Murasaki no Ue

Murasaki no Ue
The Tale of Genji character
Chapter 5 – Wakamurasaki (若紫, "Young Murasaki"). Tosa Mitsuoki, 1617–91.
Created by	Murasaki Shikibu
In-universe information
Significant other	Hikaru Genji
Relatives	Lady Fujitsubo (Aunt)

Murasaki no Ue^[1] (紫の上), also spelled Murasaki-no-Ue,^[2][3] is the main heroine of The Tale of Genji. She is also known as "Lady Murasaki" in some translations. She first appears in the fifth chapter, when she is a young girl. Prince Genji first encounters her in a village in Kitayama and becomes enamored with her, especially after learning that she is the niece of his stepmother, Lady Fujitsubo, whom he is enamored with and carries on an affair with. When Murasaki's father refuses to give him permission to adopt her, and dismisses his proposals as unserious, Genji decides to abduct Murasaki no Ue and raise her at his palace, where he grooms her into becoming similar to Fujitsubo, who embodies the feminine standards that he desires. Murasaki's relationship with Genji remains consistent through the novel, even when her heart is broken on multiple occasions when Genji participates in affairs with other women.

Like most characters in Genji, Murasaki no Ue is never given a name. This stems from Heian-era manners, which deems referring to people by their personal names as rude. The true name of the author, Murasaki Shikibu, has never been discovered as a result of this convention. The author was named after Murasaki's sobriquet, and the name Shikibu comes from the title Shikibu-shō, a title for a person who had a position in the Ministry of Ceremonial Affairs. The author would have had a male relative who held a position as a Shikibu-sho, and, because it was common to refer to women as the titles that their male relatives had, thus it would have become the name she would be commonly referred to.^[4]