page_title: Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emaki
section_title: 50th day celebration of Atsunaga-shinnō
hierarchical_section_title: Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emaki / Extant scrolls / Hinohara or former Hisamatsu scroll / 50th day celebration of Atsunaga-shinnō
caption_attribution_description: English: Ukiyo-e reproduction of the Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emaki, Hinohara scroll, 6th painting. 日本語: 紫式部日記絵巻 (和装本) (出版年不明)　(出版者不明)　(出版地不明) (扉題:紫式部日記画巻) 木版複製本 後半は日野原家本に一致。 表・裏表紙を含めて全27中25-26目の見開きの合成画像 [1][2]
context_page_description: The Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emaki is a mid-13th century emaki, a Japanese picture scroll, inspired by the private diary of Murasaki Shikibu, lady-in-waiting at the 10th/11th centuries Heian court and author of The Tale of Genji. This emaki belongs to the classical style of Japanese painting known as yamato-e and revives the iconography of the Heian period.
  Today there remain four paper scrolls of the emaki in varying condition and stored in different collections: Hachisuka, Matsudaira, Hinohara scrolls, and Fujita scroll. Of the extant scrolls, the first relates the celebrations on occasion of the birth of prince Atsunari in 1008 and the last those of the birth of Prince Atsunaga in 1009. This difference in time indicates that the original emaki most likely consisted of more scrolls than exist today.
context_section_description: Scenes four to six describe the 50th day celebration of the birth of Atsunaga-shinnō, the later Emperor Go-Suzaku, on Kankō 7, 1st month, 15th day (February 1, 1010). The lengthy fourth section of text is split into two parts. Murasaki Shikibu briefly mentions her friendly relationship with Lady Kokosho and that they join their rooms separating them by kichō partitions only when both are at home. This behaviour made Michinaga believe that they are gossiping about other people.  Murasaki Shikibu then describes the day's festivities: the Queen and her audience, the clothing, names and titles of the participants which included the Emperor, the infant prince and various court ladies. Dazzled in their presence, she escapes to an inner room. As the nurse, Madam Nakadaka comes away from the Emperor and Queen under the canopy, carrying the prince in her arms, Murasaki Shikibu praises her dignified demeanour, tranquility and earnestness. The painting associated with this scene shows four courtiers on the balcony (engawa) of a Japanese style building outside fabric enclosed rooms, which are not visible. Two of the men are shown walking, the others are kneeling and appear to be talking to a person inside the building or to be handing something to someone inside. Two of the men (one standing, one walking) carry trays with cups.
  In  the subsequent scene, the dais at which the main persons are seated, covered by misu, is opened and Murasaki Shikibu notes that the people present at the event and seated around the dais on the balcony were either of high rank or court ladies.  Lower rank officials later joined them on the steps below where the royalty is seated to perform music with a lute (biwa), harp (koto) and flute (shō). The painting corresponding to this scene shows two ladies on the balcony with rolled up misu. Both are squeezed in the corner of the image and appear to be talking to each other.
  A short text section follows, which is the final scene of the scroll and the final part of the known diary. The official musicians mentioned in the previous scene are joined by outsiders, one of which "made a mistake in the notes and was hissed". The Minister of the Right made a great mistake in praising the six-stringed koto. The emaki text (and diary) ends abruptly with mention of Michinaga's gift of flutes in two boxes. The illustration to this scene shows three courtiers seated in a row on the balcony with their backs facing the outside. The left figure is shown with a Japanese harp (koto) in front of him, his head is turned toward the other two who appear to be concentrating on something in front of them (likely instruments).
caption: Ukiyo-e reproduction of 6th painting
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