Description
The Diary recorded by Lady Murasaki (c. 973-c. 1020), creator of The Tale of Genji, is an intimate picture of her life as tutor and companion to the young Empress Shoshi. Told in a chain 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 girls-in-waiting and drunken courtiers, and telling remarks in regards to the timid Empress and her powerful father, Michinaga. The Diary could also be a piece of serious subtlety and intense personal mirrored image, as Murasaki makes penetrating insights into human psychology – her pragmatic observations at all times balanced by a stupendous and pensive melancholy.