Murasaki Shikibu
In the year 973, a girl was born into the northern Fujiwara clan in Heian-kyō. Her father, Fujiwara no Tametoki, was a scholar of Chinese classics and poetry who attended the State Academy. Unlike other noblewomen of her time, she lived in her father's household with her younger brother Nobunori after their mother died young. She learned to read classical Chinese texts while listening to her brother study them for his government career. Her father often regretted that she was not born a man because he knew such education was reserved for men. This fluency in Chinese made her unusual among women of the Heian period. She studied music, calligraphy, and Japanese poetry alongside these difficult texts. Her education was unorthodox and set her apart from most aristocratic women.
Murasaki remained unmarried until her mid-twenties or perhaps early thirties. In 996, when her father took a governorship in Echizen Province, she traveled with him to Fukui prefecture. She returned to Kyoto around 998 to marry Fujiwara no Nobutaka, a much older second cousin who served at the Ministry of Ceremonials. They had a daughter named Kenshi, also known as Kataiko, in 999. Two years later, Nobutaka died during a cholera epidemic. Murasaki wrote in her diary about feeling depressed and confused after his death. She existed day by day in listless fashion and found the thought of continuing loneliness unbearable. As a widow, she had servants to run the household and care for her daughter. This leisure time allowed her to read romances like The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter and The Tales of Ise. Scholars believe she may have started writing The Tale of Genji before her husband's death but definitely continued writing while widowed.
Around 1005, Michinaga invited Murasaki to serve as a lady-in-waiting to Empress Shōshi at the Imperial court. She was likely between sixteen and nineteen years old when she joined the service. Her reputation as an author probably secured this position. Shōshi was Michinaga's eldest daughter who had been placed in Emperor Ichijō's harem four years earlier. Murasaki taught Chinese to Shōshi despite the language being considered unladylike for women. She held these lessons secretly in odd moments when no one else was present. A rival lady-in-waiting accused her of flaunting her knowledge and gave her the nickname Lady of the Chronicles. Murasaki wrote that it was ridiculous to think she would reveal her learning at court when she hesitated to show it even to her own women. She disliked the drunken revelry of court life and found Shōshi's salon extremely dull compared to other courts. She did become close friends with a lady named Lady Saishō and enjoyed seeing snow fall during winter months.
Murasaki documented her feelings about other women poets in her diary entries from 1008 to 1010. She wrote disparagingly of Izumi Shikibu, calling her an amusing letter writer but not a real poet. She criticized Sei Shōnagon for being dreadfully conceited and littering her writing with Chinese characters. Shōnagon had served as a lady-in-waiting to Teishi, the rival empress who died in 1001 before Murasaki entered service. The two writers never served together yet Murasaki clearly knew of Shōnagon's work. Her diary suggests they were not on good terms. Michinaga may have brought Murasaki to Shōshi's court specifically to create a rival salon to Shōnagon's Pillow Book. While Shōnagon was witty and outspoken, Murasaki remained withdrawn and sensitive. She pretended not to know Chinese while publicly rejecting the language even though she used it in her own writing. This attitude possibly impressed Michinaga more than Shōnagon's ostentatious display of knowledge did.
Murasaki spent approximately ten years composing The Tale of Genji between 1000 and 1012. The novel spans 1100 pages across fifty-four chapters. Michinaga provided her with costly paper, ink, and calligraphers to help produce such a lengthy work. The first handwritten volumes were likely assembled by ladies-in-waiting. She continued writing during her service at court and probably finished while still serving Shōshi. By 1021 all chapters were known to be complete and the work became sought after in provinces where copies were scarce. Emperor Ichijō had the story read aloud to him despite it being written in Japanese rather than Chinese. The narrative follows Prince Genji through themes of time, romantic love, and human sorrow. Murasaki eliminated fairy tale elements found in earlier tales to create a form that critics consider utterly modern. Her unique genius made the work a powerful statement on human relationships and sensitivity to others' feelings.
Murasaki wrote The Diary of Lady Murasaki covering events from about 1008 to 1010. Much of what is known about her life comes from this volume which includes descriptions of passing newly written chapters to calligraphers for transcription. She devoted half the diary to the birth of Shōshi's son Emperor Go-Ichijō. This event was enormous importance to Michinaga who planned it with his daughter's marriage. She also composed Poetic Memoirs containing one hundred twenty-eight poems arranged in biographical sequence. Some verses appear written for a lover possibly before her husband died but she may have followed tradition writing simple love poems instead. These poems contain details about her sister who died and her visit to Echizen province. Fujiwara no Teika published her works in 1206 in what scholars believe is closest to the original form. At around the same time he included selections of her works in an imperial anthology called New Collections of Ancient and Modern Times.
Within a century of her death, Murasaki was highly regarded as a classical writer. Her work became required reading for court poets by the twelfth century. In the seventeenth century, Kumazawa Banzan argued that her writing was valuable for its sensitivity and depiction of emotions. The Tale of Genji was copied and illustrated in various forms including handscrolls painted between 1110 and 1120. These scrolls are now housed at the Gotoh Museum and the Tokugawa Art Museum. By the eighteenth century, dowry sets decorated with scenes from Genji symbolized marital success for noblewomen. Kyoto held a year-long celebration commemorating the thousandth anniversary of Genji in 2008. The design on the reverse of the first two-thousand yen note commemorated her and The Tale of Genji. A plant bearing purple berries has been named after her since then. Scholars compare her to Shakespeare who represented his Elizabethan England while she captured the essence of the Heian court.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When was Murasaki Shikibu born and what was her family background?
Murasaki Shikibu was born in the year 973 into the northern Fujiwara clan in Heian-kyō. Her father, Fujiwara no Tametoki, was a scholar of Chinese classics who attended the State Academy.
Who did Murasaki Shikibu marry and when did she become a widow?
Murasaki Shikibu married Fujiwara no Nobutaka around 998 to serve at the Ministry of Ceremonials. Her husband died during a cholera epidemic two years later while they were living together in Kyoto.
What role did Murasaki Shikibu hold at the Imperial court starting around 1005?
Murasaki Shikibu served as a lady-in-waiting to Empress Shōshi from approximately 1005 until about 1021. She taught Chinese to the empress secretly despite the language being considered unladylike for women at that time.
How long did it take Murasaki Shikibu to compose The Tale of Genji and how many chapters does it contain?
Murasaki Shikibu spent approximately ten years composing The Tale of Genji between 1000 and 1012. The novel spans 1100 pages across fifty-four chapters with themes of time, romantic love, and human sorrow.
Which other poets did Murasaki Shikibu criticize in her diary entries from 1008 to 1010?
Murasaki Shikibu wrote disparagingly of Izumi Shikibu and Sei Shōnagon in her diary entries covering events from 1008 to 1010. She called Izumi Shikibu an amusing letter writer but not a real poet while criticizing Sei Shōnagon for being conceited.