Who Is The Bamboo Cutter (Sanuki no Miyatsuko) (Taketori no Okina)?
The old bamboo cutter who raised Princess Kaguya
Sanuki no Miyatsuko
The Bamboo Cutter (Taketori no Okina) is the old man in The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter who finds and raises Princess Kaguya. He lives by gathering bamboo in the hills and fields and making all kinds of things from it. The original text also gives his name: Sanuki no Miyatsuko.
In Chapter 1, he finds the tiny princess inside a glowing stalk of bamboo and takes her home as his own child. From then on, every time he cuts bamboo, gold appears between the joints of the stalks, and he gradually becomes wealthy. When the princess is grown, he holds a celebration for her naming. Later, saying that he is past seventy and might die at any time, he urges her to marry.
The title of the story, "Taketori" (bamboo cutting), comes from this old man's trade. At the end of the tale, his deep grief at parting from the princess is also portrayed.
Episodes featuring this character2
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