紫式部

Japanese

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

Grade: 3
kun’yomi goon
紫式部 (Murasaki Shikibu): a portrait of Murasaki Shikibu by Tosa Mitsuoki
紫式部 (murasaki shikibu): the Japanese beautyberry

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): [mɯ̟ᵝɾa̠sa̠kʲi ɕikʲibɯ̟ᵝ]

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 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)
    Hypernym: 熊葛 (kumatsuzura)

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.

Derived terms

  • ()(ムラサキ)(シキ)() (komurasaki shikibu, Callicarpa dichotoma)
  • (オオ)(ムラサキ)(シキ)() (ōmurasaki shikibu)
  • (ヤブ)(ムラサキ) (yabumurasaki)

References

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