Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu (c. 11th century)

"How sad and cruel it is, the way we cling to what lasts like evening dew!"

• From Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji (chapter 39), translated by Royall Tyler (Penguin Classics, 2003).

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Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu (10th-11th century)

"The heart decides what is to become of us. The great-hearted have great good fortune, and likewise the pusillanimous. Those who rise high have little peace, the reckless do not last, and those whose hearts are meek and mild are most likely to endure."

•  From Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji (chapter 35), translated by Royall Tyler (Penguin Classics, 2003).

Take a look at more Murasaki Shikibu quote pictures, HERE.

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Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu (10th-11th century)

"The sun and moon never turn back. No one escapes old age."

• From Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji (chapter 35), translated by Royall Tyler (Penguin Classics, 2003).

Take a look at more Murasaki Shikibu quote pictures, HERE.

Check out other quotes from Japan, HERE.

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Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu (10th-11th century Japan)

"Do what you like, but not until you have collected your thoughts and considered the matter more calmly."

•  From Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji (chapter 39), translated by Royall Tyler (Penguin Classics, 2003).

Take a look at more Murasaki Shikibu quote pictures, HERE.

Check out other quotes from Japan, HERE.

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Murasaki Shikibu

Muraski Shikibu (10-11th century Japanese writer)

"Sorrows are the way of this fickle world."

• From Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji (chapter 36), translated by Royall Tyler (Penguin Classics, 2003).

Take a look at more Murasaki Shikibu quote pictures, HERE.

Check out other quotes from Japan, HERE.

Glance through other quotes from women throughout history, HERE.

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Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu (10th and 11th century)

"You would be wiser to keep your own counsel and take things the way they really are."

• From Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji (Chapter 34), translated by Royall Tyler (Penguin Classics, 2003).

Take a look at more Murasaki Shikibu quote pictures, HERE.

Check out other quotes from Japan, HERE.

Glance through other quotes from women throughout history, HERE.

Return to the quote picture home page, HERE.

Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu (10th and 11th century Japanese novelist)

"To the noble heart that aspires to soar aloft, high above the clouds,
depths of a thousand fathoms appear very far below."

• From Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji (Chapter 17), translated by Royall Tyler (Penguin Classics, 2003).

Take a look at more Murasaki Shikibu quote pictures, HERE.

Check out other quotes from Japan, HERE.

Glance through other quotes from women throughout history, HERE.

Return to the quote picture home page, HERE. 

Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu (10th and 11th century CE Japanese novelist)

"Age should not turn people into children again, but I am afraid that is what happens."

• From Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, translated by Royall Tyler (Penguin Classics, 2003).

 Take a look at more Murasaki Shikibu quote pictures, HERE.

Check out other quotes from Japan, HERE.

Glance through other quotes from women throughout history, HERE.

Return to the quote picture home page, HERE.

Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu (10th and 11th century Japanese novelist)

"We all have our own destiny, and no one knows where it will lead."

• From Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, translated by Royall Tyler (Penguin Classics, 2003).

Check out more Murasaki Shikibu quote pictures, HERE.

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Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu (11th century Japanese novelist)

"There will come a time when as this life turns and turns the moon will shine forth:

for a while avert your eyes from an all too cloudy sky."

• From Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji (Chapter 12), translated by Royall Tyler (Penguin Books edition).

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Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu (11th Century Japan)

"You had better not bring up my failings as though they were none of yours!"

• From Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, translated by Royall Tyler.

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The Tale of Genji (by Murasaki Shikibu)

"When the clouds to me seem always to be the smoke that rose from her pyre,

how fondly i rest my eyes on the evening sky."

• From The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Sikibu, translated by Royall Tyler (Penguin Classics edition). The background photo is licensed under Creative Commons 3.0 (CC 3.0).

Take a look at all of our quote pictures, here.

Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu (10th and 11th Century CE)

"The letters worth reading are those sent when the writer was angry, or when dusk was falling and she anxiously awaited her lover's coming."

• From The Tale of Genji written in the 11th century by Murasaki Shikibu.

Read a short biography about Shikibu and find more quote pictures on our official website gallery, here.