The Diary of Lady Murasaki

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The Diary of Lady Murasaki is the title of fragments of a diary written by the 11th-century Japanese Heian era lady-in-waiting and writer Murasaki Shikibu, author of The Tale of Genji. The work was written in kana, then a newly developed writing system for vernacular Japanese, more common among women who were unschooled in Chinese – the predominant language of men in the public sphere. Unlike modern diaries or journals, 10th-century Heian diaries tend to emphasize important events more than mundane day-to-day life without following a strict day-by-day order. The work includes vignettes, waka poems, and an epistolary section written in the form of a long letter.
Probably written between 1008 and 1010, when Murasaki was in service at the imperial court, the largest portion of the diary chronicles the birth of Empress Shōshi's children. Shorter vignettes describe interactions among imperial ladies-in-waiting and other court writers, such as Izumi Shikibu, Akazome Emon and Sei Shōnagon. Murasaki includes her observations and opinions throughout, bringing to the work a sense of life at the early 10th century Heian court, lacking in other literature or chronicles of the era.