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])
• 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?

     [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)