Murasaki

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Murasaki refers to both the heroine of the Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji), and the book's author, Murasaki Shikibu. Curiously, in both cases the name is a pseudonym, and the real names are unknown. In the court manners of the time (the Heian Period), it was considered unacceptably familiar and blunt to freely address people by their names. As a result the real name of the author is not known, and she is nicknamed after the heroine she invented. Similarly, most of the characters in the novel are never identified by name. The author Murasaki was a lady in waiting the daughter of Fujiwara Michinaga. She had a long standing rivalry with Sei Shonagon. She was a middle class aristocrat and a pronvincial governor at one point in her life. The lady in the novel is commonly named Murasaki in translations, to make the novel more comprehensible to those unfamiliar with Heian era court manners. The name is inspired by a poem Genji composes when contemplating his first meeting with her.

Murasaki (jp: 紫) is the Japanese word for the colour purple. Other translations include Lavender, as used by E. Seidensticker in his English version of the Genji Monogatari; Violet; and Violet Root, which in Japanese poetry denotes Constancy. Genji, in his poem mentioned above, names the murasaki or violet plant, because its color resembles the wisteria or Jap. fuji, thereby referring to Fujitsubo, "the Lady of the Wisteria Court", a woman he is violently in love with for the first part of the novel. It happens that Fujitsubo is Murasaki's aunt. Thus, in a word association game very characteristic of Japanese poetry, the similarity between the two colors led to the name Murasaki, perhaps the most illustrious name in Japanese literature.

The fictional character of Murasaki was the Daughter of Lady Rokujo and Prince Hyobu. At a young age, she was taken from relative obscurity in the countryside, to come live with Genji. Later in life she is tormented by the malevolent and jealous spirit of her deceased mother, whom no longer cared about Murasaki being her daughter, merely that she was with her lost love Genji. Murasaki in the later half of her life long decided to become a nun, but Genji never allowed this and her wish was left unfilled in life. She also raised the Empress Akashi.