Featured Article Summary #34

Murasaki Shikibu was a Japanese novelist, poet, and lady-in-waiting in the Heian period. She is famous for writing The Tale of Genji, one of the world's earliest novels. Murasaki's real name is not known, but she may have been Fujiwara no Kaoriko, who was mentioned in a court diary. Despite the tradition of excluding women from learning Chinese, Murasaki showed an early talent for it and became fluent. She started writing The Tale of Genji while married or shortly after her husband's death, and continued to write while serving as a lady-in-waiting. Her work became a classic of Japanese literature and is still highly regarded by scholars today. Murasaki Shikibu was born into the influential Fujiwara clan in 973. Despite her family's declining status, they still had a reputation among the literati. Murasaki herself grew up in her father's household and received an unconventional education, which included learning classical Chinese. She was known to have a strong personality and was seen as pretentious and difficult by others. Murasaki Shikibu, an aristocratic Heian woman, had limited contact with men other than her father and brother. She did not marry until her mid-twenties or early thirties, when she married her father's friend, Nobutaka. They had a daughter together, but Nobutaka died two years later during a cholera epidemic. After his death, Murasaki likely started writing The Tale of Genji, possibly as a way to cope with her grief. Later in her life, she became a lady-in-waiting at court, possibly due to her reputation as an author. There is speculation that she may have been involved in a romantic relationship with Michinaga, another courtier. Heian culture and court life in the 11th century was marked by a growing population in Kyoto, with the nobility becoming increasingly isolated and preoccupied with the minutiae of court life. Courtiers turned to artistic pursuits, expressing their emotions through various mediums. Heian noblewomen adhered to strict fashions and engaged in activities such as love affairs, poetry writing, and diary keeping, resulting in the creation of some of the earliest and finest literature in Japanese history. Michinaga assumed power after winning a power struggle against his nephew, and arranged for his daughter Shōshi to be named Empress alongside Teishi. He then brought Murasaki to Shōshi's court to build a rival salon of talented women writers. Murasaki and Sei Shōnagon may have had a contentious relationship, with Murasaki feeling intimidated by Shōnagon's cleverness and arrogance.