Culture of Japan: The Worlds First Novel

The First novel is largely renowned for being wrote by a Japanese woman in the Heian era of Japan.

The Heian culture was heavily influenced by China and was a patriarchal society. Nonetheless despite this patriarchy it was a time when Female writers flourished and had a massive effect on literature. In fact, as the Heian period ended in the face of the Samurai warrior class ever-growing domination. The literature remained.

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu, she is a Novelist from the Heian period.

She is often regarded as the world’s first Novelist. It was written sometime around the year 1000. It was a total of 1100 pages.

Murasaki Shikibu was a member of the Heian Elite born into a rich family she was permitted by her father to learn Chinese.

It was a trans-formative time period that would see Chinese script no longer being the dominant mode of literature production. The invention of Kana was innovated by a Japanese Monk known as Kukai some years prior to this Female icons work.

Details of her life are few in fact her name is a product of her Novel as the patriarchy of the Heian period meant that women’s names were not recorded.

However, by the means of her pen name she became famous. And is renowned worldwide.

For her work of fiction, The Tale of Genji.

Murasaki Shikibu is fascinating a significant female icon.