Echizen City is the only place where Murasaki Shikibu, the author of The Tale of Genji, lived outside the capital during her lifetime. It is said that she came here with her father, Fujiwara no Tametoki, who had been appointed governor of Echizen Province, and spent a little over a year in the area. Murasaki Shikibu Park was created in commemoration of the fact that she spent over a year in Echizen, featuring a pond and a *tsuridono built in the *shinden-zukuri style, preserving the atmosphere of the Heian period in which she lived. At the Murasaki Yukari-no-Yakata (Murasaki Shikibu and Kokufu Archives), located next to the park, visitors can view materials related to Murasaki Shikibu. *tsuridono= A building constructed in the shinden-zukuri style—the residential architecture of Heian-period aristocrats—situated to overlook the pond. *shinden-zukuri style= The architectural style of aristocratic residences in Kyoto during the Heian period.

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