The Diary of Lady Murasaki - Contents

Contents

The extant diary consists of three parts: a long section describing the events surrounding the birth of Shōshi's eldest son; a second portion written in an epistolary format about the attributes and characters of imperial ladies-in-waiting; and a compilation of court anecdotes. In the diary Murasaki describes court life from her point-of-view with emphasis on the birth of Shōshi's son Emperor Go-Ichijō, an event of enormous importance to Michinaga: nine years after becoming concubine and then Empress to Emperor Ichijō Shōshi bore an heir who became emperor bringing immense power to Michinaga. The diary opens with descriptions of lengthy preparations for the birth, including readings of sutras and other Buddhist rituals. Murasaki's own self-reflections and the chronologically detailed descriptions of events surrounding the birth are often presented as vignettes.

She describes court life in detail with an emphasis on women's fashions such as the kimonos and multi-layered court clothing. The combinations of colors in a woman's clothing required attention and were important because they marked stylistic aesthetics. Murasaki also describes the weather and the changing of season as well as the less pleasant aspects of court life, such as drunken nobles who often seduced the ladies-in-waiting. The diary includes anecdotes about drunken revelries and courtly scandals concerning women who, because of behavior or age, were made to leave court, as well as her own concerns about aging and her overwhelming loneliness. Murasaki suggests that the court women with whom she lived were weak-willed, uneducated, and inexperienced with men.

Going beyond writing descriptions of court events, Murasaki adds a sense of self to the diary entries. She writes about emotions and feelings: her sense of helplessness at court; her feelings of inadequacy regarding her low rank compared to higher-ranked courtiers and relatives in the Fujiwara clan; and her feelings of loss and loneliness since her husband's death. She adds a few autobiographical details about her life before entering service, such as this anecdote about learning Chinese as a child: "When my brother Nobunori ... was a boy my father was very anxious to make a good Chinese scholar of him, and often came himself to hear Nobunori read his lessons. On these occasions I was always present, and so quick was I at picking up the language that I was soon able to prompt my brother whenever he got stuck. At this my father used to sigh and say to me: 'If only you were a boy how proud and happy I should be.'"