Biography of lady murasaki shikibu
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Murasaki Shikibu (c. 978, Kyoto — c. 1014 or 1031 Kyoto), Japanese novelist and lady-in-waiting in the imperial court at the height of the Heian period (795–1185), was the author of the Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji), often regarded as the greatest work of Japanese literature. It is also thought to be the world's oldest full novel. It concerns the life of charismatic Prince Genji and his descendants, and is a subtle and thorough depiction of a complex society. Originally intended to be read aloud, the book contains 54 chapters and over 400 characters, and is twice the length of War and Peace. Despite its length, the various story lines in the novel are remarkably consistent, following the amorous involvements and the court intrigues surrounding Prince Genji, and ending with a gloomy psychological analysis of unrequited love. Murasaki is thought to have started writing the novel around 1003, and it may have been incomplete at her death.
The name “Lady Murasaki”
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[Tosa Mitsuoki. Murasaki Shikibu composing Genji Monogatari, 17th century, Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper]
With a novel such as The Tale of Genji on her roster, Murasaki Shikibu is a Japanese author whose work is still celebrated even a thousand years since her death. She was born around the year 978 in Heian-kyo, one of the many former names of what is now Kyoto. There is much about her that isn't known; even her given name remains a mystery. Shikibu, which means "Bureau of Ceremonial,” refers to a post once held by her father, and Murasaki, the name of a plant that produces purple dye, is her tale's main heroine (Tyler). Her family was a lesser branch of the Fujiwara clan. In 996, she travelled with her father, a scholar and provincial governor, to Echizen where she spent several years. It wasn't until 999 that she returned to Kyoto and married Fujiwara no Nobutaka. Her husband died after only two years of marriage leaving he
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Murasaki Shikibu
Japanese novelist and poet (c. 973 – c. 1014)
"Lady Murasaki" redirects here. For the character, see Murasaki no Ue.
Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部, 'Lady Murasaki'; c. 973 – c. 1014 or 1025) was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court in the Heian period. She was best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, widely considered to be one of the world's first novels, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012. Murasaki Shikibu is a descriptive name; her anställda name fryst vatten unknown, but she may have been Fujiwara no Kaoruko (藤原香子), who was mentioned in a 1007 court diary as an imperial lady-in-waiting.
Heian women were traditionally excluded from learning kinesisk, the written language of government, but Murasaki, raised in her erudite father's household, showed a precocious aptitude for the kinesisk classics and managed to acquire fluency. She married in her mid-to-late twenties and gave birth to a daughter, Daini no