There is no historical material that immediately reveals why Murasaki Shikibu wrote such a long novel, and it has been argued by various people over a considerable period of time.

There is an opinion that it was Murasaki Shikibu who named the titles of the existent 54 chapters, but some people believe the name of each chapter has come about through posterity.

According to the conjecture, Murasaki Shikibu wrote 37 chapters and the rest of the tale was added later to enhance the Buddhist atmosphere in order to please the changing tastes of readers.

However, these traditions have been told in relation to the tale that 'Murasaki Shikibu began writing to comfort her sorrow over the death of MINAMOTO no Takaakira,' which is not true to the historical fact, or in a mysterious medieval folktale that Murasaki Shikibu was an incarnation of Bodhisattva; thus there have been many statements that deny them since old times, and they haven't been taken as clues to consider the formation and structure of "The Tale of Genji" in the study of "The Tale of Genji" since modern times.

Akiko YOSANO advanced the theory that the writing of "The Tale of Genji" began with 'Hahakigi' and that 'Kiritsubo' would have been added later, effectively dividing "The Tale of Genji" into two parts; she also expressed the view that the latter part of the book, starting from 'Wakana', was written not by Murasaki Shikibu, but by her daughter Dazai no Sami.

A conjecture that the Ten Quires of Uji was written by Daini no Sami (a daughter of Murasaki Shikibu, Kenshi);

There are questions as to why, as a main character, "The Tale of Genji" set the Genji clan, which was once made to have fallen from power by the Fujiwara clan in the Anna no Hen Conspiracy (after the reign of Emperor Suzaku there was no empress from the Genji clan but always from the Norther House of the Fujiwara clan, during the height of the Fujiwara clan (the author Murasaki Shikibu was also of the Fujiwara clan, and the commentary of "Japanese Various Families' Trees" says 'A court lady Murasaki Shikibu,... mistress of Michinaga,'), why Genji won the romance and why it described Genji's succession to the Imperial Throne (including the question of why, in all the dynasty tales, the Genji clan always wins (for example, Sagoromo Chujo in "The Tale of Sagoromo").

As to these questions, Sen FUJIMOTO, a mystery writer, made a supposition that it was not Murasaki Shikibu of the Fujiwara clan but Takaakira MINAMOTO of the Genji clan who wrote "The Tale of Genji," and Motohiko IZAWA argued in "The Paradoxical History of Japan" that it was to console the vengeful ghost of the Genji clan that had fallen, thereby holding a grudge.

However, regarding these views the conflict between Fujiwara and Genji (or other) clans had already ended with the 'total victory of the Fujiwara clan,' and most of the political disputes in those days were struggles for power among the Fujiwara clan, particularly between FUJIWARA no Michinaga and his nephew, FUJIWARA no Korechika.

It is generally said to be approximate to the manuscript written by Murasaki Shikibu.

No original manuscript of "The Tale of Genji" written by Murasaki Shikibu can be found to exist.

Also, according to "Murasaki Shikibu Diary," there should have been fair copies of Murasaki Shikibu's original text made by calligraphers in those days, but they don't exist either.

According to "Murasaki Shikibu Diary," when the author was writing the original text there existed certain lines of manuscript such as Sokobon (draft) and Seishobon (clean copy), and each of these was brought into circulation, which includes an unexpected case of Michinaga's taking the Sokobon (which the author had) without permission; therefore, the text of "The Tale of Genji" was passed down through a complicated process from the beginning.

Thus it is now considered nearly impossible to restore the original text that Murasaki Shikibu had written.

Some scholars state that the author Murasaki Shikibu was a daughter and wife of Zuryo rank, which was not a high rank in the hierarchy of those days, and this meant people would copy her work less faithfully.

While in the course of spreading Buddhism the idea emerged that 'Murasaki Shikibu, who wrote fantasies of love affairs and caused many people to become misled, must have been fallen into Hell (Buddhism),' and the rite called the 'Buddhist ceremony for Murasaki Shikibu's soul' was often held in order to save her.

Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu (dates of birth and death unknown) was a female author and poet in the mid-Heian period.

Murasaki Shikibu's real name is unknown, but it is assumed that she was the 'FUJIWARA no Kaoriko/Takako/Koshi,' who became shoji (ranked) on January 29, 1007, which was described in 'Mido Kanpakuki (FUJIWARA no Michinaga's diary).'

She was a daughter of FUJIWARA no Tametoki, governor of Echigo Province, and her mother was a daughter of FUJIWARA no Tamenobu from Settsu Province, but she lost her mother when she was little.