The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter

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A young woman dressed in a pink kimono recedes on towards a palace the sky surrounded by clouds as people on the ground look on.
"The Receding Princess" from The Japanese Fairy Book, 1908

Template:Nihongo is a Template:Transliteration (fictional prose narrative) containing elements of Japanese folklore. Written by an unknown author in the late 9th or early 10th century during the Heian period, it is considered the oldest surviving work in the Template:Transliteration form.

The story details the life of Kaguya-hime, a princess from the Moon who is discovered as a baby inside the stalk of a glowing bamboo plant. After she grows, her beauty attracts five suitors seeking her hand in marriage, whom she turns away by challenging them each with an impossible task; she later attracts the affection of the Emperor of Japan. At the tale's end, Kaguya-hime reveals her celestial origins and returns to the Moon. The story is also known as Template:Nihongo, after its protagonist.<ref name="katagiri 81">Katagiri et al. 1994: 81.</ref>

Background

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is considered the oldest surviving Template:Transliteration, though its exact date of composition is unknown.<ref name="katagiri 95">Katagiri et al. 1994: 95.</ref> The oldest surviving manuscript is dated to 1592.<ref name="katagiri 95"/> A poem in the Template:Transliteration, a 10th-century work that describes life in the imperial court, invokes the tale in slight reference to a Moon-viewing party held at the palace in 909. A mention of smoke rising from Mount Fuji in The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter suggests that the volcano was still active at the time of its composition; the Template:Transliteration indicates that the mountain had stopped emitting smoke by 905. Other sources suggest the tale was written between 871 and 881.<ref name="seeds">Template:Cite book</ref>

The author of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is also unknown, and scholars have variously attributed the work to Minamoto no Shitagō (911–983), to the Abbot Henjō, to a member of the Inbe clan, to a member of a political faction opposed to Emperor Tenmu, and to the Template:Transliteration poet Ki no Haseo (842–912). It is also debated whether the tale was written by one person or a group of people, and whether it was written in Template:Transliteration, Japanese Template:Transliteration, or even Chinese.<ref name="seeds"/>

English translations

Template:More citations needed section Since its appearance in 909 CE, mid-way through Japan’s Heian period (794-1185 CE), the Tale has inspired multiple renditions, including minstrel performances, kabuki plays, paintings, musicals, and more recently, manga and animated films. The text is a staple of Japanese primary education and most adults can recite the opening passages by heart.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It was already a classic by the year 1000 CE when it was described in The Tale of Genji as "the ancestor of all tales...," a story that "belongs to the age of the gods."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

An early translation of the tale in English was made in 1888 by F. Victor Dickins.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This translation is in Victorian style and features inaccuracies with some omissions from the tale, although it is accompanied by an abundance of notesTemplate:Citation needed. The next attempt to produce a faithful English rendition was made in 1956 by Donald Keene.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This translation, first appearing in an academic journal, is of good quality, even though it is also featuring omissions and misinterpretations. It went to be reproduced in several anthologies still in circulation. It also translated the poems of the tale in prose, and did not comment on the implications of puns, allusions and veiled insults that were permitted by the waka format.Template:Citation needed

A contemporary translation, which aims to be more complete and annotated, was produced by Matthew Stavros, and is scheduled for publication in 2026.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Narrative

Taketori no Okina takes Kaguya-hime to his home, painting Template:Circa

One day in the bamboo forest, an old bamboo cutter called Template:Nihongo comes across a mysterious, shining stalk of bamboo. Upon cutting it open, he is surprised to find an infant the size of his thumb inside. The old man and his wife, having no children of their own, decide to raise the infant as their own daughter, and name her Template:Nihongo. From that moment on, every time the man cuts a stalk of bamboo, he finds a small nugget of gold inside. The family soon grows rich, and within just three months, Kaguya-hime grows from an infant into a woman of ordinary size and extraordinary beauty. At first, the old man tries to keep news of Kaguya-hime away from outsiders, but as word of her beauty spreads, she attracts many suitors who seek her hand in marriage.

Discovery of Kaguya-hime, late 17th century depiction

Among the suitors are five nobles: Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo, and Template:Nihongo. They eventually persuade the old man to have Kaguya-hime choose from among them. Uninterested, Kaguya-hime devises five impossible tasks, agreeing to marry the noble who can bring her the item specified for him: the stone begging bowl of the Buddha, a jeweled branch from the mythical island of Hōrai, a robe of fire rat skins, a colored jewel from a dragon's neck, and a cowry shell born from a swallow.

Realizing the impossibility of his task, the first noble presents a fake stone bowl made from a blackened pot, but is exposed when Kaguya-hime notices that the bowl does not glow with holy light. The second noble presents a branch created by the country's finest jewelers, but is revealed when a messenger of the craftsmen arrives at Kaguya-hime's house to collect payment. The third noble is deceived by a merchant from China, who sells him a robe that burns when it is tested with fire. The fourth noble sets out to find a dragon at sea, but abandons his plans after encountering a storm. The fifth noble falls from a great height while reaching into a swallow's nest.

After this, the Emperor of Japan comes to visit Kaguya-hime and, after falling in love, asks her hand in marriage. Although he is not subjected to an impossible trial, Kaguya-hime rejects his request for marriage as well, telling him that she is not from his country and therefore cannot go to the palace with him. She remains in contact with the Emperor, but continues to rebuff his proposals. Three years pass as they continue to communicate by letter.

That summer, whenever Kaguya-hime views the full moon, her eyes fill with tears. Though her adoptive parents grow very worried and question her, she refuses to tell them what is wrong. Her behaviour becomes increasingly erratic until she reveals that she is not of the Earth and that she must return to her people on the Moon. It is said that she was sent to the Earth, where she would inevitably form material attachment, as a punishment for some crime without further description. The gold was a stipend from the people of the Moon, sent to pay for Kaguya-hime's upkeep.

Heavenly beings descend, depiction Template:Circa

As the day of her return approaches, the Emperor sends his guards to protect her from the Moon's people, but when an embassy of heavenly beings descends upon the bamboo cutter's house, the guards are blinded by a strange light. Kaguya-hime announces that, though she loves her many friends on Earth, she must return with the beings to her true home on the Moon. She writes sad notes of apology to her parents and to the Emperor, then gives her parents her own robe as a memento. She then takes a little of the elixir of immortality, attaches it to her letter to the Emperor, and gives it to the guard officer. As she hands it to him, a feather robe is placed on her shoulders, and all of her sadness and compassion for the people of the Earth are apparently forgotten. The entourage ascends into the sky, taking Kaguya-hime back to Template:Nihongo3 and leaving her earthly foster parents in tears.

Princess Kaguya returns to the Moon. 1888 print by Yoshitoshi.

The old couple become very sad and are soon put to bed sick. The officer returns to the Emperor with the items Kaguya-hime gave him as her last mortal act, and reports what happened. The Emperor reads her letter and is overcome with sadness, and asks his servants, "Which mountain is the closest place to Heaven?"; in response, one suggests the Great Mountain of Suruga Province. The Emperor then orders his men to take the letter to the summit of the mountain and burn it, in the hope that his message would reach the distant princess. They are also ordered to burn the elixir of immortality, as the Emperor does not wish to live for eternity without being able to see her.

Legend has it that the word for Template:Nihongo, became the name of the mountain, Mount Fuji. It is also said that the kanji for the mountain, which translate literally to Template:Nihongo3, are derived from the Emperor's army ascending the slopes to carry out his order. It is said that the smoke from the burning still rises to this day. (In the past, Mount Fuji was a much more active volcano and therefore produced more smoke.)

Literary connections

Elements of the tale were drawn from earlier stories. The protagonist Taketori no Okina appears in the earlier poetry collection Template:Transliteration (Template:Circa; poem #3791). In it, he meets a group of women and recites a poem to them. This indicates that there previously existed an image or tale revolving around a bamboo cutter and celestial or mystical women.<ref>Horiuchi (1997:345-346)</ref><ref>Satake (2003:14-18)</ref>

A similar retelling of the tale appears in the 12th century Template:Transliteration (volume 31, chapter 33), although the relationship between these texts is debated.<ref>Yamada (1963:301-303)</ref>

Template:Transliteration

In 1957, Template:Transliteration (Template:Lang), a Chinese book of Tibetan tales, was published.<ref> Template:Cite book</ref> In the early 1970s, Japanese literary researchers became aware that Template:Transliteration (Template:Lang), one of the tales in the book, had certain similarities with The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.<ref> Template:Cite journal</ref><ref> Template:Cite book</ref>

Initially, many researchers believed Template:Transliteration to be related to Tale of Bamboo Cutter, although some were skeptical. In the 1980s, studies showed that the relationship between these stories was not as simple as initially thought. Okutsu provides an extensive review of the research, and notes that the book Template:Transliteration was intended to be for children, and as such, the editor took some liberties in adapting the tales. No other compilation of Tibetan tales contains the story.<ref name="okutsu">Template:Cite book</ref> A researcher went to Sichuan and found that, apart from those who had already read Template:Transliteration, local researchers in Chengdu did not know the story.<ref name="shigehara">Template:Cite book</ref> Several Tibetan sources in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture did not know the story either.<ref name="shigehara" /> The philological consensus is that the author of the 1957 book purposefully copied The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.<ref>Katagiri et al. 1994</ref>

Chang'e

The Chinese legend of Chang'e can be traced to the second century BCE. According to the main telling of the legend, a Template:Transliteration named Chang'e came to Earth, thereby losing her immortality. To get it back, she stole the elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West, then fled to the Moon. The elements of immortality and flight are well-connected to the Daoist figure of the Template:Transliteration, as is the appearance of unusual figures in the mountains, but the Japanese tale includes many novel elements such as the bamboo cutter, the suitors, and the night abduction by floating creatures.<ref>Seimiya Tsuyoshi, "Shinsen shiso no kihon kozo." Shūkan Tōyōgaku no. 33 (1976)</ref>

Legacy

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is a popular folk tale in Japan.<ref name="Animation">Template:Cite web</ref> It has been adapted, updated and reworked into numerous modern media, especially Japanese pop culture media such as manga and anime.<ref name="Crunchyroll">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Milky">Template:Cite book</ref>

Modern adaptations

Generally faithful adaptations of the original story include the following:

Modern updates and reworkings of the original story are found in numerous other works:

References

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Bibliography

Further reading

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