Meigetsuki
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The Meigetsuki is a Heian-Kamakura period personal diary of the poet Fujiwara no Teika, a leading figure in Medieval Japanese poetry, and the inventor of 31-syllable waka poetry, and the compiler of t
Meigetsuki 明月記 Fujiwara no Teika 藤原定家筆
The Diary of Lady Murasaki
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The Diary of Lady Murasaki is the title given to a collection of diary fragments written by the 11th-century Japanese Heian era lady-in-waiting and writer Murasaki Shikibu. It is written in kana, then
Meigetsuki
…by the Heian court, evolved from the diaries focused on norms of the court (intended as a guide for descendants). Samples of these can include the Murasaki Shikibu Nikki or the The Pillow Book. Starting at the age of 18, Fujiwara no Teika focused largely on writing a classic diary focusing on his daily observations…
Murasaki Shikibu, depicted by Tosa Mitsuoki, from his illustrations of The Tale of Genji (17th century)
The 50th day celebration of the birth of Prince Atsuhira-shinnō (later Emperor Go-Ichijō). Fujiwara no Michinaga is in the foreground offering mochi. The figure to his right might be Murasaki Shikibu, c. 13th century.
Fujiwara no Michinaga, shown here in a 13th-century illustration of the diary.
Empress Shōshi and Murasaki reading Bai Juyi's poems in Chinese. From the Murasaki Shikibu Nikki Emaki, 13th century.