紫式部

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
紫 式 部
むらさき
Grade: S 		しき
Grade: 3 		ぶ
Grade: 3
kun'yomi goon
紫式部 (Murasaki Shikibu): a portrait of Murasaki Shikibu by Tosa Mitsuoki
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紫式部 (murasaki shikibu): the Japanese beautyberry
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Etymology

Murasaki is from the color of the 藤 (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 敷き実 (shikimi, literally “spread out fruits”).

Pronunciation

Proper noun

紫(むらさき)式(しき)部(ぶ) • (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)
      めぐりあひて見(み)しやそれともわかぬ間(ま)に雲(くも)隠(がく)れにし夜半(よは)の月(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]
    Synonyms: 紫女 (Shijo), 紫 (Murasaki)

Derived terms

See also

Noun

紫(むらさき)式(しき)部(ぶ) 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)
    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

References

  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (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
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