It is thought that the originally consisted of 10–12 scrolls. Each scroll begins with a text section and generally alternates scene descriptions with illustrations, ending with a painting. In two instances a long text section is split in two parts and the Hachisuka scroll has an accumulation of three illustrations unseparated by text, and an accumulation of two unseparated independent text sections.
Hachisuka scroll Chronologically the oldest scenes of the , combined with some of the later anecdotes in the diary, are contained in the Hachisuka scroll. Named after its former owner, the
Hachisuka clan, rulers of the
Tokushima Domain in
Awa Province, this scroll is privately owned. It consists of eight illustrations and seven text sections on 16 paper sheets. The Hachisuka scroll starts with a description of a banquet given by the queen's
majordomo and managed by the governor of
Ōmi Province on
Kankō 5, 9th month, 13th day (14 October 1008), the third night of the birth of Atsuhira-shinnō, the later
Emperor Go-Ichijō. On that occasion, the mother,
Empress Shōshi received presents such as baby clothes and furniture. The illustration associated with this scene shows court nobles on the balconies outside of the principal building in which the queen is located.
Fifth day of birth celebration of Atsuhira-shinnō The second to fifth scenes of the Hachisuka scroll are set in the evening of Kankō 5, 9th month, 15th day (16 October 1008). On that day, the prime minister and baby's grandfather,
Fujiwara no Michinaga, celebrates the birth. In the second text scene of the , Murasaki Shikibu describes how everybody including servants, minor officials and high nobility was joyful and happy. Tables with were placed in the garden, the full moon shone beautifully and torches made the scene as bright as in daylight. There is one illustration following this scene. The third text is split in two parts, followed by three illustrations. The text contains a detailed description of how the dinner was served to the queen including the names of the maids of honour and their father's names. The ladies who had not been selected to attend "wept bitterly". Other people involved in the ceremony included (women selected for their beauty), (officials in charge of wells, soy sauce and ice-houses), (attendants whose hair was done up with hairpins), (King's housekeepers, (cleaners) and door keepers. According to Murasaki Shikibu so many people were involved that it was hard to get through. The relatively short fourth scene describes that the maids of honour exit from the queen's room which had been partitioned off by entering the torch-lit garden. It also gives more details and an interpretation of the dress of one of those maids, Lady Oshikibu. The short fifth passage is a continuation of the previous events and relates an exchange of courtesies between court ladies and a monk who had kept night watch telling religious and other stories. Murasaki Shikibu tells him:
You cannot see such a lovely thing every day, to which he replies:
Indeed! indeed! clapping his hands in joy and neglecting his Buddha. The illustration shows an elderly priest near the left border of the painting pushing open a folding screen beyond which three court ladies are seated. Murasaki Shikibu is seated closest to the monk directly behind the screen. In the anecdote, Murasaki Shikibu explains she learned Chinese in childhood, that she was taught not to be proud of her learning, keeping it a secret during her life in fear of how others would judge her. The text in the emaki relates how
Empress Shōshi requested that Murasaki Shikibu read to her in Chinese and teach her the poetical works of
Bai Juyi (in particular the part known as ) in secrecy. Nevertheless, the Emperor and Prime Minister found out about it and presented to the Empress a number of poetical works.
Gosechi dancers This final scene in the Hachisuka scroll is about a scene from the Gosechi, an ancient dance performed by young beautiful girls in the 11th month to celebrate the harvest. The emaki text begins with a description of the appearance and clothing of two of the participating girls and ends with a scene in which the girls throw down their fans as the secretaries of the sixth rank approached them to take away their fans. Murasaki Shikibu considered the dancers graceful but unlike girls. This particular scene is set on Kankō 5, 11th month, 22nd day (22 December 1008).
Painting only scenes The Hachisuka scroll contains paintings which are not associated with any text sections of the scroll. The fifth painting of the scroll corresponds to a scene described in the
second text section of the Hinohara scroll, where Murasaki Shikibu is looking back to her first time at court. The painting shows Murasaki Shikibu inside a room with closed
tsumado (hinged plank door) and
shitomido (latticed shutters). Next to her is an old-fashioned interior light-fixture consisting of a wooden pole with an oil-filled dish and wick on top of it (
tōdai). The final illustration of the Hachisuka scroll has no corresponding text section in the extant emaki fragments. However its content can be matched to a scene from the diary in which Murasaki Shikibu expresses her sorrows as a widow worrying about the future. She relates how she is gazing dreamily at the Moon when she is "hopelessly sad" and lonely. Playing the
koto (a kind of horizontal harp) on a cool evening makes her even more miserable. This section of the diary also contains a short description of her room containing two bookcases, one with books that her husband had placed there and that no one has touched since, the other with "old poems and romances", likely referring to her own works. This scene is set on an unknown date in
Kankō 6 (1009). The illustration present in the emaki shows Murasaki Shikibu inside a tatami room playing the koto with a court lady walking outside her room on the balcony (
engawa).
Fujita scroll Formerly in possession of the , rulers of the
Tatebayashi Domain in
Kōzuke Province, the extant Fujita scroll alternates five sections of text and five paintings. Based on this ancestral heritage it is sometimes referred to as former Akimoto scroll. It covers the time from the evening of the 5th day celebration of the birth of the first Imperial Prince, Atsuhira-shinnō, the later
Emperor Go-Ichijō, and ends with the furnishing of Michinaga's residence for the visit of
Emperor Ichijō.
Fifth day of birth celebration of Atsuhira-shinnō Set shortly after the fifth scene of the Hachisuka scroll, this scene relates events from the evening of Kankō 5, 9th month, 15th day (16 October 1008), the day Michinaga celebrated the birth of Atsuhira-shinnō. Some people were casting
da others composed poems. Murasaki Shikibu then praises
Fujiwara no Kintō's repartee and skills in the composition of poetry; however on this evening he did not participate in the exchange of poems. The queen gave gift of robes and baby dresses to the highest ranked ladies; lined kimono to those of 4th rank; and
hakama to the lesser sixth ranked ladies.
A boating party The second section is a direct continuation of the previous scene, recounting an outing of young courtiers, dressed in white, going boating on a moonlit night the following day (Kankō 5, 9th month, 16th day, or 17 October 1008 in the Gregorian calendar). The ladies left behind appeared jealous according to Murasaki Shikibu. Continuing from the previous scene, confusion occurs among the people in the boats as palanquins of ladies-in-waiting of the Emperor's court appear near the shelter for conveyances. Michinaga welcomes them happily and distributes gifts among them.
Birth celebration organized by the Imperial Court s at Michinaga's mansion in preparation for the Emperor's visit. In the second part of the section, Murasaki Shikibu is musing about her melancholic life because of an "extraordinary sorrow", wishing to be more adaptable and mindless. Wondering whether she is too sinful, she yearns for a religious life. Seeing waterfowl playing heedlessly in a pond, she writes the following
waka: Waterfowl floating on the water— They seem so gay, But in truth It is not gay to live anxiously seeking means of existence.
Day of the Imperial visit (Tanaka Shinbi copy) A sixth text section of the Fujita scroll has been preserved in the form of a copy from the original manuscript made by (1875–1975), researcher and collector of Japanese fine arts who also assisted in the reproduction of old writings and ancient paintings including the
Genji Monogatari Emaki. Starting in 1894 he worked on the reproduction of the Murasaki Shikibu Nikki Emaki. reminding her of animated living figures. The painting located in the emaki after the fifth text section, at the end of the extant Fujita scroll and originally before the sixth scene, illustrates this inspection of boats. Penelope Mason sees this diverse composition as a nostalgic representation of the 13th century Imperial Court past its golden age, as despite the "gaiety and splendor the scene is permeated with fleeting nature of joy and pleasure." Formerly in possession of the
Matsudaira clan, rulers of the
Saijō Domain in
Iyo Province, this scroll is referred to as "Matsudaira clan edition" or after its finder as "Former Morikawa edition" (not to be confused with the Morikawa edition below which refers to the Morikawa family). One part (Morikawa edition), the fifth segment, is bequeathed to the Morikawa family and today in a private collection. A year later, in 1933, Donō detached the third segment and reformatted it as a
hanging scroll (now in possession of the
Agency for Cultural Affairs). The remaining three scenes (numbers 1, 2, 4) were framed in 1934, changed owner once more, eventually (via the Takanashi family) ending up in the collection of the
Gotoh Museum. According to Penelope Mason, this is "one of the saddest and most beautiful [scenes] in the scroll", contrasting the beauty of the moonlit garden and pond on the left with the constraints of court life. }}
50 day celebration of the birth of Atsuhira-shinnō As with all but the first scene of the Matsudaira scroll, this scene is set on the evening of
Kankō 5, 11th month, 1st day (1 December 1008), the day of the Ika-no-iwai of the Imperial Prince Atsuhira-shinnō, the later
Emperor Go-Ichijō. The painting shows a room inside a
shinden partitioned off by
kichō room dividers featuring the design of decaying trees.
Empress Shōshi, with the baby in her arms, is partially visible at the top. Court ladies are serving various types of ritual food. }} The third scene held by the Gotoh museum was originally the fourth segment of the Matsudaira clan scroll. It is therefore preceded by the segment held by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and followed by the 5th segment of the Matsudaira clan scroll which is in possession of the Morikawa family. Like those segments, this scene is dated to the evening of the Ika-no-iwai }}
Former Ōkura family fragment This item, consisting of one painting and associated caption/text, was originally the third scene of the Matsudaira clan scroll before being reshaped into a hanging scroll by Masuda Donō in 1933. At some point it was in possession of the Ōkura clan (大倉家), but it is now owned by the
Agency for Cultural Affairs and in custody of the
Tokyo National Museum. It was designated an Important Cultural Property on 31 March 1953. sliding doors,
tatami and a curtain. On discovering the two court ladies in hiding, Michinaga demands a poem from each of them. Murasaki being frightened and helpless in this situation recites the following
waka: On the fiftieth day how should one number those that follow? May the Prince's life span more than eight thousand years. Despite being drunk, Michinaga answered quickly with another poem: O would I might live the life of a crane— Then might I reckon the years of the Prince Up to one thousand! which according to Murasaki's diary "came from his innermost desire". On this day,
Fujiwara no Norimichi, son of Michinaga, had the role of the Emperor's substitute. After a night of merriment, a joke is played on the
Naidaijin by making him believe that a present he had received is directly from the Empress; thus requiring an open return. Murasaki Shikibu goes on to describe how noble and dignified Norimichi looked on that day and how his nurse was overwhelmed by his appearance. In a sacred dance performed at night, the mediocre performance of one dancer who had been "very handsome last year" reminded Murasaki Shikibu "of the fleeting life of us all". The illustration associated with this scene shows the Imperial Messenger, Fujiwara no Norimichi, his head decorated with wisteria branches on the top of a staircase of a shrine building. The
train of his garment is flowing down the staircase and he is watched by three courtiers positioned near the bottom of the stairs.
Thinking of the first time at court Set on the evening of
Kankō 5, 12th month, 29th day (27 January 1009), in this scene, Murasaki Shikibu returns to the Imperial Court after a visit to her parents' home. As it is the anniversary of her coming to the court she is looking back at her former life nostalgically. Feeling lonely she goes to sleep murmuring the following
waka: My life and the year are closing together. At the sound of the wind dreary is my heart. The painting following this text section shows a man on the stairs of a house and two men on a boat just outside the house. The illustration matching the scene described in the text is now the fifth painting of the Hachisuka scroll.
Incident at night This scene from an unknown day in the year Kankō 6 (1009) shows Murasaki asleep at night in a room close to the corridor; a man is knocking on the door. Afraid to open, she spends the night without making a sound. The next morning her nightly visitor reveals himself as Michinaga through a poem he sent to her. She replies with the lines: A cause of deep regret, indeed, Had the door opened at the knocking of the water-rail! 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, 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). ==See also==