Japanese cultural identity and its manifestation in cinema has been a topic of global intrigue for years. I aim to prove that adaptation has created an expansive cultural serial of The Tale of Genji rather than a single important work. In doing so, it becomes clear that adaptation can be a dynamic process of transformation to and for specific historical moments, rather than simply an adaptation of existing works. In doing so, my arguments of adaptation now not only have stakes within textual analyses, but in the historical and cultural moments that comprise Japan’s history. As I trace the journey from medieval literature to 21 st -century film, I will explore the role of the film industry in Japan’s national identity, and revisit intertextuality and notions of fidelity in consideration of historical and cultural context. These films reflect new historical and cultural values every time Genji is retold, yet the films consciously reflect unique Japanese aesthetics that made the original text as famous as it is. Genji Monogatari (1951), directed by Yoshimura Kōzaburō, and Genji Monogatari: Sennen no Nazo (2011), directed by Yasuo Tsuruhashi, are two film adaptations that provide a window into Japanese cultural identity over the past century. Adaptation has allowed this work not only to survive, but to become continuously recanonized and popularized to reflect a growing and shifting cultural identity in Japan. Rather, it was the countless translations and adaptations of the text that kept the work alive and relevant over the years.

The original text has been exalted by many scholars, but what truly gave Genji authority throughout the ages was not its elevated literary status. A thousand years of literary history has come and gone since the tale was first written, but remarkably, Genji has continued to have a profound impact on Japanese culture and contemporary world literature well into the 21 st century. Written in the 11 th century, The Tale of Genji is widely considered one of the world’s first novels.

The Tale of Genji (2011) is the latest film adaptation of a story that has been retold since the 11 th century. A Thousand-Year Enigma: Adapting The Tale of Genji Carissa Roets

Genji pepakura genji tenokate