# The Diary of Lady Murasaki

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/murasaki-shikibu/the-diary-of-lady-murasaki

![The Diary of Lady Murasaki](https://quivercdn.com/covers/penguin-classics/murasaki-shikibu/the-diary-of-lady-murasaki_978-01-4043-576-4.jpg?v=2026-04-23%2004%3A09%3A07)

- Authors: [Murasaki Shikibu](https://www.bookquiver.com/murasaki-shikibu)
- Language: en_GB
- Published: 1996-03-07

## Description

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. The Diary is also a work of great subtlety and intense personal reflection, as Murasaki makes penetrating insights into human psychology - her pragmatic observations always balanced by an exquisite and pensive melancholy.

## Editions

### The Diary of Lady Murasaki

- Publisher: penguin_classics
- ISBN: 978-01-4043-576-4
- Pages: 144
- Published: 2005-01-27
- Language: en_GB

### The Diary of Lady Murasaki

- Publisher: Penguin
- Medium: ebook
- ISBN: 978-01-4190-765-9
- Published: 1996-03-07
- Language: en_GB