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The young empress was the first to see the work-in-progress, which Murasaki did not complete until about 1019.
ECONOMIST: Millennium issue: The tale of Murasaki Shikibu | The
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Although Murasaki read Chinese, and indeed instructed Akiko in its ideograms, she wrote her book in the Japanese phonetic kana syllabary.
ECONOMIST: Millennium issue: The tale of Murasaki Shikibu | The
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Murasaki's characters and their setting reflect the reality around her.
ECONOMIST: Millennium issue: The tale of Murasaki Shikibu | The
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Murasaki describes their music in detail, and the way it mingles with the nearby sounds of nature foliage, koi ponds, bird songs but always focuses on the music's effect on its listeners.
WSJ: Novelist Nicholas Christopher on Writing About Music | Word Craft
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In contrast, the principal characters in Lady Murasaki's "The Tale of Genji, " the Japanese epic often cited as the first novel, delight in music, which is an integral part of court life.
WSJ: Novelist Nicholas Christopher on Writing About Music | Word Craft
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Murasaki's style became the Japanese model for writing, if not for morality: her hero's active sex life, and the luxury of the ancient court, as she represents it, were deplored as decadent by Japanese purists into the 20th century.
ECONOMIST: Millennium issue: The tale of Murasaki Shikibu | The
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Little is certain about Murasaki Shikibu.
ECONOMIST: Millennium issue: The tale of Murasaki Shikibu | The
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In the late Heian era (893-1185), when the book is set, the ruling Fujiwara clan of upper-class commoners (to which Murasaki belonged) would send their daughters to court at Kyoto, hoping that one would give birth to a crown prince and ensure their control of the imperial power.
ECONOMIST: Millennium issue: The tale of Murasaki Shikibu | The