Murasaki Shikibu in Fukui Prefecture? Echizen City

  • Fukui
  • Sightseeing
The NHK Taiga Drama series for 2024 will be "To the Luminous Kimi," in which actress Yuriko Yoshitaka will play Murasaki Shikibu, and the Hokuriku bullet train is scheduled to extend to Tsuruga in 2024. Murasaki Shikibu once lived in Echizen City near Tsuruga. Echizen City is where Murasaki Shikibu, the author of The Tale of Genji, lived away from the capital for the only time in her life. It is said that she spent a little more than a year there with her father, Fujiwara no Tameoki, who became the chief of Echizen Province.
Murasaki Shikibu Park was created to commemorate this event. The park is surrounded by a pond, and features a shinden-zukuri style tsuriden, a statue of Murasaki Shikibu, and a monument to Murasaki Shikibu's poems. The "Murasaki Shikibu and Kokufu Museum" adjacent to the park has materials related to Murasaki Shikibu. Although it is difficult to imagine a connection between Fukui Prefecture and Murasaki Shikibu, the park is familiar to locals, with a free open space and wisteria trellises. A visit to the park might be a good way to get a feel for Murasaki Shikibu.

Photo courtesy of Fukui Prefectural Tourism Federation
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