This article accompanies the fable
Women in Trousers


The Tale of Genji

The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari) was written by Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century.  The author is named after the character, not vice versa, since no one knows who really wrote it.  The best we can do is assume that it was written by a woman of the aristocracy and the court, for other women to read.  The best evidence for this is the character of Genji himself, since he is most definitely a male ideal as imagined by an aristocratic woman – beautiful like a woman, but heterosexual.