The Diary of Lady Murasaki

Synopsis

The diary recorded by lady murasaki (c. 973-c. 1020), author of the tale of genji, is an intimate picture of her life as tutor and companion to the young empress shoshi. 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.