Lady m. shikibu was important because

Murasaki Shikibu (紫 式部, English: Lady Murasaki; c. 973 or 978 – c. 1014 or 1031) was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waitingat 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 descriptive name; her personal name is unknown, but she may have been Fujiwara no Takako(藤原 香子), who was mentioned in a 1007 court diary as an imperial lady-in-waiting.

Heian women were traditionally excluded from learning Chinese, the written language of government, but Murasaki, raised in her erudite father's household, showed a precocious aptitude for the Chinese classics and managed to acquire fluency. 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 Shōshi 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 Shōshi 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 1031.

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.

b. the 200th birthday of the united states

the assassination of president lincoln was just one part of a larger plot to decapitate the federal government of the u.s. after the civil war. the first reaction to lincoln’s death was disbelief. then it quickly changed to grief. abraham lincoln’s death created an outpouring of grief from citizens in both the north and the south.

explanation:

lincoln was the first u.s. president to be assassinated. president abraham lincoln, america’s civil war leader, was assassinated just five days after confederate general robert e. lee surrendered his army at appomattox court house, ending the four-year war between the states. on the evening of april 14, 1865, lincoln was attending a performance of our american cousin at ford’s theatre in washington, d.c. john wilkes booth – a 26-year old actor, confederate sympathizer, and white supremacist – slipped into the presidential box and shot lincoln in the head. john wilkes booth and his conspirators had initially planned to kidnap lincoln to save the confederate states. but as the confederacy faltered, booth’s thoughts turned to murder. booth may have decided to act on his hatred after lincoln endorsed giving the right to vote to african-american men who had served in the union army.