Murasaki Shikibu (Cyclopedia of World Authors)
Lady Murasaki Shikubu (mur-ah-sah-kee shee-kee-boo), foremost writer of the Heian period (794-1185) in Japan, had every advantage of birth and education. A member of a family that had produced mikados (emperors of Japan) and diplomats, she was the granddaughter of Fujiwara no Kanesuki, a celebrated Japanese poet. As a teenager she was considered something of a prodigy of learning, even in an age when Japanese women of noble birth were generally much better educated than their European contemporaries. While still in her teens Murasaki was well read in Chinese and Japanese literature and...
[The entire page is 678 words long]
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