Who Is Prince Kuramochi?
The schemer who had a fake jeweled branch made
Kuramochi no Miko
Prince Kuramochi is one of the five noble suitors of Princess Kaguya, a prince with a cunning mind. She asked him to bring a branch from a tree on Mount Hōrai in the eastern sea, a tree with roots of silver, a trunk of gold, and fruit of white jewels.
The prince pretended to set off on a journey but quickly came back in secret, and had skilled craftsmen spend more than a thousand days in a sealed workshop making the jeweled branch. He even told a detailed adventure story of reaching Mount Hōrai after surviving storms and demon-like monsters. The old bamboo cutter believed every word and began preparing for the wedding, but then the craftsmen arrived with a petition demanding their payment, and the lie fell apart at once.
Humiliated, the prince had the craftsmen beaten on their way home and their reward taken from them, and he himself vanished alone into the depths of the mountains. It is said that even his retainers searched for him but could not find him.
Episodes featuring this character4
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