Who Is Princess Kaguya (Kaguya-hime)?
The princess from the Moon, born from bamboo
Nayotake no Kaguya-hime
Princess Kaguya (Kaguya-hime) is the heroine of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter: a princess from the Capital of the Moon who was found inside a glowing stalk of bamboo. When she was discovered she was only about three sun (roughly 9 cm, or 3.5 inches) tall, yet in three months she grew into a young woman. She was said to shine so brightly that no corner of the house was left in darkness.
Once grown, she was named Nayotake no Kaguya-hime, "Princess Kaguya of the Supple Bamboo," and many men sought to marry her. Wanting to test the depth of their feelings, she gave five noble suitors five impossible tasks, but none of them could bring her the real treasure. She also refused the Emperor. In time she revealed that she had been sent down from the Moon to atone for a wrongdoing. On the night of the fifteenth day of the eighth month, she left letters for the old bamboo cutter and the Emperor, put on the robe of feathers of heaven, and returned to the Moon.
According to the tale, the elixir of immortality she gave the Emperor was later burned at the summit of a mountain in Suruga Province, and this became the origin of the name of Mount Fuji.
Episodes featuring this character6
NEWEpisode 1
He Cut the Bambooand Found a Tiny Girl — Princess Kaguya
In a bamboo grove at dawn, the Bamboo Cutter finds a glowing stalk with a palm-sized girl inside, and he and his wife take her home. In just three months she grows into a beautiful young woman, and she is named Princess Kaguya. Five noble suitors refuse to give up on her. When the Bamboo Cutter begs her to marry, she replies, "I will marry whoever shows me the thing I wish to see."
19 pages
NEWEpisode 2
To Marry Her, Find What Doesn't ExistPrincess Kaguya's Five Impossible Tasks
Five noble suitors just won't stop showing up, so Princess Kaguya sets them a challenge: if they truly love her, each must bring her a treasure that doesn't exist in this world. Prince Ishitsukuri goes first, and he cheats to get his bowl. The real one is said to glow blue. Will this one glow in the princess's light?
19 pages
NEWEpisode 3
The Perfect Lie Came With an Unpaid BillThe Jeweled Branch of Mount Hōrai
Prince Kuramochi pretends to set sail, then hides in a secret workshop and has craftsmen forge the jewel branch. With a made-up tale of high adventure, he backs Princess Kaguya into a corner. But the princess has already noticed something odd about the branch's cut end. Then six soot-covered craftsmen walk in, asking to be paid for a thousand days of work.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 4
He Paid a Fortune for a Fireproof FurThe Fire-Rat Robe and the Dragon's Jewel
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Episode 4. Minister of the Right Abe no Miushi spends a fortune on a "fireproof" fur robe, and Grand Counselor Ōtomo no Miyuki tries to take a dragon's jewel by brute force. Princess Kaguya sees both of these vain quests through with her own eyes, and quietly hopes both men come home safe. Only one suitor is left...
19 pages
NEWEpisode 5
The Fifth Suitor, Dangling from the SkyThe Swallow's Cowrie Shell and the Emperor
Young Middle Counselor Isonokami rides a basket into the sky to seize the swallow's birth-charm shell. He falls, the whole capital laughs at him, and he dies. His death stirs Princess Kaguya's heart for the first time. Then the Emperor, having heard the rumors, comes to see her for himself, and she turns into a shadow before his eyes. Three years of letters later, the princess begins to gaze up at the moon.
20 pages
NEWEpisode 6
She Left Him Foreverand a Cure for Death — The Ascension of Princess Kaguya
Princess Kaguya confesses she must return to the Moon Capital, and on the night of the full moon two thousand soldiers stand guard around her home. Before the Robe of Heaven can change her heart, she leaves behind a letter and a poem. And why did the Emperor burn the Elixir of Immortality?
19 pages