The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
Also known as: The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Kaguya-hime, The Tale of Princess Kaguya
A bamboo cutter finds a tiny luminous girl inside a stalk and raises her as Kaguya-hime, whose beauty draws imperial attention and five persistent suitors. After impossible quests and an unfulfilled bond with the Emperor, celestial envoys reclaim her to the Moon, leaving an elixir of immortality that is burned atop Mount Fuji.
Description
Taketori Monogatari, often called the earliest surviving Japanese prose tale, recounts the rise and departure of Kaguya-hime, a mysterious child discovered within a glowing bamboo stalk by an old cutter and his wife. She grows to extraordinary beauty, attracting five elite suitors and the Emperor himself. To deter marriage, she sets each suitor an impossible task—retrieving legendary objects such as the Jeweled Branch of Hōrai and the Fire-Rat’s Robe—exposing vanity, deception, and desire. As autumn moons wax, Kaguya-hime’s sorrow deepens; she reveals her lunar origin and the inevitability of her return. When heavenly emissaries descend, the Emperor’s guards cannot resist their otherworldly power. Kaguya leaves letters and an elixir of immortality; the Emperor orders it burned on a high mountain, aetiologically linking “Fuji” with undying smoke. The tale blends court satire, wonder, and pathos, crystallizing Heian aesthetics and shaping later Japanese literature and visual culture.
Historiography
The text is generally dated to the late 9th or early 10th century, preserved through medieval manuscript lineages with variant readings. Its author is unknown; proposals range from court literati to a playful satirist of Heian marriage politics. Motifs parallel broader East Asian folklore (moon maidens, feather robes, isle of Hōrai) adapted to Heian court life. The tale influenced picture scrolls (emaki), Noh and later theater, ukiyo-e, and modern retellings, establishing narrative templates for monogatari fiction.
Date Notes
Oldest extant Japanese monogatari; anonymous Heian-era composition synthesizing earlier folktale motifs.
Symbols
Major Characters
- Kaguya-hime
- Taketori no Okina
- Taketori no Ōna
- The Emperor
- Prince Ishitsukuri
- Prince Kuramochi
- Minister Abe no Miushi
- Great Counselor Ōtomo no Miyuki
- Middle Counselor Isonokami no Maro
Myths
- Kaguya-hime from the Bamboo
- Suitors’ Impossible Quests
- The Moon People and the Elixir
- Departure of Kaguya-hime
Facts
- Regarded as the oldest surviving Japanese monogatari (prose tale).
- Anonymous Heian-period composition with strong courtly milieu and satire.
- Centers on a moon-maiden motif integrated with Japanese folklore.
- Five elite suitors are each assigned an impossible, quasi-mythic task.
- The Emperor’s unfulfilled love frames the tale’s pathos and political nuance.
- Provides an aetiology for Mount Fuji’s smoke via the burned elixir of immortality.
- Influenced later emaki picture scrolls, Noh themes, and Edo-period prints.
- Motifs echo broader East Asian legends of Hōrai, dragon jewels, and feather robes.
- Manuscript tradition exhibits variant readings; no authorial holograph survives.
- Established narrative patterns later elaborated in Genji and subsequent monogatari.