紫式部

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
紫式部 (murasaki shikibu): the Japanese beautyberry

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

  • (Tokyo) むらさきしき​ぶ [mùrásákí shíkíꜜbù] (Nakadaka – [6])[1]
  • IPA(key): [mɯ̟ᵝɾa̠sa̠kʲi ɕikʲibɯ̟ᵝ]

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]
      [Note: Adapted from Shin Kokin Wakashū (book 16, poem 1499) with the last line originally 夜半の月影 (...yowa no tsukikage, “Just like the moonlight... hiding among the midnight clouds.”).]
    Synonyms: 紫女 (Shijo), 紫 (Murasaki)

Derived terms

  • 紫(むらさき)式(しき)部(ぶ)集(しゅう) (Murasaki Shikibu-shū, privately-collected poems of Murasaki Shikibu)
  • 紫(むらさき)式(しき)部(ぶ)日(にっ)記(き) (Murasaki Shikibu Nikki, “Murasaki Shikibu Diary”)
  • 紫(むらさき)式(しき)部(ぶ)文(ぶん)学(がく)賞(しょう) (Murasaki Shikibu Bungakushō, “Murasaki Shikibu Culture Award”)

See also

  • 大(だい)弐(にの)三位(さんみ) (Daini no Sanmi)

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

  • 小(コ)紫(ムラサキ)式(シキ)部(ブ) (komurasaki shikibu, “Callicarpa dichotoma”)
  • 大(オオ)紫(ムラサキ)式(シキ)部(ブ) (ōmurasaki shikibu)
  • 藪(ヤブ)紫(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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