Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu was a lady-in-waiting at the imperial court of Heian Japan, and she wrote what many call the world's first novel. Her real name is lost. "Murasaki" comes from a beloved character in her own book, and "Shikibu" refers to a court office her father once held. That father, Fujiwara no Tametoki, was a minor official and a scholar of Chinese classics. Chinese learning was considered a man's world, so the story goes that Murasaki picked it up while listening to her brother's lessons, and learned faster than he did. She married an older kinsman named Fujiwara no Nobutaka and had a daughter. Within a few years she was widowed. Grief and talent seem to have pushed her toward writing, because soon afterward she began The Tale of Genji. It is a vast story of love, loss and court intrigue centered on a radiant prince. The book made her famous enough that around 1006 she was summoned to serve Empress Shōshi. Her surviving diary shows a sharp, private observer who watched courtiers closely and judged them honestly. Her voice matters because she looked past glittering surfaces to how time and longing actually feel.