Murasaki Shikibu (c. 978–c. 1014) was a Japanese courtier, diarist, and poet. She is revered as Japan’s greatest writer. Her Tale of Genji (c. 1010; Genji Monogatari) is considered the world’s oldest complete novel.
Little is certain about Murasaki Shikibu; the name itself is a nom de plume. Scholars believe she lived in the province on the Japan Sea where her father was the governor. She became an lady-in-waiting to Empress Akiko when she started writing Genji. She wrote the novel in her own hand; court scribes copied it along.
Drawing on the tradition of Chinese historical writing and Chinese and Japanese lyrical poetry, Murasaki produced something new and unique—a prose romance filled with believable characters in real situations. The Tale of Genji is a massive work of 1,000 pages that covers 75 years in the careers of the nobleman Genji and his two offspring.
The Tale of Genji begins with Genji as a near-perfect hero—brains, looks, charm, artistic talent and the love of well-born ladies—and ends it as a complex human blend of positive and negative attributes. The Tale of Genji has been called the world’s first novel for its psychologically compelling portrayal of the characters and the complex network of relationships in which they are embroiled.
Murasaki briefly wrote a diary (from late 1008 to early 1010) about her time at court, known as The Diary of Murasaki Shikibu (Murasaki Shikibu Nikki.) She wrote as well a collection numerous poems, subsequently published as The Poetic Collection of Murasaki Shikibu (Murasaki Shikibu shū.)
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People who have become so precious that they go out of their way to try and be sensitive in the most unpromising situations, trying to capture every moment of interest, are bound to look ridiculous and superficial.
—Murasaki Shikibu
The memories of long love gather like drifting snow, poignant as the mandarin ducks who float side by side in sleep.
—Murasaki Shikibu
Anything whatsoever may become the subject of a novel, provided only that it happens in this mundane life and not in some fairyland beyond our human ken.
—Murasaki Shikibu