Heavenly Light and Earthly Days
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (Taketori Monogatari)
Created more than a thousand years ago during the early Heian period, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (Taketori Monogatari) is Japan’s oldest surviving narrative prose literature and one of the earliest works of sci-fi fantasy in world history.
This story is far more than a simple folktale. It is an inspiring, romantic masterpiece that remains deeply moving today, depicting a woman’s independence, dignity, human affection, and poignant sorrow.
Chapter 1: The Maiden of Light Born from Bamboo
More than a thousand years ago in Japan, amidst the silence of a bamboo grove, lived an old man who made a modest living by gathering bamboo to craft baskets and vessels. People called him “the Bamboo Cutter” (Taketori no Okina).
One clear day, as the old man ventured deep into the bamboo grove as usual, a stalk glowing with a strange, eerie brilliance caught his eye. Golden light spilled forth from its base.
“My, what on earth could this be…?”
Drawn as if by a spell, he approached and carefully cut open the stalk. Inside sat an impossibly adorable, tiny girl, only three sun tall (about 9 centimeters). Childless, the old man and his wife were moved to tears, believing, “This must be a child granted to us by the heavens.” Placing her on his palm, he brought her home to raise her with boundless love.
Thereafter, miraculous events occurred one after another. Whenever the old man entered the grove, he began discovering joints of bamboo packed tightly with gold. The once-poor family grew wealthy in the blink of an eye.
Even more miraculously, the tiny girl grew rapidly, as if drinking in the light itself. In just three months, she matured into a breathtakingly beautiful maiden.
Her presence alone brought a divine radiance, as if filling the dark house with sudden light. Hearing rumors of her beauty, a distinguished noble (Mimurodo no Imibe no Akita) named her Princess Kaguya (Kaguya-hime / Nayotake no Kaguya-hime).
Chapter 2: A Peerless Beauty and Five “Impossible Tasks”
Princess Kaguya’s extraordinary beauty became known throughout the capital in no time.
“If only I could catch a single glimpse of Princess Kaguya!”
“I would willingly give my life to make her my wife!”
Men gathered around her estate day and night, desperate for even a fleeting glimpse through the gaps in the fence. Yet Princess Kaguya refused to show herself.
As most men eventually gave up and departed, five nobles of the highest rank and prestige in society (Prince Ishizukuri, Prince Kuramochi, Right Minister Abe no Miushi, Grand Counselor Otomo no Miyuki, and Middle Counselor Isonokami no Maro) continued to visit tirelessly. They stood outside her estate through snow and wind, reciting love poems.
Unable to watch this any longer, the old man spoke to Princess Kaguya:
“My Princess, you are a grown woman now. It is the natural path of human life to marry a gentleman of this world and build a family. Gentlemen of such high birth have gathered here; please, choose one of them.”
However, unwilling to marry in the human world, Princess Kaguya answered quietly with sorrowful eyes:
“Father, I cannot marry someone simply because of their high rank. Human hearts are fickle. I wish to marry one who truly loves me deeply and demonstrates a sincere heart. I shall welcome as my husband whoever brings me a ‘special treasure’ that I specify.”
Thus, Princess Kaguya tasked the five men with obtaining legendary treasures said not to exist in this world:
- Prince Ishizukuri: The Sacred Stone Bowl of the Buddha from India (Tenjiku).
- Prince Kuramochi: A Jewel Branch from the mythical Mount Penglai (a branch made of gold, silver, and pearls, bearing white jade blossoms).
- Abe no Miushi: The Robe of the Fire-Rat from China (Tang), which does not burn.
- Otomo no Miyuki: The Five-Colored Jewel from the Dragon’s Neck.
- Isonokami no Maro: The Cowrie Shell born of a Swallow.
Chapter 3: The Comic Defeat and Unmasking of the Power-Seekers
The suitors desperately sought to win Princess Kaguya’s heart, but her conditions were impossible from the start. One by one, the men resorted to foolish schemes.
Prince Ishizukuri pretended to sail for India, but secretly hid in a mountain temple at home. He stole a pitch-black bowl from a statue of Buddha and presented it, claiming, “This is the true Bowl of Buddha.” But because it emitted no radiance like the genuine artifact, Princess Kaguya immediately saw through the fake, and he fled in embarrassment.
Prince Kuramochi devised a cunning plot. He locked master craftsmen in a hidden workshop for three years to forge an exact replica of the Jewel Branch. Bringing the counterfeit, he told an elaborate tale: “I crossed to Mount Penglai and risked my life to retrieve this.” He nearly deceived the princess, but just then, the craftsmen stormed the estate shouting, “Pay us our wages!” The grand deception fell apart, and the disgraced prince vanished into the mountains.
Abe no Miushi paid a vast fortune to a merchant from China for the Robe of the Fire-Rat and proudly presented it. When Princess Kaguya suggested, “Let us throw it into the fire to test its authenticity,” the robe burned to ashes in an instant.
Otomo no Miyuki boasted, “I shall slay the dragon and claim its jewel,” setting sail with his vassals. However, a terrifying tempest struck, nearly wrecking the ship. Crying out, “O Dragon God, forgive me!”, he barely made it ashore with swollen eyes and a battered, miserable appearance.
Isonokami no Maro was hoisted in a basket to a high roof to search a swallow’s nest. Just as he shouted, “I found it! The Cowrie Shell!”, his rope snapped, and he fell heavily to the ground. Writhing in pain from a severe back injury, he opened his tightly clenched hand—only to find not a shell, but bird droppings.
Thus, every one of the five nobles who sought to possess Princess Kaguya through power, wealth, or sweet lies met with disastrous failure, becoming laughingstocks to all who heard their tales.
Chapter 4: The Emperor’s Proposal and a Bond of Minds
News of the five nobles’ complete defeat reached the ears of the country’s supreme ruler, the Emperor (Mikado).
“What kind of woman could toy so completely with my highest ministers?”
Intrigued, the Emperor sent an envoy commanding Princess Kaguya to enter the Imperial Court as his concubine. However, she firmly refused, declaring, “If I am forced to serve at Court, I would rather end my life.”
His longing only deepened. The Emperor then devised a plan: using the pretext of an imperial hunt, he coordinated with the old man to visit her estate unannounced.
Seeing Princess Kaguya for the first time, her divine beauty left the Emperor speechless. Overcome with emotion, he took her by the sleeve to take her with him. In that instant, her body turned semi-transparent, fading like a shadow.
“Wait! I was wrong. I will never force you to go.”
Sensing her otherworldly, mystical nature, the Emperor relinquished his attempt to take her by force and gently let go. Grateful that he dropped his coercive posture and respected her dignity as an individual, Princess Kaguya opened her heart to him.
From that day forward, though they never met again face-to-face, they exchanged letters and exquisite waka poetry frequently. Free from power or greed, a deep spiritual bond blossomed between them, enriching each other’s intellect and spirit.
Chapter 5: The Secret Revealed and the Full Moon Confession
About three years passed since their correspondence began, when a change came over Princess Kaguya. From late spring into summer, whenever she gazed up at the moon in the night sky, she would weep quietly alone.
As the fifteenth night of the eighth lunar month (the mid-autumn full moon) drew near, her sorrow only deepened. When her adoptive parents asked in worry, “Dear Princess, what brings you such sadness?”, she could only sob in silence.
Finally, a few nights before the full moon, Princess Kaguya broke down and revealed the shocking truth she had hidden for so long:
“Father, Mother… I am so sorry for keeping this secret. I am not a human of this world. I belong to the Capital of the Moon (Tsuki no Miyako). I was sent down to live on earth as punishment for a minor transgression in a past life. But now, the term of my atonement has expired. On the coming night of the full moon, envoys will arrive from the Moon to take me back.”
Hearing this, the old man and woman were thrown into deep distress. Embracing her, they wept, “What nonsense is this! We will never let our beloved child go to the moon!”
The news reached the Emperor at once. Stunned, he ordered: “Repel the celestial beings who attempt to take Princess Kaguya!” On the night of the full moon, he deployed two thousand heavily armed archers around the estate and on the roof, establishing a formidable guard.
Chapter 6: Farewell in the Light and the Heavenly Feather Robe
On the night of the fifteenth day of the eighth month, as the full moon shone high in the sky, the world was transformed. The area surrounding the estate was bathed in a golden radiance brighter than day. Descending gently from the sky came a host of celestial beings (Tennin) riding upon glowing clouds.
The Emperor’s soldiers raised their bows in unison to shoot them down. However, overwhelmed by the divine aura of the heavenly beings, the soldiers lost all strength in their arms as if paralyzed, unable to release a single arrow. Hidden deep within the house, Princess Kaguya was drawn outward by a mysterious power, stepping quietly into the courtyard.
The celestial envoy declared solemnly:
“Old Bamboo Cutter, you have cared well for Princess Kaguya. For that service, you were granted gold and made wealthy. Her penance is complete. The time has come for her to return from the impure human world to the pure celestial realm.”
Princess Kaguya approached her weeping parents, handing them her robes as a keepsake, embracing them repeatedly in a tearful farewell.
“I shall never forget your kindness in raising me. Please take good care of yourselves after I am gone…”
She then composed her final waka poem for the Emperor—the one who had won her heart in a world where she possessed no freedom—and entrusted it to the envoy alongside a jar containing the Elixir of Immortality (Fushi no Kusuri).
When the farewell ritual ended, the celestial being draped a Heavenly Feather Robe (Ten no Hagoromo) over Princess Kaguya’s shoulders.
In that instant, a miracle occurred.
The tears vanished from her eyes. Her affection for her adoptive parents, the painful sorrow of parting, her bittersweet love for the Emperor… every memory and emotion of her years spent as a human vanished entirely.
Restored to a pure, emotionless celestial being without a trace of regret, Princess Kaguya boarded the radiant flying cloud and ascended toward the distant moon, never once looking back.
Epilogue: Mount Fuji, the Immortal Mountain of Rising Smoke
After Princess Kaguya departed for the moon, her adoptive parents, stricken with grief, could no longer eat and soon fell ill.
Meanwhile, Princess Kaguya’s final letter and the Elixir of Immortality were delivered to the Emperor. Unsealing the letter and reading her unchanging poem of love, the Emperor could not hold back his tears:
Ahu koto mo / Namida ni ukabu / Waga mi ni te / Shinanu kusuri wa / Nani ni ka wa semu
(Unable to meet you again, my body floats in a sea of tears; of what use to me is the medicine of immortality?)
Sighing deeply, the Emperor murmured softly:
“Without Princess Kaguya in this world, what meaning is there in living forever…?”
After reading the letter, the Emperor asked his ministers, “Which mountain is closest to the heavens, the highest in Japan?”
A minister replied, “It is the mountain located in Suruga Province (modern-day Shizuoka Prefecture).”
The Emperor dispatched an officer to take Princess Kaguya’s letter and the Elixir of Immortality to the summit and burn them.
Accompanied by a vast number of warriors (samurai / bushi), the envoy climbed the peak and threw the letter and elixir into a bonfire. From this event, people came to call the peak Mount Fuji (Fuji-no-yama—symbolizing fushi, “immortality,” as well as fushi, a mountain abundant in warriors).
And even today, it is said that from the summit of Mount Fuji, a plume of white smoke carrying eternal longing for Princess Kaguya continues to drift softly toward the moon high above.
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