Murasaki Shikibu

Hello! My name is Murasaki Shikibu, and I lived in Japan over one thousand years ago. I was born around the year 973 in the grand city of Heian-kyō, which you now know as Kyoto. My father, Fujiwara no Tametoki, was a scholar and a government official. In those days, girls were not usually taught to read and write Chinese, which was the language of scholars and the government. But I was curious! I would listen secretly to my brother’s lessons and learned very quickly. My father would often joke, 'If only you had been born a boy!' He saw that I had a special gift for learning and for words, so he allowed me to continue my studies. I spent my entire childhood surrounded by books and beautiful poetry, and I dreamed of writing my own stories one day.

When I grew up, I married a man named Fujiwara no Nobutaka around the year 999, and we had a wonderful daughter. My happiness was short, as my husband passed away just a few years later. To support myself and my child, I needed to find work. Because of my father's connections and my own skill with writing, I received an amazing invitation. Around the year 1005, I was asked to come to the Imperial Palace to be a lady-in-waiting for the brilliant Empress Shōshi. Life at court was like stepping into a different world! It was filled with beautiful silk robes, elegant parties, and clever poetry contests. The empress was very kind and intelligent, and she encouraged me to write. The court was a place of great beauty, but it was also full of quiet whispers and secrets. I watched everything and everyone, and all the things I saw gave me wonderful ideas for a story.

While living at the palace, I began to write. I wanted to create a story that would capture all the feelings of life at court—the romance, the sadness, the joy, and the beauty. I created a handsome and charming hero named Prince Genji, and I called my story 'The Tale of Genji.' It was a very, very long story, with more than 50 chapters! It told of Prince Genji’s adventures, his loves, and his life among the nobles of Japan. I wrote on long scrolls of paper with a brush and ink. As I finished chapters, the other ladies-in-waiting would gather around, eager to read what happened next. By the year 1008, my story was already becoming famous throughout the court. People were captivated by the world I had created. They felt it was so real and full of emotion. Many people today call 'The Tale of Genji' the world's very first novel.

I continued to write and serve the empress for many years. My exact death date is unknown, but it was sometime after the year 1014. I lived a full life, and though my time on Earth ended, my story did not. For over a thousand years, people all over the world have continued to read 'The Tale of Genji.' My book has been translated into many languages, and it has inspired countless paintings, plays, and even movies. It gives everyone a special window into what life was like in Japan so long ago. I am so happy that the stories I imagined in a quiet room in the palace are still being shared, and that my shining Prince Genji continues to live on in the hearts of readers everywhere.