Ironically, Murasaki was able to write The Tale of Genji in a patriarchal environment, generally dominated by male poets and historical writers. The setting of this 11th-century Japanese “novel” sets the unusual circumstances of a male-dominated literary culture, which allowed Murasaki to tell this story as an author. In her own diary, Murasaki Shikibu wrote about the power of patriarchal authority at the royal court, when she learned that the emperor was reading The Tale of Genji. This aspect of 11th-century Japanese society defines the assumption of ignorance and submission that Murasaki had to endure as a woman.