紫式部

Japanese

Kanji in this term
むらさき
Grade: S
しき
Grade: 3

Grade: 3
kun'yomi goon

Etymology

Murasaki is from the color of the (fuji, Wisteria floribunda), hinting the novelist's connection to the 藤原 (Fujiwara) clan; while Shikibu refers to the 式部省 (Shikibu-shō, Ministry of Ceremonial Affairs).

The beautyberry sense is named in honor of the novelist. Alternatively, shikibu might be a corruption of 敷き (shikimi, literally spread out fruits).

Pronunciation

  • (Tokyo) らさきしき [mùrásákí shíkíꜜbù] (Nakadaka – [6])[1]
  • IPA(key): [mɯ̟ɾa̠sa̠kʲi ɕikʲibɯ̟]

Proper noun

(むらさき)(しき)() • (Murasaki Shikibu

  1. Heian-period novelist, poet, and lady-in-waiting; famous for authoring The Tale of Genji
    • c. early- to mid-13th century, Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (poem 57 by Murasaki Shikibu)
      めぐりあひて()しやそれともわかぬ()(くも)(がく)れにし夜半(よは)(つき)かな
      meguri-aite mishi ya soretomo wakanu ma ni kumogakurenishi yowa no tsuki kana
      Just like the moon, you had come and gone before I knew it. Were you, too, hiding among the midnight clouds?[2]
      [Note: Adapted from Shin Kokin Wakashū (book 16, poem 1499) with the last line originally 夜半月影 (...yowa no tsukikage, Just like the moonlight... hiding among the midnight clouds.).]
    Synonyms: 紫女 (Shijo), (Murasaki)

Derived terms

  • (むらさき)(しき)()(しゅう) (Murasaki Shikibu-shū, privately-collected poems of Murasaki Shikibu)
  • (むらさき)(しき)()(にっ)() (Murasaki Shikibu Nikki, Murasaki Shikibu Diary)
  • (むらさき)(しき)()(ぶん)(がく)(しょう) (Murasaki Shikibu Bungakushō, Murasaki Shikibu Culture Award)

See also

  • (だい)(にの)三位(さんみ) (Daini no Sanmi)

Noun

(むらさき)(しき)() or 紫式部(ムラサキシキブ) • (murasaki shikibu

  1. the Japanese or East Asian beautyberry, Callicarpa japonica
    Synonyms: 実紫 (mimurasaki), 山紫 (yamamurasaki)

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ムラサキシキブ (murasakishikibu).

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ^ Peter MacMillan, transl. (2018), One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse, Penguin UK, →ISBN