MURASAKI SHIKIBU AND THE EARLY JAPANESE NOVELBy Megan Ashley

MURASAKI SHIKIBU

Life: 978 (?) – 1014 (1025?) Lived and wrote during the

Heian Period Given name is unrecorded

Shikibu = Bureau of Ceremonials Murasaki = Plant that produces purple dye

stuff “lesser branch of the powerful Fujiwara

family”

MURASAKI SHIKIBU CONT.

Married in 998 or 999 But lost husband in 1001

Gave birth to a daughter in roughly 999 Around 1006 was called to serve the

empress as a hand maiden at the imperial court

Cause of death and year of death is unknown

WOMAN AS WRITER

Taught herself Chinese by listening to her father teach her brother

The “frivolities” of writing in Japanese was confined to the women

Probably began The Tale of Genji while she was married and finished around 1012

Selected by the empress because of her writing talents

She earned a literary reputation In addition to The Tale of Genji, she wrote The Diary of

Lady Murasaki and Poetic Memoirs

THE EARLY JAPANESE NOVEL

The early Japanese novel doesn’t necessarily look like what you and I think of as a novel

The earliest form of the Japanese novel is what they termed “Monogatari” NOTE: Not all monogatari earn the title of “novel”

Monogatari: Oral tradition Fiction or fictional A woman’s form Extended prose narrative very like an epic Prominent 9th to 15th century (peaked 10th & 11th c.)

Genji Monogatari, Taketori Monogatari, Heike Monogatari

THE TALE OF GENJI

Chronicles the story of Prince Genji Highlights:

Elaborate 54 chapters Psychological Remarkably consistent

Debated: First novel in the world Not debated: First Japanese novel Literary influence in Japan is quite large, even

today Considered a masterpiece of Japanese literature

SO WHAT NEXT?

Most other pieces of literature being produced at the same time were collections of essays, diaries, and poetry

We see far more novels being written after the Heian period The Tale of Genji was the beginning of the genre

in Japan From there, the Japanese novel continued to

evolve historically based or strange science fiction

SOURCES

"History of Japan's Literature." Kanzaki.com. The Web Kanzaki, 2 July 1996. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.Keene, Donald. "Japanese Literature." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2015."Monogatari." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.Tyler, Royall. "Murasaki Shikibu." Harvardmagazine.com. Harvard Magazine, Inc., May-June 2002. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.