During the Heian period, which lasted from 794 to 1185, literature is characterized as being in the forms of monogatari (tale) and nikki (diary). Most written monogatari and nikki were created by women who wrote using the kana syllable. One of the most notable monogatari pieces is Murasaki Shikibu's Genji Monogatari, also known as The Tale of Genji. According to Nancy Hume, “Most men of letters in the Heian period avoided using the Japanese language or creating works resembling fiction. This meant that the literature of the pinnacle period of Japanese civilization was left by default to women, who were free both to write in Japanese and to express themselves in the genre of fiction” (Hume 115). The Tale of Genji is about an almost perfect man at court and has many relationships not only with women, but also with men. While reading The Tale of Genji, the reader may wonder how the noble men of the court could have so many affairs and visit many women throughout the city without worrying about political matters. At the time the Tale of Genji was written, the nobles of the Heian court had no "need to concern themselves with warfare, administration, or economic planning" and, instead , “devoted themselves entirely to the cult of beauty” (Hume 117). . Through Genji's interactions with his friends and lovers, the reader is able to imagine the ideal woman and ideal man of the imperial court during the Heian period, as described by Murasaki Shikibu. As Murasaki Shikibu wrote in The Tale of Genji, she describes his image. of the ideal woman through her characters. The tale actually begins by stating an important aspect that a woman needed during the Heian period. At the beginning, Genji's word...... middle of paper ......Murasaki Shikibu seems to criticize the daily and social life of the people of the court because they in fact have faults themselves and those of Royalty commit the same sins as commoners. Based on The Tale of Genji, it seems that people can only hope to achieve perfection by trying to live up to the social standards of what the ideal man and ideal woman are. Works Cited Hume, Nancy. Japanese aesthetics and culture: a reader. New York: State University of New York Press, 1995. Print. Morris, Ivan. The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan. New York: Kodansha America, Inc., 1994. PrintShikibu, Murasaki. The Tale of Genji. Trans. Royall Tyler. New York: Penguin Group, 2006. Print. Shirane, Haruo. The bridge of dreams: a poetics of the “tale of Genji”. California: Stanford University Press, 1987. Print.