Three well-educated ladies wrote these diaries, among them the skilled writer Murasaki Shikibu (ca. 973-1025 a.d.). A lady-in-waiting to the Japanese Empress, she observed the upper classes with fine detail. The Sarashina Diary, begins with a 9-year-old girl's dreams and ends with the grown woman's account of her husband's funeral (1009-1059 a.d.).  2 color illustrations. 12 black-and-white illustrations. Appendix.