Murasaki Shikibu (? ??; English: Lady Murasaki) (c. 973 - c. 1014 or 1025) was a Japanese novelist; poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court during the Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji; written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012. Murasaki Shikibu is a nickname; her real name is unknown; but she may have been Fujiwara Takako; who was mentioned in a 1007 court diary as an imperial lady-in-waiting.

She was raised in her father's household where she learned Chinese; the written language of government; from which women were traditionally excluded. She married in her mid to late twenties and gave birth to a daughter before her husband died; two years after they were married. It is uncertain when she began to write The Tale of Genji; but it was probably while she was married or shortly after she was widowed. In about 1005; Murasaki was invited to serve as a lady-in-waiting to Empress Shoshi at the Imperial court; probably because of her reputation as a writer. She continued to write during her service; adding scenes from court life to her work. After five or six years; she left court and retired with Shoshi to the Lake Biwa region. Scholars differ on the year of her death; although most agree on 1014; others have suggested she was alive in 1025.

Murasaki wrote The Diary of Lady Murasaki; a volume of poetry; and The Tale of Genji. Within a decade of its completion; Genji was distributed throughout the provinces; within a century it was recognized as a classic of Japanese literature and had become a subject of scholarly criticism. Early in the 20th century her work was translated; a six-volume English translation was completed in 1933. Scholars continue to recognize the importance of her work; which reflects Heian court society at its peak. Since the 13th century her works have been illustrated by Japanese artists and well-known ukiyo-e woodblock masters.