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Category:	Medieval Literature
Name:	Murasaki Shikibu
Birth Year:	c. 978
Death Year:	c. 1026
Representative Image:
Biography, Lectures, and Research Links:	Biography Blog Murasaki Shikibu SEARCH NOW: by title by author Details about Murasaki Shikibu and her life are not really known. She lived in a time in Japan when the woman held a low position in society. Because of this, the exact date that she was born is not known. It is thought that she was born around 973 AD and that she died around 1025 AD. Her real name is not known either. During this time period only the emperor's wife's real name and birthdate were known. The Shikibu name comes from her father's position at court. She was like the women in her book, a woman of the Heian period. The Tale of Genji is the first novel not only of Japanese literature, but of literature in general. It is considered to be one of the greatest and earliest novels in the world. It is known that Murasaki is the daughter of a governer of a province in the Fujiwara family. Her father was also a well known scholar. Her father allowed her to study with her brother and even let her learn Chinese characters, which was improper for girls at that time. She was married in her life for a short time and had one daughter. Both the death of her husband and her great talent brought her to court. It was at this time that she kept a diary which described court life. During these times she is thought to have written The Tale of Genji. It is not known exactly what she did after her time at court, though her novel lives on. The Tale of Genji The Tale of Genji centers on the life and loves of a handsome son, Hikaru Genji, born to an Emperor during the Heian Period. In the story, the beloved concubine of the Emperor gives birth to Genji and dies soon after. Raised within the Royal Family, Genji has his first illicit affair with Fujitsubo, the young wife of the Emperor. She gives birth to a boy who was raised by the unknowing Emperor as his own son. Although feeling guilt because of this affair Genji goes on to have numerous other affairs with other court ladies including Utsusemi, Yugao, Murasaki-no-ue, and Hanachirusato. At one point, Genji's adultery with a lady of the opposite faction results in his being exiled for a period to Suma After a short time, he returns to the capital, where he rises further in status and position being appointed to high official ranking reaching the apogee of his career. However, his newly wed young bride, Onna-Sannomiya, has an illicit affair that results in a child, Kaoru, reminding Genji of his own similar past actions. Then Murasaki-no-ue, Genji's real love and wife, in fact, if not in law, of more than twenty years, passes away. Left in deep despondence Genji decides to leave the capital to enter a small mountain temple. The Tale of Genji continues, although without the hero Genji. In his place are Kaoru, his grandson, and Niou-no-miya, Kaoru's friend. These two youths carry on the Genji tradition with the princesses in the palace at Uji. The story centers on the young lady, Ukibune, whose heart and mind is set a flutter by the courtship of these two young men. Structure of Story Composed of 54 chapters, The Tale of Genji is broadly divided into three sections. The first part of thirty-three chapters concerns itself with the first half of Genji's life starting with Chapter Kiritsubo and ending with Chapter Fuji-no-uraba (Arthur Waley's translation of The Tale of Genji, Part 1 Chapter 1 to Part 4 Chapter 5). The second portion begins with the marriage of Onna-Sannomiya to a commoner in Chapter Wakana Part I (Ibid., Part 4 Chapter 6) and ends with Chapter Mirage (Ibid., Part 4 Chapter 12). There is a chapter following this that is entitled "Hidden Behind the Clouds" which has no text. This chapter is not found in The Tale of Genji. The third section starts with Chapter Niou (Ibid., Part 5 Chapter 1) in which Kaoru plays the major role. It ends with Chapter The Bridge of Dreams (Ibid., Part 6 Chapter 13). From Chapter The Bridge Maiden (Ibid., Part 5 Chapter 4) to the end shifts the stage to Uji city and is thus often called the Uji Appendix. [Adapted from Pacific University] The Great Books: Murasaki Shikibu Please browse our Amazon list of titles about Murasaki Shikibu. For rare and hard to find works we recommend our Alibris list of titles about Murasaki Shikibu. Post Comments, Questions or Suggestions! This database is maintained by Malaspina Great Books.
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Records from Related Period and Category:	Medieval Literature

About this Database:

This web page is part of a biographical database on Great Ideas. These are living ideas that have shaped, defined and directed world culture for over 2,500 years. By definition the Great Ideas are radical. As such they are sometimes misread, or distorted by popular simplifications. Understanding a Great Idea demands personal engagement. Our selection of Great Ideas is drawn from literature and philosophy, science, art, music, theatre, and cinema. We also include biographies of pivotal historical and religious figures, as well as contributions from women and other historically under-represented minorities. The result is an integrated multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary database built upon the framework of the always controversial Great Books Core List published in 1940 by the late Great Books Pioneer Mortimer Adler (1902-2001). Most of the works on that list are available in the 60 volume Great Books of the Western World.