Murasaki Shikibu, Japanese Novelist and Poet

Murasaki Shikibu, Japanese Novelist and Poet

Murasaki with five elderly men (wise men or poets). Murasaki Shikibu (973/978 – 1014/1031) was a Japanese novelist. Heian women were traditionally excluded from learning Chinese (the written language of government), but her father encouraged her. It is uncertain when she began to write The Tale of Genji, but it was probably while she was married or after she was widowed. In about 1005, Murasaki was invited to serve as a lady-in-waiting to Empress Shoshi at the Imperial court. She continued to write, adding scenes from court life to her work. Within a decade of its completion, Genji was distributed throughout the provinces; within a century it was recognized as a classic of Japanese literature. Woodcut by Utamaro Kitagawa, between 1795 and 1806.

Album / Science Source / Library of Congress

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4500 x 2977 px | 38.3 MB

38.1 x 25.2 cm | 15.0 x 9.9 in (300 dpi)