During the Heian Period (784-1192) in Japan, noble women of aristocracy had
certain privileges over the commoners, yet they still had to follow strict rules on
apparel, education and manners. Heian noble woman had to wear layers of silk
to conceal her body, but she also had to hide her face using a hand fan, screen or
dim light even from her close acquaintances. They were expected to be educated
to be literate, know Japanese poetry, or play a musical instrument for courtship.
It was not socially acceptable for these noble women to know about politics or
Chinese language, as these were reserved for men. However, they were allowed
to have an interest in poetry and storytelling, since they could take part in the
palace through this interest. A lot of women in the palace were known by their
nicknames than their actual names. These nicknames were often indicators of
their fathers, husbands, families and locations. As we don’t know her actual
name, the Japanese writer with the nickname of Murasaki Shikibu lived in the
11 th century during that period and worked in the palace as a lady-in-waiting.
Despite the traditions, she was raised by her father after her mother’s death at
an early age. She acquired Chinese language skills by listening to her father’s
lessons to her brother, and improved her skills by reading many important
Chinese texts. Because she had these language skills and was able to observe the
royal life closely as a lady-in-waiting, she later wrote the Tale of Genji of 1000
pages, which is considered to be the world’s first novel.
