Through Japanese history, the Tale of Genji (ca. 1010-4, hereafter Genji) has been enthusiastically embraced by its readers, often placed in the center of the culture as canon. Without an explicitly political motif on the surface, the diverse contents of the Genji seem to have connected well to the distinctive senses of values in different times; it has been read, construed, and transformed into more acceptable forms, following the unique zeitgeists and social demands of each period.
In his introduction to Inventing the Classics, Haruo Shirane defines canon as "authorized texts, particularly those in school curricula, or text widely perceived to be worthy of interpretation and imitation" (Shirane Inventing 2). He considers that canonization is the constant process of reevaluation of the text, and suggests that we examine the classical text from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives (Shirane S*�*reta 15). Following Shirane's notion, in this paper, I would like to discuss the various ways that the Genji was read, interpreted, and transfigured, briefly observing the historical and social contexts that affected them.
In the early 11th century, the Genji was written under the great influences of the lingering Chinese culture, Japan's nativist movement, and the flourishing Palace of Fujiwara Regency, which consequently invited a variety of receptions of the Genji among Courtiers at the time. In the medieval times, declining Court poets canonized the Genji in the field of waka, which was also supported by the new ruling class of samurai. Depending on the time, the Genji was interpreted based on either Buddhist or Confucian, which also shifted to kokugaku literary reading. The development of mass communication in the Edo period caused the emergence of the large population of the so-called "Genji culture" (Noguchi 3).
Modernization also largely affected the reception of the Genji, offering a new Western way of reading. It was decanonized and was distorted during the Wars, while, at the same time, it was extolled in the nationalistic spirit of time. In the postwar period, it has been restored to Japan's classic as women's novel as feminist movement advanced. Here, again, the perspective changed from that of the male-center to female-center. In this way, the Genji has been constantly reconstituted as canon, fully reflecting the zeitgeists of most periods in Japanese history; and thus, paradoxically, it has kept its long life as a Japanese classic-the canon.