Why was Lady Murasaki Shikibu important to literature?

Lady Murasaki Shibiku was a Japanese novelist that lived in the tenth and eleventh centuries during what was called the Heian Period. After the death of her husband, the imperial family brought Shibiku to court, where she would remain a lady-in-waiting to the Empress Shoshi. It was here that she began working on what would become the work for which she is best known: The Tale of Genji.
The Tale of Genji is considered widely to be one of the earliest novels ever written. Beyond that, the novel is still heavily praised in the modern era and is often praised for its psychological complexity. Furthermore, being a novel that was written and set during the Heian Period makes The Tale of Genji noteworthy. During this period, women were respected, educated, and generally refined—traits which were largely uncommon in other areas of the world at the time. Being perhaps one of the earliest novelists to ever exist and a particularly skilled one have earned Lady Murasaki Shibiku the exalted reputation that she rightfully deserves.
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