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Overall, I enjoyed reading this book much more than I expected to! It was short, funny, and poignant in places and it gave me an insight into the life that Murasaki lived over 1,000 years ago. I found these really useful because she does mention these items frequently so it was important to have an image of what she was referring to. The edition I read also includes maps and floor plans of the buildings Murasaki resides in and illustrations of clothes and other items. I would recommend reading the introduction and the appendices though because they contain useful information and provide context for some of the events, people, and places that Murasaki mentions in the book. The edition I read (Penguin Classics, translated by Richard Bowring) was 92 pages excluding the introduction. If you find the sheer length of The Tale of Genji off-putting then this tiny little diary is the perfect tonic because it is just so short. I think this is a beautiful way to correspond with others but I’m glad this level of poetic intelligence and skill isn’t required of me. The mandarin duck longs for her mate at night. Lady Dainagon’s response has been translated as:Īwakening to find no friend to brush away the frost, How I long for those waters on which we lay,Ī longing keener than the frost on a duck’s wing. One example is an exchange between Murasaki and Lady Dainagon.
Her poetic exchanges with one lady-in-waiting are some of the most beautiful parts of the book. Her rivalry with Sei Shōnagon was also evident in this little diary but what I loved reading about the most was her friendships with some of the other ladies-in-waiting. I also love that she wasn’t even present for some of the events she talks about so her version is either based on the gossip of the ladies-in-waiting or just pure speculation on her part. She may have had an agenda, she may have just remembered it differently to someone else. She wasn’t just an ancient writer, she was human. I found that these notes gave me a fuller picture of the event but it also made Murasaki feel more real to me as a reader. events have been changed in different sections or retroactively rewritten/edited) and in comparison to other documents that mention the event. Her emotions are vivid, even through the page (and a translation), and it makes you feel human when you realise that people were still the same over 1,000 years ago.Īlso, this edition points out the discrepancies in Murasaki’s diary, both within her own recollection (i.e. I also found her exasperation at her useless brother rather funny. She dwells upon their hair and clothes a lot which tells us as much about Murasaki as it does about the women she was surrounded by. I found the small sections of poetry (usually used as a form of correspondence between Murasaki and other members of the court) absolutely delightful and her personal insights into the other members of court, especially the other ladies-in-waiting, were fascinating. There are so many moments that I loved reading about.
It’s intensely personal and yet it reveals so much about the world she lived in, beyond herself. Murasaki’s ‘diary’ gives us little snippets into her thoughts, feelings, and every day activities. I always enjoy reading books like this because they give us an insight into a time (and perhaps place) that we’ll never experience. The Diary is also a work of great subtlety and intense personal reflection, as Murasaki makes penetrating insights into human psychology her pragmatic observations always balanced by an exquisite and pensive melancholy.
LADY MURASAKI SHIKIBU SERIES
Told in a series of vignettes, it offers revealing glimpses of the Japanese imperial palace the auspicious birth of a prince, rivalries between the Emperor’s consorts, with sharp criticism of Murasaki’s fellow ladies-in-waiting and drunken courtiers, and telling remarks about the timid Empress and her powerful father, Michinaga. 1020), author of The Tale of Genji, is an intimate picture of her life as tutor and companion to the young Empress Shoshi. Summary: The Diary recorded by Lady Murasaki (c.
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