title="Murasaki no Ue">Murasaki no Ue</a>.</div>
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<figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Murasaki-Shikibu-composing-Genji-Monogatari.png" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Japanese woman in multi-layered clothing writing at a desk" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Murasaki-Shikibu-composing-Genji-Monogatari.png/300px-Murasaki-Shikibu-composing-Genji-Monogatari.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="241" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Murasaki-Shikibu-composing-Genji-Monogatari.png/450px-Murasaki-Shikibu-composing-Genji-Monogatari.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Murasaki-Shikibu-composing-Genji-Monogatari.png/600px-Murasaki-Shikibu-composing-Genji-Monogatari.png 2x" data-file-width="1817" data-file-height="1458" /></a><figcaption>Depiction of Murasaki Shikibu by <a href="/wiki/Tosa_Mitsuoki" title="Tosa Mitsuoki">Tosa Mitsuoki</a></figcaption></figure>
<p><b>Murasaki Shikibu</b><span style="font-weight: normal"> (<span title="Japanese-language text"><span lang="ja">紫式部</span></span>, <span class="gloss-quot">'</span><span class="gloss-text">Lady Murasaki</span><span class="gloss-quot">'</span>; <abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 973</span> – c.<span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 1014 or 1025</span>)</span> was a Japanese novelist, <a href="/wiki/Japanese_poetry#Age_of_Nyobo_or_court_ladies" title="Japanese poetry">poet</a> and <a href="/wiki/Lady-in-waiting" title="Lady-in-waiting">lady-in-waiting</a> at the <a href="/wiki/Imperial_Court_in_Kyoto" title="Imperial Court in Kyoto">Imperial court</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Heian_period" title="Heian period">Heian period</a>. She is best known as the author of <i><a href="/wiki/The_Tale_of_Genji" title="The Tale of Genji">The Tale of Genji</a></i>, widely considered to be one of the world's first <a href="/wiki/Novel" title="Novel">novels</a>, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012. Murasaki Shikibu is a descriptive name; her personal name is unknown, but she may have been <b>Fujiwara no Kaoriko</b><span style="font-weight: normal"> (<span title="Japanese-language text"><span lang="ja">藤原香子</span></span>)</span>, who was mentioned in a 1007 court diary as an imperial lady-in-waiting.
</p><p><a href="/wiki/Heian_period" title="Heian period">Heian</a> women were traditionally excluded from learning <a href="/wiki/Classical_Chinese" title="Classical Chinese">Chinese</a>, the written language of government, but Murasaki, raised in her erudite father's household, showed a precocious aptitude for the <a href="/wiki/Chinese_classics" title="Chinese classics">Chinese classics</a> and managed to acquire fluency. She married in her mid-to-late twenties and gave birth to a daughter, <a href="/wiki/Daini_no_Sanmi" title="Daini no Sanmi">Daini no Sanmi</a>. Her husband died after two years of marriage. It is uncertain when she began to write <i>The Tale of Genji</i>, but it was probably while she was married or shortly after she was widowed. In about 1005, she was invited to serve as a lady-in-waiting to <a href="/wiki/Empress_Sh%C5%8Dshi" title="Empress Shōshi">Empress Shōshi</a> at the Imperial court by <a href="/wiki/Fujiwara_no_Michinaga" title="Fujiwara no Michinaga">Fujiwara no Michinaga</a>, probably because of her reputation as a writer. She continued to write during her service, adding scenes from court life to her work. After five or six years, she left court and retired with Shōshi to the <a href="/wiki/Lake_Biwa" title="Lake Biwa">Lake Biwa</a> region. Scholars differ on the year of her death; although most agree on 1014, others have suggested she was alive in 1025.
</p><p>Murasaki wrote <i><a href="/wiki/The_Diary_of_Lady_Murasaki" title="The Diary of Lady Murasaki">The Diary of Lady Murasaki</a></i>, a volume of poetry, as well as <i>The Tale of Genji</i>. Within a decade of its completion, <i>Genji</i> was distributed throughout the provinces; within a century it was recognized as a classic of <a href="/wiki/Japanese_literature" title="Japanese literature">Japanese literature</a> and had become a subject of <a href="/wiki/Scholarly_criticism" class="mw-redirect" title="Scholarly criticism">scholarly criticism</a>. Between 1925 and 1933, <i>The Tale of Genji</i> was published in English. Scholars continue to recognize the importance of her work, which reflects Heian court society at its peak. Since the 13th century her works have been illustrated by Japanese artists and well-known <a href="/wiki/Ukiyo-e" title="Ukiyo-e">ukiyo-e</a> woodblock masters.
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<div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div>
<ul>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Early_life"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Early life</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#Marriage"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Marriage</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="#Later_life_and_death"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Later life and death</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="#Works"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Works</span></a>
<ul>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="#Diary_and_poetry"><span class="tocnumber">4.1</span> <span class="toctext">Diary and poetry</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="#The_Tale_of_Genji"><span class="tocnumber">4.2</span> <span class="toctext"><i>The Tale of Genji</i></span></a></li>
</ul>
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<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="#Legacy"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Legacy</span></a>
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<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8"><a href="#Gallery"><span class="tocnumber">5.1</span> <span class="toctext">Gallery</span></a></li>
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<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9"><a href="#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11"><a href="#Sources"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">Sources</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li>
</ul>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Early_life">Early life</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Murasaki_Shikibu&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Early life"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2>
<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1096954695/mw-parser-output/.tmulti">.mw-parser-output .tmulti .multiimageinner{display:flex;flex-direction:column}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow{display:flex;flex-direction:row;clear:left;flex-wrap:wrap;width:100%;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle{margin:1px;float:left}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .theader{clear:both;font-weight:bold;text-align:center;align-self:center;background-color:transparent;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbcaption{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-left{text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-right{text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-center{text-align:center}@media all and (max-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbinner{width:100%!important;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:none!important;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow{justify-content:center}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle{float:none!important;max-width:100%!important;box-sizing:border-box;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle .thumbcaption{text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow>.thumbcaption{text-align:center}}</style><div class="thumb tmulti tright"><div class="thumbinner multiimageinner" style="width:328px;max-width:328px"><div class="trow"><div class="tsingle" style="width:162px;max-width:162px"><div class="thumbimage"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Hyakuninisshu_057.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Painting of a woman in a violet kimono looking left" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Hyakuninisshu_057.jpg/160px-Hyakuninisshu_057.jpg" decoding="async" width="160" height="222" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Hyakuninisshu_057.jpg/240px-Hyakuninisshu_057.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Hyakuninisshu_057.jpg/320px-Hyakuninisshu_057.jpg 2x" data-file-width="615" data-file-height="852" /></a></span></div><div class="thumbcaption">Designated one of the <a href="/wiki/Ogura_Hyakunin_Isshu" title="Ogura Hyakunin Isshu">One Hundred Poets</a>, Murasaki is shown dressed in a violet <a href="/wiki/Kimono" title="Kimono">kimono</a>, the color associated with her name, in this <a href="/wiki/Edo_period" title="Edo period">Edo period</a> illustration.</div></div><div class="tsingle" style="width:162px;max-width:162px"><div class="thumbimage"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Fujiwara_Michinaga.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Painting of a standing man facing right" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Fujiwara_Michinaga.jpg/160px-Fujiwara_Michinaga.jpg" decoding="async" width="160" height="221" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Fujiwara_Michinaga.jpg/240px-Fujiwara_Michinaga.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Fujiwara_Michinaga.jpg/320px-Fujiwara_Michinaga.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1108" data-file-height="1532" /></a></span></div><div class="thumbcaption"><a href="/wiki/Fujiwara_no_Michinaga" title="Fujiwara no Michinaga">Fujiwara no Michinaga</a> (19th century monochrome illustration by <a href="/wiki/Kikuchi_Y%C5%8Dsai" title="Kikuchi Yōsai">Kikuchi Yōsai</a>) became extremely powerful during Murasaki's lifetime.</div></div></div></div></div>
<p>Murasaki Shikibu was born <abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 973</span><sup id="cite_ref-note1_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-note1-1">[note 1]</a></sup> in <a href="/wiki/Heian-ky%C5%8D" title="Heian-kyō">Heian-kyō</a>, Japan, into the northern <a href="/wiki/Fujiwara_clan" title="Fujiwara clan">Fujiwara clan</a> descending from <a href="/wiki/Fujiwara_no_Yoshifusa" title="Fujiwara no Yoshifusa">Fujiwara no Yoshifusa</a>, the first 9th century <a href="/wiki/Heian_period#Fujiwara_regency" title="Heian period">Fujiwara regent</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-ShiraneB293_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ShiraneB293-2">[1]</a></sup> The Fujiwara clan dominated court politics until the end of the 11th century through strategically marrying their daughters into the imperial family and the use of regencies. In the late 10th century and early 11th century, <a href="/wiki/Fujiwara_no_Michinaga" title="Fujiwara no Michinaga">Fujiwara no Michinaga</a>, the so-called Mido Kampaku, arranged his four daughters into marriages with emperors, giving him unprecedented power.<sup id="cite_ref-Henshall24ff_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Henshall24ff-3">[2]</a></sup> Murasaki's great-grandfather, <a href="/wiki/Fujiwara_no_Kanesuke" title="Fujiwara no Kanesuke">Fujiwara no Kanesuke</a>, had been in the top tier of the aristocracy, but her branch of the family gradually lost power and by the time of Murasaki's birth was at the middle to lower ranks of the Heian aristocracy—the level of <a href="/wiki/Provincial_governor" class="mw-redirect" title="Provincial governor">provincial governors</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Shirane215_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shirane215-4">[3]</a></sup> The lower ranks of the nobility were typically posted away from court to undesirable positions in the provinces, exiled from the centralized power and court in <a href="/wiki/Kyoto" title="Kyoto">Kyoto</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Bowring,_2004,_4_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bowring,_2004,_4-5">[4]</a></sup>
</p><p>Despite the loss of status, the family had a reputation among the <a href="/wiki/Scholar-official" title="Scholar-official">literati</a> through Murasaki's paternal great-grandfather and grandfather, both of whom were well-known poets. Her great-grandfather, Fujiwara no Kanesuke, had 56 poems included in 13 of the <a href="/wiki/Nij%C5%ABichidaish%C5%AB" class="mw-redirect" title="Nijūichidaishū">Twenty-one Imperial Anthologies</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[5]</a></sup> the <i><a href="/wiki/Thirty-Six_Immortals_of_Poetry" title="Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry">Collections of Thirty-six Poets</a></i> and the <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/Yamato_Monogatari" title="Yamato Monogatari">Yamato Monogatari</a></i></span> (<i>Tales of Yamato</i>).<sup id="cite_ref-M257ff_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-M257ff-7">[6]</a></sup> Her great-grandfather and grandfather were both friendly with <a href="/wiki/Ki_no_Tsurayuki" title="Ki no Tsurayuki">Ki no Tsurayuki</a>, who became notable for popularizing Japanese-language <a href="/wiki/Verse_(poetry)" title="Verse (poetry)">verse</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Bowring,_2004,_4_5-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bowring,_2004,_4-5">[4]</a></sup> Her father, <a href="/wiki/Fujiwara_no_Tametoki" title="Fujiwara no Tametoki">Fujiwara no Tametoki</a>, attended the State Academy (<a href="/wiki/Daigaku-ry%C5%8D" title="Daigaku-ryō">Daigaku-ryō</a>)<sup id="cite_ref-Inge9_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Inge9-8">[7]</a></sup> and became a well-respected scholar of <a href="/wiki/Chinese_classics" title="Chinese classics">Chinese classics</a> and poetry; his own verse was anthologized.<sup id="cite_ref-Mulhern78ff_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mulhern78ff-9">[8]</a></sup> He entered public service around 968 as a minor official and was given a governorship in 996, staying in service until about 1018.<sup id="cite_ref-Bowring,_2004,_4_5-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bowring,_2004,_4-5">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[9]</a></sup> Murasaki's mother was descended from the same branch of northern Fujiwara as Tametoki. The couple had three children, a son and two daughters.<sup id="cite_ref-Mulhern78ff_9-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mulhern78ff-9">[8]</a></sup>
</p><p>In the <a href="/wiki/Heian_period" title="Heian period">Heian era</a> the use of names, insofar as they were recorded, did not follow a modern pattern. A court lady, as well as being known by the title of her own position, if any, took a name referring to the rank or title of a male relative. Thus "Shikibu" is not a modern surname, but refers to <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/Shikibu-sh%C5%8D" title="Shikibu-shō">Shikibu-shō</a></i></span>, the Ministry of Ceremonials where Murasaki's father was a functionary. "Murasaki", an additional name possibly derived from the color violet associated with <a href="/wiki/Wisteria" title="Wisteria">wisteria</a>, the meaning of the word <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">fuji</i></span> (an element of her clan name), may have been bestowed on her at court in reference to the name she herself had given to the main female character in "Genji". Michinaga mentions the names of several ladies-in-waiting in a 1007 diary entry; one, Fujiwara no Takako (Kyōshi), may be Murasaki's personal name.<sup id="cite_ref-M257ff_7-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-M257ff-7">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11">[note 2]</a></sup>
</p><p>In Heian-era Japan, husbands and wives kept separate households; children were raised with their mothers, although the <a href="/wiki/Patrilineal" class="mw-redirect" title="Patrilineal">patrilineal</a> system was still followed.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12">[10]</a></sup> Murasaki was unconventional because she lived in her father's household, most likely on <a href="/wiki/Teramachi_Street" title="Teramachi Street">Teramachi Street</a> in Kyoto, with her younger brother Nobunori. Their mother died, perhaps in childbirth, when they were quite young. Murasaki had at least three half-siblings raised with their mothers; she was very close to one sister who died in her twenties.<sup id="cite_ref-Shirane218_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shirane218-13">[11]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-P50ff_14-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-P50ff-14">[12]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-NYT_15-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NYT-15">[13]</a></sup>
</p><p>Murasaki was born at a period when Japan was becoming more isolated, after <a href="/wiki/Japanese_missions_to_Imperial_China" title="Japanese missions to Imperial China">missions to China</a> had ended and a stronger national culture was emerging.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16">[14]</a></sup> In the 9th and 10th centuries, Japanese gradually became a written language through the development of <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/Kana" title="Kana">kana</a></i></span>, a <a href="/wiki/Syllabary" title="Syllabary">syllabary</a> based on abbreviations of Chinese characters. In Murasaki's lifetime, men continued to write formally in <a href="/wiki/Chinese_characters" title="Chinese characters">Chinese</a>, but <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">kana</i></span> became the written language of intimacy and of noblewomen, setting the foundation for unique forms of <a href="/wiki/Japanese_literature" title="Japanese literature">Japanese literature</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Reischauer28ff_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Reischauer28ff-17">[15]</a></sup>
</p><p>Chinese was taught to Murasaki's brother as preparation for a career in government, and during her childhood, living in her father's household, she learned and became proficient in <a href="/wiki/Classical_Chinese" title="Classical Chinese">classical Chinese</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Inge9_8-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Inge9-8">[7]</a></sup> In her diary she wrote, "When my brother ... was a young boy learning the Chinese classics, I was in the habit of listening to him and I became unusually proficient at understanding those passages that he found too difficult to understand and memorize. Father, a most learned man, was always regretting the fact: 'Just my luck,' he would say, 'What a pity she was not born a man!<span style="padding-right:.15em;">'</span>"<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18">[16]</a></sup> With her brother she studied <a href="/wiki/Chinese_literature" title="Chinese literature">Chinese literature</a>, and she probably also received instruction in more traditional subjects such as music, <a href="/wiki/Calligraphy" title="Calligraphy">calligraphy</a> and <a href="/wiki/Waka_(poetry)" title="Waka (poetry)">Japanese poetry</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Shirane218_13-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shirane218-13">[11]</a></sup> Murasaki's education was unorthodox. Louis Perez explains in <i>The History of Japan</i> that "Women ... were thought to be incapable of real intelligence and therefore were not educated in Chinese."<sup id="cite_ref-Perez21ff_19-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Perez21ff-19">[17]</a></sup> Murasaki was aware that others saw her as "pretentious, awkward, difficult to approach, prickly, too fond of her tales, haughty, prone to versifying, disdainful, cantankerous and scornful".<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20">[18]</a></sup> Asian literature scholar Thomas Inge believes she had "a forceful personality that seldom won her friends."<sup id="cite_ref-Inge9_8-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Inge9-8">[7]</a></sup>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Marriage">Marriage</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Murasaki_Shikibu&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Marriage"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2>
<p>Aristocratic Heian women lived restricted and secluded lives, allowed to speak to men only when they were close relatives or household members. Murasaki's autobiographical poetry shows that she socialized with women but had limited contact with men other than her father and brother; she often exchanged poetry with women but never with men.<sup id="cite_ref-Shirane218_13-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shirane218-13">[11]</a></sup> Unlike most noblewomen of her status, however, she did not marry on reaching puberty; instead she stayed in her father's household until her mid-twenties or perhaps even to her early thirties.<sup id="cite_ref-Shirane218_13-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shirane218-13">[11]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Knapp_21-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Knapp-21">[19]</a></sup>
</p><p>In 996 when her father was posted to a four-year governorship in <a href="/wiki/Echizen_Province" title="Echizen Province">Echizen Province</a>, Murasaki went with him, although it was uncommon for a noblewoman of the period to travel such a distance that could take as long as five days.<sup id="cite_ref-Mulhern83ff_22-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mulhern83ff-22">[20]</a></sup> She returned to Kyoto, probably in 998, to marry her father's friend <a href="/w/index.php?title=Fujiwara_no_Nobutaka&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Fujiwara no Nobutaka (page does not exist)">Fujiwara no Nobutaka</a><span class="noprint" style="font-size:85%; font-style: normal;"> [<a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%97%A4%E5%8E%9F%E5%AE%A3%E5%AD%9D" class="extiw" title="ja:藤原宣孝">ja</a>]</span>, a much older second cousin.<sup id="cite_ref-Bowring,_2004,_4_5-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bowring,_2004,_4-5">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Shirane218_13-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shirane218-13">[11]</a></sup> Descended from the same branch of the Fujiwara clan, he was a court functionary and bureaucrat at the Ministry of Ceremonials, with a reputation for dressing extravagantly and as a talented dancer.<sup id="cite_ref-Mulhern83ff_22-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mulhern83ff-22">[20]</a></sup> In his late forties at the time of their marriage, he had multiple households with an unknown number of wives and offspring.<sup id="cite_ref-M257ff_7-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-M257ff-7">[6]</a></sup> Gregarious and well-known at court, he was involved in numerous romantic relationships that may have continued after his marriage to Murasaki.<sup id="cite_ref-Shirane218_13-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shirane218-13">[11]</a></sup> As was customary, she would have remained in her father's household where her husband would have visited her.<sup id="cite_ref-M257ff_7-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-M257ff-7">[6]</a></sup> Nobutaka had been granted more than one governorship, and by the time of his marriage to Murasaki he was probably quite wealthy. Interpretations of their marital relationship differ among scholars: <a href="/wiki/Richard_Bowring" title="Richard Bowring">Richard Bowring</a> suggests a harmonious marriage, while Japanese literature scholar <a href="/wiki/Haruo_Shirane" title="Haruo Shirane">Haruo Shirane</a> finds evidence of resentment towards her husband in Murasaki’s poems.<sup id="cite_ref-Bowring,_2004,_4_5-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bowring,_2004,_4-5">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Shirane218_13-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shirane218-13">[11]</a></sup>
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<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1096954695/mw-parser-output/.tmulti"><div class="thumb tmulti tright"><div class="thumbinner multiimageinner" style="width:343px;max-width:343px"><div class="trow"><div class="tsingle" style="width:177px;max-width:177px"><div class="thumbimage"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Lady_Murasaki_writing.png" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Painting of a woman on a veranda looking to the left" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Lady_Murasaki_writing.png/175px-Lady_Murasaki_writing.png" decoding="async" width="175" height="236" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Lady_Murasaki_writing.png/263px-Lady_Murasaki_writing.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Lady_Murasaki_writing.png/350px-Lady_Murasaki_writing.png 2x" data-file-width="901" data-file-height="1214" /></a></span></div><div class="thumbcaption">Murasaki shown writing at her desk at <a href="/wiki/Ishiyama-dera" title="Ishiyama-dera">Ishiyama-dera</a> inspired by the Moon, <a href="/wiki/Ukiyo-e" title="Ukiyo-e">ukiyo-e</a> by <a href="/wiki/Suzuki_Harunobu" title="Suzuki Harunobu">Suzuki Harunobu</a>, c. 1767</div></div><div class="tsingle" style="width:162px;max-width:162px"><div class="thumbimage"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Ishiyama_Moon_Lady_Murasaki.png" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Painting of a woman gazing at the full Moon" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Ishiyama_Moon_Lady_Murasaki.png/160px-Ishiyama_Moon_Lady_Murasaki.png" decoding="async" width="160" height="236" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Ishiyama_Moon_Lady_Murasaki.png/240px-Ishiyama_Moon_Lady_Murasaki.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Ishiyama_Moon_Lady_Murasaki.png/320px-Ishiyama_Moon_Lady_Murasaki.png 2x" data-file-width="664" data-file-height="980" /></a></span></div><div class="thumbcaption">Murasaki depicted gazing at the Moon for inspiration at <a href="/wiki/Ishiyama-dera" title="Ishiyama-dera">Ishiyama-dera</a> by <a href="/wiki/Yoshitoshi" class="mw-redirect" title="Yoshitoshi">Yoshitoshi</a> (1889)</div></div></div></div></div>
<p>The couple's daughter, Kenshi (Kataiko), was born in 999. Two years later Nobutaka died during a <a href="/wiki/Cholera" title="Cholera">cholera</a> epidemic.<sup id="cite_ref-Shirane218_13-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shirane218-13">[11]</a></sup> As a married woman Murasaki would have had servants to run the household and care for her daughter, giving her ample leisure time. She enjoyed reading and had access to romances (<span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/Monogatari" title="Monogatari">monogatari</a></i></span>) such as <i><a href="/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Bamboo_Cutter" title="The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter">The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/The_Tales_of_Ise" title="The Tales of Ise">The Tales of Ise</a>.</i><sup id="cite_ref-Mulhern83ff_22-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mulhern83ff-22">[20]</a></sup> Scholars believe she may have started writing <i>The Tale of Genji</i> before her husband's death; it is known she was writing after she was widowed, perhaps in a state of grief.<sup id="cite_ref-ShiraneB293_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ShiraneB293-2">[1]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Bowring,_2004,_4_5-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bowring,_2004,_4-5">[4]</a></sup> In her diary she describes her feelings after her husband's death: "I felt depressed and confused. For some years I had existed from day to day in listless fashion ... doing little more than registering the passage of time ... The thought of my continuing loneliness was quite unbearable".<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23">[21]</a></sup>
</p><p>According to legend, Murasaki retreated to <a href="/wiki/Ishiyama-dera" title="Ishiyama-dera">Ishiyama-dera</a> at <a href="/wiki/Lake_Biwa" title="Lake Biwa">Lake Biwa</a>, where she was inspired to write <i>The Tale of Genji</i> on an August night while looking at the Moon. Although scholars dismiss the factual basis of the story of her retreat, Japanese artists often depicted her at Ishiyama Temple staring at the Moon for inspiration.<sup id="cite_ref-P50ff_14-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-P50ff-14">[12]</a></sup> She may have been commissioned to write the story and may have known an exiled courtier in a similar position to her hero <a href="/wiki/Hikaru_Genji" title="Hikaru Genji">Prince Genji</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Royall_24-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Royall-24">[22]</a></sup> Murasaki would have distributed newly written chapters of <i>Genji</i> to friends who in turn would have re-copied them and passed them on. By this practice the story became known and she gained a reputation as an author.<sup id="cite_ref-M258ff_25-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-M258ff-25">[23]</a></sup>
</p><p>In her early to mid-thirties, she became a <a href="/wiki/Lady-in-waiting" title="Lady-in-waiting">lady-in-waiting</a> (<span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">nyōbō</i></span>) at court, most likely because of her reputation as an author.<sup id="cite_ref-ShiraneB293_2-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ShiraneB293-2">[1]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-M258ff_25-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-M258ff-25">[23]</a></sup> Chieko Mulhern writes in <i>Japanese Women Writers, a Biocritical Sourcebook</i> that scholars have wondered why Murasaki made such a move at a comparatively late period in her life. Her diary evidences that she exchanged poetry with Michinaga after her husband's death, leading to speculation that the two may have been lovers. Bowring sees no evidence that she was brought to court as Michinaga's <a href="/wiki/Concubinage" title="Concubinage">concubine</a>, although he did bring her to court without following official channels. Mulhern thinks Michinaga wanted to have Murasaki at court to educate his daughter Shōshi.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26">[24]</a></sup>
</p><p>Can you suck my dick???
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<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Later_life_and_death">Later life and death</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Murasaki_Shikibu&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Later life and death"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2>
<figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:RosanjiTeien.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/RosanjiTeien.jpg/220px-RosanjiTeien.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="142" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/RosanjiTeien.jpg/330px-RosanjiTeien.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/RosanjiTeien.jpg/440px-RosanjiTeien.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2236" data-file-height="1444" /></a><figcaption>Genji-Garden at <a href="/wiki/Rozan-ji" title="Rozan-ji">Rozan-ji</a>, a temple in Kyoto associated with her former mansion</figcaption></figure>
<p>When Emperor Ichijō died in 1011, Shōshi retired from the Imperial Palace to live in a Fujiwara mansion in Biwa, most likely accompanied by Murasaki, who is recorded as being there with Shōshi in 1013.<sup id="cite_ref-Shirane221ff_27-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shirane221ff-27">[25]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/William_George_Aston" title="William George Aston">George Aston</a> explains that when Murasaki retired from court she was again associated with Ishiyama-dera: "To this beautiful spot, it is said, Murasaki no Shikibu <i>[sic]</i> retired from court life to devote the remainder of her days to literature and religion. There are sceptics, however, <a href="/wiki/Motoori_Norinaga" title="Motoori Norinaga">Motoori</a> being one, who refuse to believe this story, pointing out ... that it is irreconcilable with known facts. On the other hand, the very chamber in the temple where the <i>Genji</i> was written is shown—with the ink-slab which the author used, and a Buddhist <a href="/wiki/Sutra" title="Sutra">Sutra</a> in her handwriting, which, if they do not satisfy the critic, still are sufficient to carry conviction to the minds of ordinary visitors to the temple."<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28">[26]</a></sup>
</p><p>Murasaki may have died in 1014. Her father made a hasty return to Kyoto from his post at <a href="/wiki/Echigo_Province" title="Echigo Province">Echigo Province</a> that year, possibly because of her death. Writing in <i>A Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of "The Tale of Genji"</i>, Shirane mentions that 1014 is generally accepted as the date of Murasaki Shikibu's death and 973 as the date of her birth, making her 41 when she died.<sup id="cite_ref-Shirane221ff_27-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shirane221ff-27">[25]</a></sup> Bowring considers 1014 to be speculative, and believes she may have lived with Shōshi until as late as 1025.<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29">[27]</a></sup> Waley agrees given that Murasaki may have attended ceremonies with Shōshi held for Shōshi's son, <a href="/wiki/Emperor_Go-Ichij%C5%8D" title="Emperor Go-Ichijō">Emperor Go-Ichijō</a> around 1025.<sup id="cite_ref-Waley_1960,_xv_30-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Waley_1960,_xv-30">[28]</a></sup>
</p><p>Murasaki's brother Nobunori died in around 1011, which, combined with the death of his daughter, may have prompted her father to resign his post and take vows at <a href="/wiki/Mii-dera" title="Mii-dera">Miidera</a> temple where he died in 1029.<sup id="cite_ref-ShiraneB293_2-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ShiraneB293-2">[1]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Shirane221ff_27-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shirane221ff-27">[25]</a></sup> Murasaki's daughter entered court service in 1025 as a <a href="/wiki/Wet_nurse" title="Wet nurse">wet nurse</a> to the future <a href="/wiki/Emperor_Go-Reizei" title="Emperor Go-Reizei">Emperor Go-Reizei</a> (1025–1068). She went on to become a well-known poet as <a href="/wiki/Daini_no_Sanmi" title="Daini no Sanmi">Daini no Sanmi</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31">[29]</a></sup>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Works">Works</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Murasaki_Shikibu&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Works"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2>
<figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Murasaki_Shikibu_at_Ishiyama-dera.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Murasaki_Shikibu_at_Ishiyama-dera.png/220px-Murasaki_Shikibu_at_Ishiyama-dera.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="166" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Murasaki_Shikibu_at_Ishiyama-dera.png/330px-Murasaki_Shikibu_at_Ishiyama-dera.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Murasaki_Shikibu_at_Ishiyama-dera.png/440px-Murasaki_Shikibu_at_Ishiyama-dera.png 2x" data-file-width="492" data-file-height="371" /></a><figcaption>Murasaki is depicted writing at <a href="/wiki/Ishiyama-dera" title="Ishiyama-dera">Ishiyama-dera</a> in this late 17th century silk painting on the Harvard <i>Genji Album</i> frontispiece by <a href="/wiki/Tosa_Mitsuoki" title="Tosa Mitsuoki">Tosa Mitsuoki</a>, housed at the <a href="/wiki/Arthur_M._Sackler_Museum" class="mw-redirect" title="Arthur M. Sackler Museum">Sackler Museum</a>.</figcaption></figure>
<p>Three works are attributed to Murasaki: <i>The Tale of Genji</i>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Diary_of_Lady_Murasaki" title="The Diary of Lady Murasaki">The Diary of Lady Murasaki</a></i> and <i><a href="/w/index.php?title=Poetic_Memoirs&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Poetic Memoirs (page does not exist)">Poetic Memoirs</a></i>, a collection of 128 poems.<sup id="cite_ref-Mulhern260ff_32-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mulhern260ff-32">[30]</a></sup> Her work is considered important for its reflection of the creation and development of Japanese writing, during a period when Japanese shifted from an unwritten vernacular to a written language.<sup id="cite_ref-Bowringxvff_33-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bowringxvff-33">[31]</a></sup> Until the 9th century, Japanese language texts were written in <a href="/wiki/Chinese_characters" title="Chinese characters">Chinese characters</a> using the <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/Man%27y%C5%8Dgana" title="Man'yōgana">man'yōgana</a></i></span> writing system.<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34">[32]</a></sup> A revolutionary achievement was the development of <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">kana</i></span>, a true Japanese script, in the mid-to late 9th century. Japanese authors began to write prose in their own language, which led to genres such as tales (<span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">monogatari</i></span>) and poetic journals (<span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/Nikki_Bungaku" class="mw-redirect" title="Nikki Bungaku">Nikki Bungaku</a></i></span>).<sup id="cite_ref-kodanshainternat-p120_35-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-kodanshainternat-p120-35">[33]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-shiraneb-p2-113-114_36-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-shiraneb-p2-113-114-36">[34]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-frederic-p594_37-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-frederic-p594-37">[35]</a></sup> Historian <a href="/wiki/Edwin_O._Reischauer" title="Edwin O. Reischauer">Edwin Reischauer</a> writes that genres such as the monogatari were distinctly Japanese and that <i>Genji</i>, written in <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">kana</i></span>, "was the outstanding work of the period".<sup id="cite_ref-Reischauer28ff_17-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Reischauer28ff-17">[15]</a></sup>
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<h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Diary_and_poetry">Diary and poetry</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Murasaki_Shikibu&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Diary and poetry"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3>
<figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Murasaki_Shikibu_Diary_Emakimono_(Gotoh_Museum)_4.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Murasaki_Shikibu_Diary_Emakimono_%28Gotoh_Museum%29_4.jpg/220px-Murasaki_Shikibu_Diary_Emakimono_%28Gotoh_Museum%29_4.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="100" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Murasaki_Shikibu_Diary_Emakimono_%28Gotoh_Museum%29_4.jpg/330px-Murasaki_Shikibu_Diary_Emakimono_%28Gotoh_Museum%29_4.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Murasaki_Shikibu_Diary_Emakimono_%28Gotoh_Museum%29_4.jpg/440px-Murasaki_Shikibu_Diary_Emakimono_%28Gotoh_Museum%29_4.jpg 2x" data-file-width="896" data-file-height="406" /></a><figcaption>13th century illustration (<span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/Emakimono" title="Emakimono">emakimono</a></i></span>) of <i>The Diary of Lady Murasaki</i> showing Empress Shōshi with the infant <a href="/wiki/Emperor_Go-Ichij%C5%8D" title="Emperor Go-Ichijō">Emperor Go-Ichijō</a> and ladies-in-waiting secluded behind a <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/Kich%C5%8D" title="Kichō">kichō</a></i></span>.</figcaption></figure>
<p>Murasaki began her diary after she entered service at Shōshi's court.<sup id="cite_ref-Mulhern260ff_32-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mulhern260ff-32">[30]</a></sup> Much of what is known about her and her experiences at court comes from the diary, which covers the period from about 1008 to 1010. The long descriptive passages, some of which may have originated as letters, cover her relationships with the other ladies-in-waiting, Michinaga's temperament, the birth of Shōshi's sons—at Michinaga's mansion rather than at the Imperial Palace—and the process of writing <i>Genji</i>, including descriptions of passing newly written chapters to <a href="/wiki/Calligraphy" title="Calligraphy">calligraphers</a> for transcriptions.<sup id="cite_ref-Mulhern260ff_32-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mulhern260ff-32">[30]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38">[36]</a></sup> Typical of contemporary court diaries written to honor patrons, Murasaki devotes half to the birth of Shōshi's son Emperor Go-Ichijō, an event of enormous importance to Michinaga: he had planned for it with his daughter's marriage which made him grandfather and <i>de facto</i> regent to an emperor.<sup id="cite_ref-ShiraneB448_39-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ShiraneB448-39">[37]</a></sup>
</p><p><i>Poetic Memoirs</i> is a collection of 128 poems Mulhern describes as "arranged in a biographical sequence".<sup id="cite_ref-Mulhern260ff_32-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mulhern260ff-32">[30]</a></sup> The original set has been lost. According to custom, the verses would have been passed from person to person and often copied. Some appear written for a lover—possibly her husband before he died—but she may have merely followed tradition and written simple love poems. They contain biographical details: she mentions a sister who died, the visit to Echizen province with her father and that she wrote poetry for Shōshi. Murasaki's poems were published in 1206 by <a href="/wiki/Fujiwara_no_Teika" title="Fujiwara no Teika">Fujiwara no Teika</a>, in what Mulhern believes to be the collection that is closest to the original form; at around the same time Teika included a selection of Murasaki's works in an imperial anthology, <i><a href="/wiki/Shin_Kokin_Wakash%C5%AB" title="Shin Kokin Wakashū">New Collections of Ancient and Modern Times</a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-Mulhern260ff_32-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mulhern260ff-32">[30]</a></sup>
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<h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Tale_of_Genji"><i>The Tale of Genji</i></span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Murasaki_Shikibu&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: The Tale of Genji"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3>
<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1033289096"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/The_Tale_of_Genji" title="The Tale of Genji">The Tale of Genji</a></div>
<p>Murasaki is best known for her <i>The Tale of Genji</i>, a three-part novel spanning 1100 pages and 54 chapters,<sup id="cite_ref-M262_40-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-M262-40">[38]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-41">[39]</a></sup> which is thought to have taken a decade to complete. The earliest chapters were possibly written for a private patron either during her marriage or shortly after her husband's death. She continued writing while at court and probably finished while still in service to Shōshi.<sup id="cite_ref-Shively_1999,_445_42-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shively_1999,_445-42">[40]</a></sup> She would have needed patronage to produce a work of such length. Michinaga provided her with costly paper and ink, and with calligraphers. The first handwritten volumes were probably assembled and bound by ladies-in-waiting.<sup id="cite_ref-Shirane221ff_27-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shirane221ff-27">[25]</a></sup>
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<figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Genji_monogatari_(ch._34).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Genji_monogatari_%28ch._34%29.jpg/220px-Genji_monogatari_%28ch._34%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="130" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Genji_monogatari_%28ch._34%29.jpg/330px-Genji_monogatari_%28ch._34%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Genji_monogatari_%28ch._34%29.jpg/440px-Genji_monogatari_%28ch._34%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="750" data-file-height="443" /></a><figcaption>Late 17th century or early 18th century silk scroll painting of a scene from chapter 34 of <i><a href="/wiki/The_Tale_of_Genji" title="The Tale of Genji">The Tale of Genji</a></i> showing men playing in the garden watched by a woman sitting behind a screen.</figcaption></figure>
<p>In his <i>The Pleasures of Japanese Literature</i>, Keene claims Murasaki wrote the "supreme work of Japanese fiction" by drawing on traditions of <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">waka</i></span> court diaries, and earlier <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">monogatari</i></span>—written in a mixture of Chinese script and Japanese script—such as <i><a href="/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Bamboo_Cutter" title="The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter">The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter</a></i> or <i><a href="/wiki/The_Tales_of_Ise" title="The Tales of Ise">The Tales of Ise</a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43">[41]</a></sup> She drew on and blended styles from Chinese histories, narrative poetry and contemporary Japanese prose.<sup id="cite_ref-M262_40-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-M262-40">[38]</a></sup> Adolphson writes that the juxtaposition of formal Chinese style with mundane subjects resulted in a sense of parody or satire, giving her a distinctive voice.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44">[42]</a></sup> <i>Genji</i> follows the traditional format of <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">monogatari</i></span>—telling a tale—particularly evident in its use of a narrator, but Keene claims Murasaki developed the genre far beyond its bounds, and by doing so created a form that is utterly modern. The story of the "shining prince" Genji is set in the late 9th to early 10th centuries, and Murasaki eliminated from it the elements of fairy tales and fantasy frequently found in earlier <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">monogatari</i></span>.<sup id="cite_ref-K1988_45-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-K1988-45">[43]</a></sup>
</p><p>The themes in <i>Genji</i> are common to the period, and are defined by Shively as encapsulating "the tyranny of time and the inescapable sorrow of romantic love".<sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-46">[44]</a></sup> The main theme is that of the fragility of life, "the sorrow of human existence" (<span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/Mono_no_aware" title="Mono no aware">mono no aware</a></i></span>), a term used over a thousand times in <i>Genji</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47">[45]</a></sup> Keene speculates that in her tale of the "shining prince", Murasaki may have created for herself an idealistic escape from court life, which she found less than savory. In Prince Genji she formed a gifted, comely, refined, yet human and sympathetic <a href="/wiki/Protagonist" title="Protagonist">protagonist</a>. Keene writes that <i>Genji</i> gives a view into the Heian period; for example love affairs flourished, although women typically remained unseen behind screens, curtains or <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/Fusuma" title="Fusuma">fusuma</a></i></span>.<sup id="cite_ref-K1988_45-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-K1988-45">[43]</a></sup>
</p><p><a href="/wiki/Helen_McCullough" class="mw-redirect" title="Helen McCullough">Helen McCullough</a> describes Murasaki's writing as of universal appeal and believes <i>The Tale of Genji</i> "transcends both its genre and age. Its basic subject matter and setting—love at the Heian court—are those of the romance, and its cultural assumptions are those of the mid-Heian period, but Murasaki Shikibu's unique genius has made the work for many a powerful statement of human relationships, the impossibility of permanent happiness in love ... and the vital importance, in a world of sorrows, of sensitivity to the feelings of others."<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48">[46]</a></sup> Prince Genji recognizes in each of his lovers the inner beauty of the woman and the fragility of life, which according to Keene, makes him heroic. The story was popular: Emperor Ichijō had it read to him, even though it was written in Japanese. By 1021 all the chapters were known to be complete and the work was sought after in the provinces where it was scarce.<sup id="cite_ref-K1988_45-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-K1988-45">[43]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Bowring_2004,_79_49-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bowring_2004,_79-49">[47]</a></sup>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Legacy">Legacy</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Murasaki_Shikibu&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Legacy"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2>
<p>Murasaki's reputation and influence have not diminished since her lifetime when she, with other Heian women writers, was instrumental in developing Japanese into a written language.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50">[48]</a></sup> Her writing was required reading for court poets as early as the 12th century as her work began to be studied by scholars who generated authoritative versions and criticism. Within a century of her death she was highly regarded as a classical writer.<sup id="cite_ref-Bowring_2004,_79_49-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bowring_2004,_79-49">[47]</a></sup> In the 17th century, Murasaki's work became emblematic of <a href="/wiki/Confucius" title="Confucius">Confucian</a> philosophy and women were encouraged to read her books. In 1673, <a href="/wiki/Kumazawa_Banzan" title="Kumazawa Banzan">Kumazawa Banzan</a> argued that her writing was valuable for its sensitivity and depiction of emotions. He wrote in his <i>Discursive Commentary on Genji</i> that when "human feelings are not understood the harmony of the Five Human Relationships is lost."<sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-51">[49]</a></sup>
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<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1096954695/mw-parser-output/.tmulti"><div class="thumb tmulti tright"><div class="thumbinner multiimageinner" style="width:392px;max-width:392px"><div class="trow"><div class="tsingle" style="width:190px;max-width:190px"><div class="thumbimage" style="height:106px;overflow:hidden"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Genji_emaki_YADORIGI_2.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Painting of women sleeping in a screen area; a woman and a man in a separate screened area" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Genji_emaki_YADORIGI_2.JPG/188px-Genji_emaki_YADORIGI_2.JPG" decoding="async" width="188" height="107" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Genji_emaki_YADORIGI_2.JPG/282px-Genji_emaki_YADORIGI_2.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Genji_emaki_YADORIGI_2.JPG/376px-Genji_emaki_YADORIGI_2.JPG 2x" data-file-width="4405" data-file-height="2503" /></a></span></div><div class="thumbcaption">Early 12th century <a href="/wiki/Emakimono" title="Emakimono">handscroll</a> scene from <i>Genji</i>, showing lovers separated from ladies-in-waiting by two screens, a <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">kichō</i></span> and a <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/By%C5%8Dbu" title="Byōbu">byōbu</a></i></span>.</div></div><div class="tsingle" style="width:198px;max-width:198px"><div class="thumbimage" style="height:106px;overflow:hidden"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Genji_emaki_azumaya.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Court women in a room" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Genji_emaki_azumaya.jpg/196px-Genji_emaki_azumaya.jpg" decoding="async" width="196" height="107" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Genji_emaki_azumaya.jpg/294px-Genji_emaki_azumaya.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Genji_emaki_azumaya.jpg/392px-Genji_emaki_azumaya.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4578" data-file-height="2501" /></a></span></div><div class="thumbcaption">Early 12th century painting showing a scene from <i>Genji</i> of women in a traditional room partitioned by <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/Fusuma" title="Fusuma">fusuma</a></i></span>, <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dji" class="mw-redirect" title="Shōji">shōji</a></i></span> and a <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">kichō</i></span>. This work is listed as <a href="/wiki/List_of_National_Treasures_of_Japan_(paintings)" title="List of National Treasures of Japan (paintings)">National Treasure of Japan</a>.</div></div></div></div></div>
<p><i>The Tale of Genji</i> was copied and illustrated in various forms as early as a century after Murasaki's death. <i>The <a href="/wiki/Genji_Monogatari_Emaki" title="Genji Monogatari Emaki">Genji Monogatari Emaki</a></i>, is a late Heian era 12th century <a href="/wiki/Emakimono" title="Emakimono">handscroll</a>, consisting of four scrolls, 19 paintings, and 20 sheets of calligraphy. The illustrations, definitively dated to between 1110 and 1120, have been tentatively attributed to Fujiwara no Takachika and the calligraphy to various well-known contemporary calligraphers. The scroll is housed at the <a href="/wiki/Gotoh_Museum" title="Gotoh Museum">Gotoh Museum</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Tokugawa_Art_Museum" title="Tokugawa Art Museum">Tokugawa Art Museum</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-52">[50]</a></sup>
</p><p>Female virtue was tied to literary knowledge in the 17th century, leading to a demand for Murasaki or <i>Genji</i> inspired artifacts, known as <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">genji-e</i></span>. <a href="/wiki/Dowry" title="Dowry">Dowry</a> sets decorated with scenes from <i>Genji</i> or illustrations of Murasaki became particularly popular for noblewomen: in the 17th century <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">genji-e</i></span> symbolically imbued a bride with an increased level of cultural status; by the 18th century they had come to symbolize marital success. In 1628, <a href="/wiki/Tokugawa_Iemitsu" title="Tokugawa Iemitsu">Tokugawa Iemitsu</a>'s daughter had a set of <a href="/wiki/Lacquerware" title="Lacquerware">lacquer</a> boxes made for her wedding; Prince Toshitada received a pair of silk <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">genji-e</i></span> <a href="/wiki/Folding_screen" title="Folding screen">screens</a>, painted by <a href="/wiki/Kan%C5%8D_Tan%27y%C5%AB" title="Kanō Tan'yū">Kanō Tan'yū</a> as a wedding gift in 1649.<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-53">[51]</a></sup>
</p><p>Murasaki became a popular subject of paintings and illustrations highlighting her as a virtuous woman and poet. She is often shown at her desk in Ishiyama Temple, staring at the Moon for inspiration. <a href="/wiki/Tosa_Mitsuoki" title="Tosa Mitsuoki">Tosa Mitsuoki</a> made her the subject of hanging scrolls in the 17th century.<sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-54">[52]</a></sup> <i>The Tale of Genji</i> became a favorite subject of Japanese <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/Ukiyo-e" title="Ukiyo-e">ukiyo-e</a></i></span> artists for centuries with artists such as <a href="/wiki/Hiroshige" title="Hiroshige">Hiroshige</a>, <a href="/wiki/Torii_Kiyonaga" title="Torii Kiyonaga">Kiyonaga</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Utamaro" title="Utamaro">Utamaro</a> illustrating various editions of the novel.<sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-55">[53]</a></sup> While early Genji art was considered symbolic of court culture, by the middle of the <a href="/wiki/Edo_period" title="Edo period">Edo period</a> the mass-produced <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">ukiyo-e</i></span> prints made the illustrations accessible for the <a href="/wiki/Samurai" title="Samurai">samurai</a> classes and commoners.<sup id="cite_ref-2008a1ff_56-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2008a1ff-56">[54]</a></sup>
</p><p>In <i>Envisioning the "Tale of Genji"</i> Shirane observes that "<i>The Tale of Genji</i> has become many things to many different audiences through many different media over a thousand years ... unmatched by any other Japanese text or artifact."<sup id="cite_ref-2008a1ff_56-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2008a1ff-56">[54]</a></sup> The work and its author were popularized through its illustrations in various media: <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/Emaki" class="mw-redirect" title="Emaki">emaki</a></i></span> (illustrated handscrolls); <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn"><a href="/wiki/By%C5%8Dbu" title="Byōbu">byōbu-e</a></i></span> (screen paintings), <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">ukiyo-e</i></span> (woodblock prints); films, comics, and in the modern period, <a href="/wiki/Manga" title="Manga">manga</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-2008a1ff_56-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2008a1ff-56">[54]</a></sup> In her fictionalized account of Murasaki's life, <i>The Tale of Murasaki: A Novel</i>, <a href="/wiki/Liza_Dalby" title="Liza Dalby">Liza Dalby</a> has Murasaki involved in a romance during her travels with her father to Echizen Province.<sup id="cite_ref-Royall_24-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Royall-24">[22]</a></sup>
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<figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:%27Lady_Murasaki%27,_anonymous_ink,_color_and_gold_paper_fan,_17th_century_Japan.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/%27Lady_Murasaki%27%2C_anonymous_ink%2C_color_and_gold_paper_fan%2C_17th_century_Japan.jpg/220px-%27Lady_Murasaki%27%2C_anonymous_ink%2C_color_and_gold_paper_fan%2C_17th_century_Japan.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="107" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/%27Lady_Murasaki%27%2C_anonymous_ink%2C_color_and_gold_paper_fan%2C_17th_century_Japan.jpg/330px-%27Lady_Murasaki%27%2C_anonymous_ink%2C_color_and_gold_paper_fan%2C_17th_century_Japan.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/%27Lady_Murasaki%27%2C_anonymous_ink%2C_color_and_gold_paper_fan%2C_17th_century_Japan.jpg/440px-%27Lady_Murasaki%27%2C_anonymous_ink%2C_color_and_gold_paper_fan%2C_17th_century_Japan.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="389" /></a><figcaption>17th century ink and gold paper fan showing Murasaki's writing</figcaption></figure>
<p><i>The Tale of the Genji</i> is recognized as an enduring classic. McCullough writes that Murasaki "is both the quintessential representative of a unique society and a writer who speaks to universal human concerns with a timeless voice. Japan has not seen another such genius."<sup id="cite_ref-Shively_1999,_445_42-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shively_1999,_445-42">[40]</a></sup> Keene writes that <i>The Tale of Genji</i> continues to captivate, because, in the story, her characters and their concerns are universal. When Waley's translation (<i>The Tale of Genji: A Novel in Six Parts</i>) was published in 1933, reviewers compared <i>Genji</i> to <a href="/wiki/Jane_Austen" title="Jane Austen">Austen</a>, <a href="/wiki/Marcel_Proust" title="Marcel Proust">Proust</a>, and <a href="/wiki/William_Shakespeare" title="William Shakespeare">Shakespeare</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-57" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-57">[55]</a></sup> Mulhern says of Murasaki that she is similar to Shakespeare, who represented his <a href="/wiki/Elizabethan_era" title="Elizabethan era">Elizabethan England</a>, in that she captured the essence of the Heian court and as a novelist "succeeded perhaps even beyond her own expectations."<sup id="cite_ref-M264_58-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-M264-58">[56]</a></sup> Like Shakespeare, her work has been the subject of reams of criticism and many books.<sup id="cite_ref-M264_58-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-M264-58">[56]</a></sup>
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<figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:2000_Yen_Murasaki_Shikibu.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/2000_Yen_Murasaki_Shikibu.jpg/220px-2000_Yen_Murasaki_Shikibu.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="107" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/2000_Yen_Murasaki_Shikibu.jpg/330px-2000_Yen_Murasaki_Shikibu.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/2000_Yen_Murasaki_Shikibu.jpg/440px-2000_Yen_Murasaki_Shikibu.jpg 2x" data-file-width="830" data-file-height="404" /></a><figcaption>The design of the 2000-yen note was created in Murasaki's honour.</figcaption></figure>
<p>Kyoto held a year-long celebration commemorating the 1000th anniversary of <i>Genji</i> in 2008, with poetry competitions, visits to the <a href="/wiki/The_Tale_of_Genji_Museum" title="The Tale of Genji Museum">Tale of Genji Museum</a> in <a href="/wiki/Uji,_Kyoto" class="mw-redirect" title="Uji, Kyoto">Uji</a> and Ishiyama-dera (where a life size rendition of Murasaki at her desk was displayed), and women dressing in traditional 12-layer Heian court <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">jūnihitoe</i></span> and ankle-length wigs. The author and her work inspired museum exhibits and Genji manga spin-offs.<sup id="cite_ref-NYT_15-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NYT-15">[13]</a></sup> The design on the reverse of the first <a href="/wiki/Banknotes_of_the_Japanese_yen#2000" title="Banknotes of the Japanese yen">2000 yen</a> note commemorated her and <i>The Tale of Genji</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-59" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-59">[57]</a></sup> A <a href="/wiki/Callicarpa_japonica" title="Callicarpa japonica">plant</a> bearing purple berries has been named after her.<sup id="cite_ref-60" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-60">[58]</a></sup>
</p><p>A <i>Genji Album</i>, only in the 1970s dated to 1510, is housed at <a href="/wiki/Harvard_University" title="Harvard University">Harvard University</a>. The album is considered the earliest of its kind and consists of 54 paintings by <a href="/wiki/Tosa_Mitsunobu" title="Tosa Mitsunobu">Tosa Mitsunobu</a> and 54 sheets of calligraphy on <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">shikishi</i></span> paper in five colors, written by master calligraphers. The leaves are housed in a case dated to the <a href="/wiki/Edo_period" title="Edo period">Edo period</a>, with a silk frontispiece painted by Tosa Mitsuoki, dated to around 1690. The album contains Mitsuoki's authentication slips for his ancestor's 16th century paintings.<sup id="cite_ref-61" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-61">[59]</a></sup>
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<h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Gallery">Gallery</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Murasaki_Shikibu&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Gallery"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3>
<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1021810730">@media all and (max-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery{width:100%!important}}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery{display:table}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery-default{background:transparent;margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery-center{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery-left{float:left}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery-right{float:right}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery-none{float:none}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery-collapsible{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery .title,.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery .main,.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery .footer{display:table-row}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery .title>div{display:table-cell;padding:0.2em 0 0.6em 1.6em;text-align:center;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery .main>div{display:table-cell}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery .gallery{line-height:1.35em}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery .footer>div{display:table-cell;padding:0.2em 0 0.6em 1.6em;text-align:right;font-size:80%;line-height:1em}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery .title>div *,.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery .footer>div *{overflow:visible}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery .gallerybox img{background:none!important}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery .bordered-images .thumb img{border:solid #eaecf0 1px}.mw-parser-output .mod-gallery .whitebg .thumb{background:#fff!important}</style><div class="mod-gallery mod-gallery-default"><div class="main"><div><ul class="gallery mw-gallery-traditional nochecker bordered-images whitebg">
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<div class="thumb" style="width: 210px; height: 180px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Tale_of_Genji_Royal_Outing.jpg" class="mw-file-description" title="In The Tale of Genji, Murasaki described court life, as depicted in this exterior scene titled "Royal Outing", late 16th century by Tosa Mitsuyoshi."><img alt="In The Tale of Genji, Murasaki described court life, as depicted in this exterior scene titled "Royal Outing", late 16th century by Tosa Mitsuyoshi." src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Tale_of_Genji_Royal_Outing.jpg/180px-Tale_of_Genji_Royal_Outing.jpg" decoding="async" width="180" height="141" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Tale_of_Genji_Royal_Outing.jpg/270px-Tale_of_Genji_Royal_Outing.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Tale_of_Genji_Royal_Outing.jpg/360px-Tale_of_Genji_Royal_Outing.jpg 2x" data-file-width="650" data-file-height="510" /></a></span></div>
<div class="gallerytext">In <i><a href="/wiki/The_Tale_of_Genji" title="The Tale of Genji">The Tale of Genji</a></i>, Murasaki described court life, as depicted in this exterior scene titled "Royal Outing", late 16th century by <a href="/wiki/Tosa_school" title="Tosa school">Tosa Mitsuyoshi</a>.</div>
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<li class="gallerybox" style="width: 215px">
<div class="thumb" style="width: 210px; height: 180px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Murasaki_Genji_Hiroshige.jpg" class="mw-file-description" title="Hiroshige ukiyo-e print (1852) shows an interior court scene from The Tale of Genji."><img alt="Hiroshige ukiyo-e print (1852) shows an interior court scene from The Tale of Genji." src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Murasaki_Genji_Hiroshige.jpg/180px-Murasaki_Genji_Hiroshige.jpg" decoding="async" width="180" height="112" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Murasaki_Genji_Hiroshige.jpg/270px-Murasaki_Genji_Hiroshige.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Murasaki_Genji_Hiroshige.jpg/360px-Murasaki_Genji_Hiroshige.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4379" data-file-height="2733" /></a></span></div>
<div class="gallerytext"><a href="/wiki/Hiroshige" title="Hiroshige">Hiroshige</a> <span title="Japanese-language romanization"><i lang="ja-Latn">ukiyo-e</i></span> print (1852) shows an interior court scene from <i>The Tale of Genji</i>.</div>
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<li class="gallerybox" style="width: 215px">
<div class="thumb" style="width: 210px; height: 180px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Murasaki_Shikibu_with_male_court_poets.png" class="mw-file-description" title="In this 1795 woodcut, Murasaki is shown in discussion with five male court poets."><img alt="In this 1795 woodcut, Murasaki is shown in discussion with five male court poets." src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Murasaki_Shikibu_with_male_court_poets.png/180px-Murasaki_Shikibu_with_male_court_poets.png" decoding="async" width="180" height="104" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Murasaki_Shikibu_with_male_court_poets.png/270px-Murasaki_Shikibu_with_male_court_poets.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Murasaki_Shikibu_with_male_court_poets.png/360px-Murasaki_Shikibu_with_male_court_poets.png 2x" data-file-width="960" data-file-height="555" /></a></span></div>
<div class="gallerytext">In this 1795 <a href="/wiki/Woodcut" title="Woodcut">woodcut</a>, Murasaki is shown in discussion with five male court poets.</div>
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<div class="thumb" style="width: 210px; height: 180px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Murasaki_Shikibu_composing_the_Tale_of_Genji_at_Ishiyamadera,_by_Yashima_Gakutei.jpg" class="mw-file-description" title="Murasaki Shikibu composing The Tale of Genji, by Yashima Gakutei (1786–1868)."><img alt="Murasaki Shikibu composing The Tale of Genji, by Yashima Gakutei (1786–1868)." src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Murasaki_Shikibu_composing_the_Tale_of_Genji_at_Ishiyamadera%2C_by_Yashima_Gakutei.jpg/180px-Murasaki_Shikibu_composing_the_Tale_of_Genji_at_Ishiyamadera%2C_by_Yashima_Gakutei.jpg" decoding="async" width="180" height="126" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Murasaki_Shikibu_composing_the_Tale_of_Genji_at_Ishiyamadera%2C_by_Yashima_Gakutei.jpg/270px-Murasaki_Shikibu_composing_the_Tale_of_Genji_at_Ishiyamadera%2C_by_Yashima_Gakutei.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Murasaki_Shikibu_composing_the_Tale_of_Genji_at_Ishiyamadera%2C_by_Yashima_Gakutei.jpg/360px-Murasaki_Shikibu_composing_the_Tale_of_Genji_at_Ishiyamadera%2C_by_Yashima_Gakutei.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3715" data-file-height="2610" /></a></span></div>
<div class="gallerytext">Murasaki Shikibu composing <i>The Tale of Genji</i>, by <a href="/wiki/Yashima_Gakutei" title="Yashima Gakutei">Yashima Gakutei</a> (1786–1868).</div>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Notes">Notes</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Murasaki_Shikibu&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2>
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<ol class="references">
<li id="cite_note-note1-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-note1_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bowring believes her date of birth most likely to have been 973; Mulhern places it somewhere between 970 and 978, and Waley states it was 978. See Bowring (2004), 4; Mulhern (1994), 257; Waley (1960), vii.</span>
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<li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Seven women were named in the entry, with the actual names of four women known. Of the remaining three women, one was not a Fujiwara, one held a high rank and therefore had to be older, leaving the possibility that the third, Fujiwara no Takako, was Murasaki. See Tsunoda (1963), 1–27.</span>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Murasaki_Shikibu&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2>
<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1217336898"><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 19em;">
<ol class="references">
<li id="cite_note-ShiraneB293-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-ShiraneB293_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-ShiraneB293_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-ShiraneB293_2-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-ShiraneB293_2-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Shirane (2008b), 293</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-Henshall24ff-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Henshall24ff_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="error mw-ext-cite-error" lang="en" dir="ltr">Cite error: The named reference <code>Henshall24ff</code> was invoked but never defined (see the <a href="/wiki/Help:Cite_errors/Cite_error_references_no_text" title="Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text">help page</a>).</span></li>
<li id="cite_note-Shirane215-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Shirane215_4-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Shirane (1987), 215</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-Bowring,_2004,_4-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Bowring,_2004,_4_5-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bowring,_2004,_4_5-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bowring,_2004,_4_5-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bowring,_2004,_4_5-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bowring,_2004,_4_5-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bowring,_2004,_4_5-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Bowring (2004), 4</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Chokusen Sakusha Burui 勅撰作者部類</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-M257ff-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-M257ff_7-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-M257ff_7-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-M257ff_7-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-M257ff_7-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Mulhern (1994), 257–258</span>
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<li id="cite_note-Inge9-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Inge9_8-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Inge9_8-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Inge9_8-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Inge (1990), 9</span>
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<li id="cite_note-Mulhern78ff-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Mulhern78ff_9-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Mulhern78ff_9-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Mulhern (1991), 79</span>
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<li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Adolphson (2007), 111</span>
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<li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ueno (2009), 254</span>
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<li id="cite_note-Shirane218-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Shirane218_13-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Shirane218_13-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Shirane218_13-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Shirane218_13-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Shirane218_13-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Shirane218_13-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Shirane218_13-6"><sup><i><b>g</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Shirane218_13-7"><sup><i><b>h</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Shirane (1987), 218</span>
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<li id="cite_note-P50ff-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-P50ff_14-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-P50ff_14-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Puette (1983), 50–51</span>
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<li id="cite_note-NYT-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-NYT_15-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-NYT_15-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Green, Michelle. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/travel/04footsteps.html?pagewanted=all">"Kyoto Celebrates a 1000-Year Love Affair"</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120407121533/http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/travel/04footsteps.html?pagewanted=all">Archived</a> April 7, 2012, at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>. (December 31, 2008). <i>The New York Times</i>. Retrieved August 9, 2011</span>
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<li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bowring (1996), xii</span>
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<li id="cite_note-Reischauer28ff-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Reischauer28ff_17-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Reischauer28ff_17-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Reischauer (1999), 29–29</span>
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<li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">qtd in Bowring (2004), 11–12</span>
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<li id="cite_note-Perez21ff-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Perez21ff_19-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Perez (1998), 21</span>
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<li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-20">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">qtd in Inge (1990), 9</span>
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<li id="cite_note-Knapp-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Knapp_21-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Knapp, Bettina. "Lady Murasaki's <i>The Tale of the Genji</i>". <i>Symposium</i>. (1992). (46).</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-Mulhern83ff-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Mulhern83ff_22-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Mulhern83ff_22-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Mulhern83ff_22-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Mulhern (1991), 83–85</span>
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<li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-23">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">qtd in Mulhern (1991), 84</span>
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<li id="cite_note-Royall-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Royall_24-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Royall_24-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Tyler, Royall. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://harvardmagazine.com/2002/05/murasaki-shikibu.html">"Murasaki Shikibu: Brief Life of a Legendary Novelist: c. 973 – c. 1014"</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200824130015/https://harvardmagazine.com/2002/05/murasaki-shikibu.html">Archived</a> August 24, 2020, at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>. (May 2002) <i>Harvard Magazine</i>. Retrieved August 21, 2011.</span>
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<li id="cite_note-M258ff-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-M258ff_25-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-M258ff_25-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Mulhern (1994), 258–259</span>
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<li id="cite_note-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-26">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bowring (2004), 4; Mulhern (1994), 259</span>
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<li id="cite_note-Shirane221ff-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Shirane221ff_27-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Shirane221ff_27-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Shirane221ff_27-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Shirane221ff_27-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="error mw-ext-cite-error" lang="en" dir="ltr">Cite error: The named reference <code>Shirane221ff</code> was invoked but never defined (see the <a href="/wiki/Help:Cite_errors/Cite_error_references_no_text" title="Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text">help page</a>).</span></li>
<li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-28">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Aston (1899), 93</span>
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<li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-29">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bowring (2004), 5</span>
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<li id="cite_note-Waley_1960,_xv-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Waley_1960,_xv_30-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="error mw-ext-cite-error" lang="en" dir="ltr">Cite error: The named reference <code>Waley 1960, xv</code> was invoked but never defined (see the <a href="/wiki/Help:Cite_errors/Cite_error_references_no_text" title="Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text">help page</a>).</span></li>
<li id="cite_note-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-31">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Mulhern (1996), 259</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-Mulhern260ff-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Mulhern260ff_32-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Mulhern260ff_32-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Mulhern260ff_32-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Mulhern260ff_32-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Mulhern260ff_32-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="error mw-ext-cite-error" lang="en" dir="ltr">Cite error: The named reference <code>Mulhern260ff</code> was invoked but never defined (see the <a href="/wiki/Help:Cite_errors/Cite_error_references_no_text" title="Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text">help page</a>).</span></li>
<li id="cite_note-Bowringxvff-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Bowringxvff_33-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="error mw-ext-cite-error" lang="en" dir="ltr">Cite error: The named reference <code>Bowringxvff</code> was invoked but never defined (see the <a href="/wiki/Help:Cite_errors/Cite_error_references_no_text" title="Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text">help page</a>).</span></li>
<li id="cite_note-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-34">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Mason (1997), 81</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-kodanshainternat-p120-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-kodanshainternat-p120_35-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Kodansha International (2004), 475, 120</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-shiraneb-p2-113-114-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-shiraneb-p2-113-114_36-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Shirane (2008b), 2, 113–114</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-frederic-p594-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-frederic-p594_37-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Frédéric (2005), 594</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-38">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">McCullough (1990), 16</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-ShiraneB448-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-ShiraneB448_39-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Shirane (2008b), 448</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-M262-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-M262_40-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-M262_40-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Mulhern (1994), 262</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-41"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-41">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">McCullough (1990), 9</span>
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<li id="cite_note-Shively_1999,_445-42"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Shively_1999,_445_42-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Shively_1999,_445_42-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Shively (1999), 445</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-43"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-43">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Keene (1988), 75–79, 81–84</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-44"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-44">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Adolphson (2007), 121–122</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-K1988-45"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-K1988_45-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-K1988_45-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-K1988_45-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Keene (1988), 81–84</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-46"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-46">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Shively (1990), 444</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-47"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-47">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Henshall (1999), 27</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-48"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-48">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">McCullough (1999), 9</span>
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<li id="cite_note-Bowring_2004,_79-49"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Bowring_2004,_79_49-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bowring_2004,_79_49-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Bowring (2004), 79</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-50"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-50">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bowring (2004), 12</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-51"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-51">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">qtd in Lillehoj (2007), 110</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-52"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-52">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Frédéric (2005), 238</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-53"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-53">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Lillehoj (2007), 110–113</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-54"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-54">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Lillehoj, 108–109</span>
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<li id="cite_note-55"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-55">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Geczy (2008), 13</span>
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<li id="cite_note-2008a1ff-56"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-2008a1ff_56-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-2008a1ff_56-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-2008a1ff_56-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Shirane (2008a), 1–2</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-57"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-57">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Keene (1999), 508</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-M264-58"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-M264_58-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-M264_58-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Mulhern (1994), 264</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-59"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-59">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/02/world/main517343.shtml">"Japanese Feminist to Adorn Yen"</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130518005327/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/02/world/main517343.shtml">Archived</a> May 18, 2013, at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>. (February 11, 2009). CBSNews.com. Retrieved August 11, 2011.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-60"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-60">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Kondansha (1983), 269</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-61"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-61">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">McCormick (2003), 54–56</span>
</li>
</ol></div>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Sources">Sources</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Murasaki_Shikibu&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Sources"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2>
<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1054258005">.mw-parser-output .refbegin{font-size:90%;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul{margin-left:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{margin-left:0;padding-left:3.2em;text-indent:-3.2em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul,.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul li{list-style:none}@media(max-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{padding-left:1.6em;text-indent:-1.6em}}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}</style><div class="refbegin refbegin-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 30em">
<ul><li>Adolphson, Mikhael; Kamens, Edward and Matsumoto, Stacie. <i>Heian Japan: Centers and Peripheries</i>. (2007). Honolulu: Hawaii UP. <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1215172403">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a{background-size:contain}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a{background-size:contain}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a{background-size:contain}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#2C882D;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911F}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error,html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{color:#f8a397}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error,html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{color:#f8a397}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911F}}</style><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8248-3013-7" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-8248-3013-7">978-0-8248-3013-7</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/William_George_Aston" title="William George Aston">Aston, William</a>. <i><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_History_of_Japanese_Literature" class="extiw" title="s:A History of Japanese Literature">A History of Japanese Literature</a></i>. (1899). London: Heinemann.</li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Richard_Bowring" title="Richard Bowring">Bowring, Richard John</a> (ed). "Introduction". in <i>The Diary of Lady Murasaki</i>. (1996). London: Penguin. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-14-043576-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-14-043576-4">978-0-14-043576-4</a></li>
<li>Bowring, Richard John (ed). "The Cultural Background". in <i>The Tale of Genji</i>. (2004). Cambridge: Cambridge UP. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-83208-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-521-83208-3">978-0-521-83208-3</a></li>
<li>Frédéric, Louis. <i>Japan Encyclopedia</i>. (2005). Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-674-01753-5" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-674-01753-5">978-0-674-01753-5</a></li>
<li>Geczy, Adam. <i>Art: Histories, Theories and Exceptions</i>. (2008). London: Oxford International Publishers. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-84520-700-7" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-84520-700-7">978-1-84520-700-7</a></li>
<li>Inge, Thomas. "Lady Murasaki and the Craft of Fiction". (May 1990) <i>Atlantic Review</i>. (55). 7–14.</li>
<li>Henshall, Kenneth G. <i>A History of Japan</i>. (1999). New York: St. Martin's. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-312-21986-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-312-21986-4">978-0-312-21986-4</a></li>
<li><i>Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan</i>. (1983) New York: Kōdansha. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-87011-620-9" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-87011-620-9">978-0-87011-620-9</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Donald_Keene" title="Donald Keene">Keene, Donald</a>. <i>Seeds in the Heart: Japanese Literature from Earliest times to the Late Sixteenth Century</i>. (1999). New York: Columbia UP. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-231-11441-7" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-231-11441-7">978-0-231-11441-7</a></li>
<li>Keene, Donald. <i>The Pleasures of Japanese Literature</i>. (1988). New York: Columbia UP. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-231-06736-2" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-231-06736-2">978-0-231-06736-2</a></li>
<li><i>The Japan Book: A Comprehensive Pocket Guide</i>. (2004). New York: Kodansha International. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-4-7700-2847-1" title="Special:BookSources/978-4-7700-2847-1">978-4-7700-2847-1</a></li>
<li>Lillehoj, Elizabeth. <i>Critical Perspectives on Classicism in Japanese Painting, 1600–17</i>. (2004). Honolulu: Hawaii UP. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8248-2699-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-8248-2699-4">978-0-8248-2699-4</a></li>
<li>Lockard, Craig. <i>Societies, Networks, and Transitions, Volume I: To 1500: A Global History</i>. (2008). Boston: Wadsworth. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4390-8535-6" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-4390-8535-6">978-1-4390-8535-6</a></li>
<li>Mason, R.H.P. and Caiger, John Godwin. <i>A History of Japan</i>. (1997). North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8048-2097-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-8048-2097-4">978-0-8048-2097-4</a></li>
<li>McCormick, Melissa. "<i>Genji</i> Goes West: The 1510 Genji Album and the Visualization of Court and Capital". (March 2003). <i>Art Bulletin</i>. (85). 54–85</li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Helen_Craig_McCullough" title="Helen Craig McCullough">McCullough, Helen</a>. <i>Classical Japanese Prose: An Anthology</i>. (1990). Stanford CA: Stanford UP. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8047-1960-5" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-8047-1960-5">978-0-8047-1960-5</a></li>
<li>Mostow, Joshua. "Mother Tongue and Father Script: The relationship of Sei Shonagon and Murasaki Shikibu". in Copeland, Rebecca L. and Ramirez-Christensen Esperanza (eds). <i>The Father-Daughter Plot: Japanese Literary Women and the Law of the Father</i>. (2001). Honolulu: Hawaii UP. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8248-2438-9" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-8248-2438-9">978-0-8248-2438-9</a></li>
<li>Mulhern, Chieko Irie. <i>Heroic with Grace: Legendary Women of Japan</i>. (1991). Armonk NY: M.E. Sharpe. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-87332-527-1" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-87332-527-1">978-0-87332-527-1</a></li>
<li>Mulhern, Chieko Irie. <i>Japanese Women Writers: a Bio-critical Sourcebook</i>. (1994). Westport CT: Greenwood Press. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-313-25486-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-313-25486-4">978-0-313-25486-4</a></li>
<li>Perez, Louis G. <i>The History of Japan</i>. (1990). Westport CT: Greenwood Press. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-313-30296-1" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-313-30296-1">978-0-313-30296-1</a></li>
<li>Puette, William J. <i>The Tale of Genji: A Reader's Guide</i>. (1983). North Clarendon VT: Tuttle Publishing. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8048-3331-8" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-8048-3331-8">978-0-8048-3331-8</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Edwin_O._Reischauer" title="Edwin O. Reischauer">Reschauer, Edwin</a>. <i>Japan: The Story of a Nation</i>. (1999). New York: McGraw-Hill. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-07-557074-5" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-07-557074-5">978-0-07-557074-5</a></li>
<li>Shirane, Haruo. <i>The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of "The Tale of Genji</i>". (1987). Stanford CA: Stanford UP. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8047-1719-9" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-8047-1719-9">978-0-8047-1719-9</a></li>
<li>Shirane, Haruo. <i>Envisioning the Tale of Genji: Media, Gender, and Cultural Production</i>. (2008a). New York: Columbia UP. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-231-14237-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-231-14237-3">978-0-231-14237-3</a></li>
<li>Shirane, Haruo. <i>Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600</i>. (2008b). New York: Columbia UP. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-231-13697-6" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-231-13697-6">978-0-231-13697-6</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Donald_Shively" title="Donald Shively">Shively, Donald</a> and McCullough, William H. <i>The Cambridge History of Japan: Heian Japan</i>. (1999). Cambridge UP. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-22353-9" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-521-22353-9">978-0-521-22353-9</a></li>
<li>Tsunoda, Bunei. "Real name of Murasahiki Shikibu". <i>Kodai Bunka (Cultura antiqua)</i>. (1963) (55). 1–27.</li>
<li>Ueno, Chizuko. <i>The Modern Family in Japan: Its Rise and Fall</i>. (2009). Melbourne: Transpacific Press. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1215172403"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-876843-56-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-876843-56-4">978-1-876843-56-4</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Arthur_Waley" title="Arthur Waley">Waley, Arthur</a>. "Introduction". in Shikibu, Murasaki, <i>The Tale of Genji: A Novel in Six Parts</i>. translated by Arthur Waley. (1960). New York: Modern Library.</li></ul>
</div>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Murasaki_Shikibu&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2>
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<div class="side-box-abovebelow"><b>By Murasaki Shikibu</b>
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<ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Commons-logo.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/12px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/18px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/24px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" /></a></span> Media related to <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Murasaki_Shikibu" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:Murasaki Shikibu">Murasaki Shikibu</a> at Wikimedia Commons</li>
<li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Wikisource-logo.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Wikisource logo"><img alt="Wikisource logo" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/18px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/24px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="410" data-file-height="430" /></a></span> Works by or about <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:Murasaki_Shikibu" class="extiw" title="s:Author:Murasaki Shikibu">Murasaki Shikibu</a> at <a href="/wiki/Wikisource" title="Wikisource">Wikisource</a></li>
<li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Wikiquote-logo.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/13px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="13" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/20px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/27px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="355" /></a></span> Quotations related to <a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:Search/Murasaki_Shikibu" class="extiw" title="wikiquote:Special:Search/Murasaki Shikibu">Murasaki Shikibu</a> at Wikiquote</li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.taleofgenji.org/rozanji.html">Rozan-ji Temple, Kyoto</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/46975">Works by Murasaki Shikibu</a> at <a href="/wiki/Project_Gutenberg" title="Project Gutenberg">Project Gutenberg</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL365212A">Works by Murasaki Shikibu</a> at <a href="/wiki/Open_Library" title="Open Library">Open Library</a> <span class="mw-valign-text-top noprint" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81731#P648" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" /></a></span></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://librivox.org/search?q=Murasaki+Shikibu&search_form=advanced">Works by Murasaki Shikibu</a> at <a href="/wiki/LibriVox" title="LibriVox">LibriVox</a> (public domain audiobooks) <span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Speaker_Icon.svg/15px-Speaker_Icon.svg.png" decoding="async" width="15" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Speaker_Icon.svg/23px-Speaker_Icon.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Speaker_Icon.svg/30px-Speaker_Icon.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="500" /></span></span></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2019/tale-of-genji">Exhibition: The Tale of Genji, A Japanese Classic Illuminated</a> at Metropolitan Museum of Art, March 5 – June 16, 2019</li></ul>
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transparent;border:none;box-shadow:none;padding:0;">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Murasaki_Shikibu" title="Template talk:Murasaki Shikibu"><abbr title="Discuss this template" style="background: #D6CADD;;;background:none transparent;border:none;box-shadow:none;padding:0;">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Murasaki_Shikibu" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Murasaki Shikibu"><abbr title="Edit this template" style="background: #D6CADD;;;background:none transparent;border:none;box-shadow:none;padding:0;">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Murasaki_Shikibu" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Murasaki Shikibu</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background: #D6CADD;;width:1%">Family</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="/wiki/Fujiwara_clan" title="Fujiwara clan">Fujiwara clan</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Fujiwara_no_Yoshifusa" title="Fujiwara no Yoshifusa">Fujiwara no Yoshifusa</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Fujiwara_no_Kanesuke" title="Fujiwara no Kanesuke">Fujiwara no Kanesuke</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Fujiwara_no_Tametoki" title="Fujiwara no Tametoki">Fujiwara no Tametoki</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Fujiwara_no_Michinaga" title="Fujiwara no Michinaga">Fujiwara no Michinaga</a></li></ul>
</div></td><td class="noviewer navbox-image" rowspan="5" style="width:1px;padding:0 0 0 2px"><div><figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Tosa_Mitsuoki%E2%80%94Portrait_of_Murasaki_Shikibu.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Tosa_Mitsuoki%E2%80%94Portrait_of_Murasaki_Shikibu.jpg/100px-Tosa_Mitsuoki%E2%80%94Portrait_of_Murasaki_Shikibu.jpg" decoding="async" width="100" height="143" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Tosa_Mitsuoki%E2%80%94Portrait_of_Murasaki_Shikibu.jpg/150px-Tosa_Mitsuoki%E2%80%94Portrait_of_Murasaki_Shikibu.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Tosa_Mitsuoki%E2%80%94Portrait_of_Murasaki_Shikibu.jpg/200px-Tosa_Mitsuoki%E2%80%94Portrait_of_Murasaki_Shikibu.jpg 2x" data-file-width="504" data-file-height="720" /></a><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background: #D6CADD;;width:1%">11th century Heian court poets</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="/wiki/Izumi_Shikibu" title="Izumi Shikibu">Izumi Shikibu</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Akazome_Emon" title="Akazome Emon">Akazome Emon</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Sei_Sh%C5%8Dnagon" title="Sei Shōnagon">Sei Shōnagon</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Fujiwara_no_Kint%C5%8D" title="Fujiwara no Kintō">Fujiwara no Kintō</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background: #D6CADD;;width:1%">Work</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Tale_of_Genji" title="The Tale of Genji">The Tale of Genji</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Diary_of_Lady_Murasaki" title="The Diary of Lady Murasaki">The Diary of Lady Murasaki</a></i></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background: #D6CADD;;width:1%">Styles</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="/wiki/Monogatari" title="Monogatari">Monogatari</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Waka_(poetry)" title="Waka (poetry)">Waka</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Poetic_diary" title="Poetic diary">Nikki Bungaku</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Mono_no_aware" title="Mono no aware">Mono no aware</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background: #D6CADD;;width:1%">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Murasaki_Shikibu_Nikki_Emaki" title="Murasaki Shikibu Nikki Emaki">Murasaki Shikibu Nikki Emaki</a></i></li></ul>
</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>
<div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1061467846"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Murasaki_Shikibu&#039;s_The_Tale_of_Genji" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1063604349"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:The_Tale_of_Genji" title="Template:The Tale of Genji"><abbr title="View this template" style=";;background:none transparent;border:none;box-shadow:none;padding:0;">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:The_Tale_of_Genji" title="Template talk:The Tale of Genji"><abbr title="Discuss this template" style=";;background:none transparent;border:none;box-shadow:none;padding:0;">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:The_Tale_of_Genji" title="Special:EditPage/Template:The Tale of Genji"><abbr title="Edit this template" style=";;background:none transparent;border:none;box-shadow:none;padding:0;">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Murasaki_Shikibu&#039;s_The_Tale_of_Genji" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Murasaki Shikibu</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/The_Tale_of_Genji" title="The Tale of Genji">The Tale of Genji</a></i></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_The_Tale_of_Genji_characters" title="List of The Tale of Genji characters">Characters</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="/wiki/Aoi_no_Ue" title="Aoi no Ue">Aoi no Ue</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Lady_Fujitsubo" title="Lady Fujitsubo">Lady Fujitsubo</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Hikaru_Genji" title="Hikaru Genji">Hikaru Genji</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Kaoru_Genji" title="Kaoru Genji">Kaoru Genji</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Kiritsubo_Consort" title="Kiritsubo Consort">Kiritsubo Consort</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Lady_Rokuj%C5%8D" title="Lady Rokujō">Lady Rokujō</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Murasaki_no_Ue" title="Murasaki no Ue">Murasaki no Ue</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Ukifune" title="Ukifune">Ukifune</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Anime/Manga</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Tale_of_Genji_(manga)" title="The Tale of Genji (manga)">The Tale of Genji</a></i> (1979)</li>
<li><i><a href="/wiki/Genji_Monogatari_(manga)" title="Genji Monogatari (manga)">Genji Monogatari</a></i> (c. 1989)</li>
<li><i><a href="/wiki/Genji_Monogatari_Sennenki" title="Genji Monogatari Sennenki">Genji Monogatari Sennenki</a></i> (2009)</li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Films</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Tale_of_Genji_(1951_film)" title="The Tale of Genji (1951 film)">The Tale of Genji</a></i> (1951)</li>
<li><i><a href="/wiki/Sennen_no_Koi_Story_of_Genji" title="Sennen no Koi Story of Genji">Sennen no Koi Story of Genji</a></i> (2001)</li>
<li><i><a href="/wiki/Genji_Monogatari:_Sennen_no_Nazo" title="Genji Monogatari: Sennen no Nazo">Genji Monogatari: Sennen no Nazo</a></i> (2011)</li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Stage</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Aoi_no_Ue_(play)" title="Aoi no Ue (play)">Aoi no Ue</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Diver_(play)" title="The Diver (play)">The Diver</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="/wiki/Genji_monogatari_(opera)" title="Genji monogatari (opera)">Genji monogatari</a></i></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="/wiki/Genji_Monogatari_Emaki" title="Genji Monogatari Emaki">Genji Monogatari Emaki</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/The_Tale_of_Genji_Museum" title="The Tale of Genji Museum">The Tale of Genji Museum</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Nise_Murasaki_Inaka_Genji" title="Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji">Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>
<div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1061467846"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1038841319">.mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox authority-control" aria-labelledby="Authority_control_databases_frameless&#124;text-top&#124;10px&#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata&#124;link=https&#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81731#identifiers&#124;class=noprint&#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><div id="Authority_control_databases_frameless&#124;text-top&#124;10px&#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata&#124;link=https&#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81731#identifiers&#124;class=noprint&#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Help:Authority_control" title="Help:Authority control">Authority control databases</a> <span class="mw-valign-text-top noprint" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81731#identifiers" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" /></a></span></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">International</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1836463/">FAST</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://isni.org/isni/0000000121441276">ISNI</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://viaf.org/viaf/95154208">VIAF</a></span>
<ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://viaf.org/viaf/291145856860122920241">2</a></span></li></ul></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">National</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://authority.bibsys.no/authority/rest/authorities/html/90045483">Norway</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bncatalogo.cl/F?func=direct&local_base=red10&doc_number=000423305">Chile</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://catalogo.bne.es/uhtbin/authoritybrowse.cgi?action=display&authority_id=XX953498">Spain</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb11917249n">France</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://data.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb11917249n">BnF data</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://cantic.bnc.cat/registre/981058525813106706">Catalonia</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://d-nb.info/gnd/118985655">Germany</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><span class="rt-commentedText tooltip tooltip-dotted" title="Murasaki Shikibu"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://opac.sbn.it/nome/UFIV027707">Italy</a></span></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://olduli.nli.org.il/F/?func=find-b&local_base=NLX10&find_code=UID&request=987007265776205171">Israel</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:au:finaf:000052652">Finland</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://opac.kbr.be/LIBRARY/doc/AUTHORITY/14373699">Belgium</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n79100628">United States</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://libris.kb.se/xv8bcngg542d8zx">Sweden</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://kopkatalogs.lv/F?func=direct&local_base=lnc10&doc_number=000072070&P_CON_LNG=ENG">Latvia</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://id.ndl.go.jp/auth/ndlna/00270993">Japan</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://aleph.nkp.cz/F/?func=find-c&local_base=aut&ccl_term=ica=xx0001130&CON_LNG=ENG">Czech Republic</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://data.nlg.gr/resource/authority/record139069">Greece</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://lod.nl.go.kr/resource/KAC199632036">Korea</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://katalog.nsk.hr/F/?func=direct&doc_number=000365838&local_base=nsk10">Croatia</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://data.bibliotheken.nl/id/thes/p069496153">Netherlands</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://dbn.bn.org.pl/descriptor-details/9810634938705606">Poland</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://id.bnportugal.gov.pt/aut/catbnp/1389409">Portugal</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a class="external text" href="https://wikidata-externalid-url.toolforge.org/?p=8034&url_prefix=https://opac.vatlib.it/auth/detail/&id=495/374726">Vatican</a></span></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Academics</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ci.nii.ac.jp/author/DA00311714?l=en">CiNii</a></span></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Artists</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://musicbrainz.org/artist/ff88b821-286e-4a31-b418-836751a972fa">MusicBrainz</a></span></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">People</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd118985655.html?language=en">Deutsche Biographie</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/928161">Trove</a></span></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w6m05rpc">SNAC</a></span></li>
<li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.idref.fr/02704291X">IdRef</a></span></li></ul>
</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>' |
Whether or not the change was made through a Tor exit node (tor_exit_node) | false |
Unix timestamp of change (timestamp) | '1713865151' |
