Diary Of Lady Murasaki 

1. I am really impressed by Murasaki Shikibu’s abilities to create timeless poems on the dot. In the diary, she recalled that His Excellency “pressed me for a poem” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 4), she quickly responded “Now I see the color of this maiden- flower in bloom, I know how much the dew discriminates against me” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 4). Immediately, His Excellency responded “‘quick, aren’t we’ with a smile...” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 4). Murasaki Shikibu’s ability to create poems whenever asked to is impressive- it requires great literature studies and experiences to craft a poem in front of someone who is powerful and intelligent. I believe this demonstrate why Murasaki Shikibu was so greatly respected, even till today, as one of the most influential writers in the history. Not only that, she was a great evidence that gender roles in this time period of Japan rely on who the person work for and how well they could entertain the people around her.
2. I am really shocked by the fact that Their Excellencies would host birth ceremonies for nine straight days. “On the evening of the third day, the members of Her Majesty’s staff, led by the Master of the Household, Tadanobu, took charge of the first celebration” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 16). Then, “the celebrations for the evening of the fifth day were arranged by His Excellency” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 16). During those ceremonies, “gifts were presented. The nobles were given robes for their women together with some of the prince’s clothes and bedding. Senior courtiers of fourth rank were each given a set of lined robes and trouser- skirts, those of fifth rank the robes only, and those of sixth rank just the trouser- skirts” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 19).
3. Murasaki Shikibu stated that “women who are too vain and act pretentiously, to the extent that they make others feel uncomfortable, will themselves become the object of attention; and once that happens, people will always find fault with whatever they say or do: whether it be how they enter a room, how they sit down, how they stand up or how they take their leave” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 56-57). I believe Murasaki Shikibu is trying to tell us that those who voice about others’ faults and mistakes will eventually taste their own fruitful work. Murasaki Shikibu also mentioned that “I cannot be bothered to discuss matters in front of those women who continually carp and are so full of themselves: it would only cause trouble. It is so rare to find someone of true understanding; for the most part they judge purely by their own standards and ignore everyone else” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 59). The previous quote believed that standards and judgements are all personal. These quotes demonstrate the fact that Murasaki Shikibu thinks that everything and everyone is imperfect in someone else’s eyes. I think this is perfectly said and still applies today. It is interesting to me that these facts are known for centuries in multiple different cultures, but people around the world are still acting foolish around one another.
4. I think the role of men in Murasaki Shikibu’s diary is quite interesting. “The men strike up relationships with this kind of woman because they are such easy game. So they must consider Her Majesty’s women either dull or feckless” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 51). Murasaki Shikibu wanted to tell us about the fact that some of Her Majesty’s women are light- hearted; men would always flirt with them because they are not too serious nor mature. The result would be a creation of standards among Her Majesty’s women: some are too serious and dull, while the other are too childish and playful. This creation was sparked by men because men would approach one group more likely than the other, and words would go around regarding the other group. On top of that, men seem to be the disruptors of peace. “The nobles and the young men who were to perform the dances also stayed at the Palace, with the result that the area around the women’s quarters was pandemonium all night” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 43). Murasaki Shikibu also described the night later, “I could hear the women talking in the next room. ‘How different it is here in the Palace! At home everyone would be asleep but here it’s the constant footsteps that keep one awake!’ they said immodestly” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 44). Personally, my conclusion is that men are a whole bunch of monkeys that run around and disrupt the peace of everything, I find that interesting, especially in a male dominant environment.
   

1. Historically, especially in East Asia, the color white symbolizes death and it was used to mourn for the dead during funerals. Meanwhile, after the grand birth of Their Excellencies’ child, “younger women went out in a boat. Their black hair stood out in clear contrast against their white dresses” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 19). At the same time, “food was placed on a pair of white cabinets and arranged in a most unusual, up-to-date fashion. There was also a silver clothes- chest inlaid with a seascape desisn of large waves and Mt. Horai...” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 21). Lastly, “Lady Tachibana, who had given the Prince his first breast, was presented with the usual dresses, and in addition a long robe of figured silk contained in a silver chest which was also covered, if I remember correctly, in white class” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 21). It confuses that in Japan during Heian period, they viewed white as a symbol of ceremony. This is very unusual for me who has Asian background.
2. I was surprised when Murasaki Shikibu introduced the role of wet nurses, and that there was a group of them. The diary stated “another group of women, among them Nakatsukasa, Shonagon, and Koshikibu, who had been wet nurses to His Excellency’s second...” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 10). I personally heard very little about this role and had to look it up online to see what it really is. His Excellency not only had wet nurses for his children, but had, based on the text above, at least three of them to take care of the child. When Her Majesty gave birth to the new child, she was “ecstatic that it was a boy” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 11). Meanwhile, His Excellencies “distributed offerings of thanks both to those priests who had carried out the rituals and chanted sutras for months past and to those who had come in response to more recent demands” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 12). It just seemed like the role of wet nurses and why the biological parents would have to pass on the duties of nursing their own babies to wet nurses. Sure, having wet nurses fits the hierarchy and highlights the greatness of Their Excellencies, but if they valued their kids so much, just like every other parent does, then why don’t they nurse the kids themselves?
3. Murasaki Shikibu seemed to view nature as a source of relaxation and comfort. For example, she wrote “A hazy moon emerged. It was refreshing and pleasant to hear His Excellency’s sons all in the one boat singing songs in the modern style...” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 60). Murasaki Shikibu painted “a hazy moon” as the background of a refreshing, pleasant environment; I believe this is to demonstrate the fact that nature is the source to peacefulness. However, her view of nature appeared to be affected by her mood. When Murasaki Shikibu was deep in her nostalgia, she said “I seem to be always conjuring up visions of the past – ‘and did they praise the beauty of this moon of yore?’ Knowing full well that I am inviting the kind of misfortune on should avoid, I become uneasy and move inside a little, while still, of course, continuing to recall the past.” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 55). Murasaki Shikibu identified the moon, or at least staring at it for too long, would bring misfortune by promoting grief and nostalgia. Previously, Murasaki Shikibu used the moon as a pendant of peacefulness in nature; this was seen as a fact. On the other hand, we could also see her disagreeing the fact, mentioning that the moon was a source of misfortune. These two facts contradict each other. I believe the complete opposite views Murasaki Shikibu demonstrated the fact that when she is feeling down, it could really bring sadness to everything a person sees.
   
4. Murasaki Shikibu had great friendship with most of the wet- nurses. They seem to be more emotionally attached to the children than the parents. “Her Excellency also came to the Palace to watch the imperial messenger depart. Seeing him there looking very grown- up and imposing with artificial wisteria flowers in his hair, his old wet- nurse Lady Kura had no eyes for the dances; she just gazed at him, tears running down her cheeks” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 44). It seems that wet- nurses have more of a emotional connection to the children they cared for than their parents. “‘I was worried to see Her Majesty alone without any children for so long,’ he said. ‘But now they seem to be everywhere! How marvelous!’... ‘If there were no small pines in the fields’ he murmured to himself” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 63). His Excellency referred to Her Majesty not having children for the longest time then finally had two lovely, lively boys as her children. However, when Murasaki Shikibu told Lady Nakatsukasa “how moved I had been by His Excellency’s impromptu reference of the precious evening. What a sensitive, intelligent creature she is!” (Murasaki Shikibu, p. 64). Her Majesty haven’t had children in a while, but it seemed like the wet- nurse was happier for the children than their own mom. This is really weird: a woman, who haven’t had a child, suddenly have two sons. However, they were cared by the wet- nurses and then the wet- nurses developed more connections to the children than the parents. This is interesting for me, especially when the children are imperial princes.
   

1. Why does Murasaki record a diary and people, including powerful males, didn’t?
2. Would anything be different if Their Excellencies born a girl instead of a boy?
   
3. What would change if wet- nurses didn’t exist?
   
4. Would anything change if Murasaki Shikibu never married. What if her husband didn’t pass away? Would it change the way she writes?