WRITER

Murasaki Shikibu

973 - 1014

Photo of Murasaki Shikibu

Icon of person Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu (紫 式部, English: "Lady Murasaki"; c. 973 or 978 – c. 1014 or 1031) was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court in the Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, widely considered to be one of the world's first novels, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Murasaki Shikibu has received more than 846,345 page views. Her biography is available in 132 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 127 in 2019). Murasaki Shikibu is the 162nd most popular writer (down from 127th in 2019), the 15th most popular biography from Japan (down from 10th in 2019) and the 4th most popular Japanese Writer.

Murasaki Shikibu is most famous for writing The Tale of Genji, which is considered the world's first novel.

Memorability Metrics

  • 850k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 80.25

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 132

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.22

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 6.73

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Page views of Murasaki Shikibus by language


Among WRITERS

Among writers, Murasaki Shikibu ranks 162 out of 5,794. Before her are William Faulkner, Ray Bradbury, H. G. Wells, Abu Nuwas, Herman Melville, and Elias Canetti. After her are Du Fu, Snorri Sturluson, Petronius, Ivo Andrić, Fernando Pessoa, and Juvenal.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 973, Murasaki Shikibu ranks 2. Before her is Al-Biruni. After her are Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor and Al-Maʿarri. Among people deceased in 1014, Murasaki Shikibu ranks 1. After her are Sweyn Forkbeard, Samuel of Bulgaria, Sigrid the Haughty, Bagrat III of Georgia, Brian Boru, and Rajaraja I.

Others Born in 973

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Others Deceased in 1014

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In Japan

Among people born in Japan, Murasaki Shikibu ranks 15 out of 5,560. Before her are Oda Nobunaga (1534), Yoko Ono (1933), Haruki Murakami (1949), Isoroku Yamamoto (1884), Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542), and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536). After her are Olivia de Havilland (1916), Yukio Mishima (1925), Naruhito (1960), Yasunari Kawabata (1899), Emperor Taishō (1879), and Emperor Jimmu (-711).

Others born in Japan

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Among WRITERS In Japan

Among writers born in Japan, Murasaki Shikibu ranks 4. Before her are Matsuo Bashō (1644), Miyamoto Musashi (1584), and Haruki Murakami (1949). After her are Yukio Mishima (1925), Yasunari Kawabata (1899), Kenzaburō Ōe (1935), Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892), Osamu Dazai (1909), Sei Shōnagon (966), Natsume Sōseki (1867), and Kazuo Ishiguro (1954).

Japanese born Writers

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