Murasaki no Ue[1] (紫の上), also spelled Murasaki-no-Ue,[2][3] is the main heroine of The Tale of Genji.

When Murasaki's father refuses to give him permission to adopt her, and dismisses his proposals as unserious, Genji decides to abduct Murasaki no Ue and raise her at his palace, where he grooms her into becoming similar to Fujitsubo, who embodies the feminine standards that he desires.

In most commentaries and translations, she is simply referred to as "Murasaki" for ease of identification and to improve readability.

Genji, in his poem, names the murasaki or purple gromwell, because its color resembles the color of wisteria (in Japanese, fuji) thereby obliquely referring to Fujitsubo, "the Lady of the Wisteria Court", a woman he is violently in love with for the first part of the novel.

(It is a further twist to this word game, that the novel's Murasaki, the Lady of the West Wing, though certainly turning into a shining example of love and constancy, ends her life in pious resignation, with a jealous demon appearing at her bedside - thereby destroying Genji (the hero).)