“Murasaki Shikibu” was not her real name, which is unknown. Some scholars have postulated that her given name might have been Fujiwara Takako, recorded as the name of a lady-in-waiting ranked shōji on the 29th day of the first month, Kankō 4 (19 February, 1007) although this theory has not been supported by many others. Her own diary, The Murasaki Shikibu Diary, states that she was nicknamed “Murasaki” (“Violet”) at court, after a character in The Tale of Genji; “Shikibu” refers to her father's position in the Bureau of Ceremony.
“Murasaki Shikibu” was not her real name, which is unknown. Some scholars have postulated that her given name might have been Fujiwara Takako, recorded as the name of a lady-in-waiting ranked shōji on the 29th day of the first month, Kankō 4 (19 February, 1007) although this theory has not been supported by many others. Her own diary, The Murasaki Shikibu Diary, states that she was nicknamed “Murasaki” (“Violet”) at court, after a character in The Tale of Genji; “Shikibu” refers to her father's position in the Bureau of Ceremony.