This is the diary of Lady Murasaki, the Japanese prose writer. It describes the Heian court at its apogee and offers an intimate picture of the author's life as tutor and companion to the timid Empress Shoshi. It reveals the underside of imperial splendour from a female point of view.

This is the diary of Lady Murasaki, the Japanese prose writer. It describes the Heian court at its apogee and offers an intimate picture of the author's life as tutor and companion to the timid Empress Shoshi. It reveals the underside of imperial splendour from a female point of view.