WRITER

Murasaki Shikibu

973 - 1014

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Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部; [mɯ.ɾa.sa.kʲi ɕi̥.kiꜜ.bɯ, -ɕi̥ꜜ.kʲi-], c. 973 – c. 1014 or 1025), or Shijo (紫女; [ɕiꜜ.(d)ʑo], lit. 'Lady Murasaki'), was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court in the Heian period. She was best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, widely considered to be one of the world's first novels, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012. Murasaki Shikibu is a descriptive name; her personal name is unknown, but she may have been Fujiwara no Kaoruko (藤原香子), who was mentioned in a 1007 court diary as an imperial lady-in-waiting. Heian women were traditionally excluded from learning Chinese, the written language of government, but Murasaki, raised in her erudite father's household, showed a precocious aptitude for the Chinese classics and managed to acquire fluency. Read more on Wikipedia

Her biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Murasaki Shikibu is the 186th most popular writer (up from 187th in 2019), the 18th most popular biography from Japan (up from 20th in 2019) and the 6th most popular Japanese Writer.

Murasaki Shikibu is most famous for writing The Tale of Genji, which is considered the world's first novel.

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Among WRITERS

Among writers, Murasaki Shikibu ranks 186 out of 7,302Before her are Stéphane Mallarmé, Fernando Pessoa, Al-Masudi, Mikhail Bulgakov, Catullus, and Taras Shevchenko. After her are Lope de Vega, John Steinbeck, Adam Mickiewicz, Sigrid Undset, Halldór Laxness, and Petronius.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 973, Murasaki Shikibu ranks 2Before her is Al-Biruni. After her are Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Al-Maʿarri. Among people deceased in 1014, Murasaki Shikibu ranks 1After her are Sweyn Forkbeard, Samuel of Bulgaria, Sigrid the Haughty, Rajaraja I, Bagrat III of Georgia, Brian Boru, and Al-Hakim al-Nishapuri.

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In Japan

Among people born in Japan, Murasaki Shikibu ranks 18 out of 6,245Before her are Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536), Haruki Murakami (1949), Yukio Mishima (1925), Yasunari Kawabata (1899), Hideki Tojo (1884), and Emperor Taishō (1879). After her are Shinzō Abe (1954), Satoshi Nakamoto (1975), Hiroo Onoda (1922), Yoko Ono (1933), Isoroku Yamamoto (1884), and Emperor Jimmu (-711).

Among WRITERS In Japan

Among writers born in Japan, Murasaki Shikibu ranks 6Before her are Matsuo Bashō (1644), Miyamoto Musashi (1584), Haruki Murakami (1949), Yukio Mishima (1925), and Yasunari Kawabata (1899). After her are Osamu Dazai (1909), Kenzaburō Ōe (1935), Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892), Natsume Sōseki (1867), Kazuo Ishiguro (1954), and Sei Shōnagon (966).