The Life of Lady Murasaki
Have you ever heard of the intelligent Lady Murasaki? I will write about the life of Lady
Murasaki in my paper. I chose this topic, because I learned a bit about her during the
Japanese history unit this year, and I thought it was interesting. I also watched a video
about her, and I wanted to know more details about her. Since last year was the 1,000th
anniversary of The Tale of Genji, I thought it would be interesting to research about that
too. I will write about the basic information of Lady Murasaki, such as the date and place
she was born. Her personality and physical appearance will be explained in this section.
Next, I will write about the childhood of Lady Murasaki, such as where she lived and how
she was educated. Thirdly, I will write about Lady Murasakis family, and other members
of Fujiwara Clan. Fourthly, I will write about the many accomplishments Lady Murasaki
made, which includes The Tale of Genji, The Murasaki Shikibu Diary, and The Murasaki
Shikibu Collections. I will also write a brief summary of The Tale of Genji, and explain
how and why it was made. You will also be able to learn about the importance of Lady
Murasaki as an author and how Lady Murasaki and Sei Sh*…nagon were rivals. I will also
explain how Lady Murasakis accomplishments are influencing modern-day Japan. I will
also compare Lady Murasaki with Sei Sh*…nagon, who was another famous Japanese
female author, and explain the similarities and differences between them.
Lady Murasaki, also known as Murasaki Shikibu, was a novelist, poet, and a
lady-in-waiting of the imperial court during the Heian period. She was born about 973 in
Kyoto. She is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, which was written during
1008-1020. “Murasaki Shikibu”€ was not her real name, which is still unknown. Some
scholars have guessed that her given name might be Fujiwara no Takako. In her diary, she
wrote that she was nicknamed “Murasaki”€ after a character in The Tale of Genji.
“Shikibu”€ refers to her fathers position in Bureau of Ceremonies, Shikibu-sho. She was
married to Fujiwara no Nobutaka in her early 20s and had one child, Daini no Sanmi.
Murasaki died in 1025-1031, when she would have been in her mid-50s, which is fairly old
by Heian standards.
Lady Murasaki was an intelligent woman. However, in Murasaki Shikibu Diary, which is
