Long ago, an old bamboo cutter named Taketori no Okina walked through a forest of tall green bamboo every day, cutting stalks to make baskets and crafts. He was poor but kind, and he and his wife lived simply in a small cottage at the edge of the grove.
One morning, the old man noticed a single bamboo stalk glowing with a soft golden light from within. He carefully cut it open, and there inside, no bigger than his thumb, sat a tiny, perfect baby girl shining like a little star. He cupped her gently in his hands and hurried home.
The old couple was overjoyed. They named the tiny girl Kaguya-hime, which means Shining Princess. From that day, every time the old man cut bamboo, he found gold inside the stalks. The couple grew wealthy, and Kaguya-hime grew at an astonishing speed.
In just three months, Kaguya-hime grew into a young woman of breathtaking beauty. Her skin glowed like moonlight, and her long black hair flowed like silk. Word of her beauty spread across all of Japan, and soon five noble princes arrived at the bamboo cutter's gate, each begging for her hand in marriage.
Kaguya-hime did not wish to marry any of them. She set each prince an impossible task: one must bring a jeweled branch from a tree of paradise, another the fire-rat's robe, another a jewel from a dragon's neck. One by one, the princes failed or tried to cheat, and she turned them all away.
Even the Emperor of Japan himself came to see Kaguya-hime. He was struck by her grace and wisdom, and they exchanged letters and poems for many months. Yet she gently refused him too, saying she did not belong to this world and could not stay.
As summer turned to autumn, Kaguya-hime began to gaze at the moon with tears streaming down her face. Night after night she sat on the porch, watching the moon grow brighter. Her parents begged her to tell them what was wrong.
At last, Kaguya-hime confessed. "I am not of this earth," she whispered. "I came from the Moon. When the next full moon rises, my people will come to take me home. I do not want to leave you, but I have no choice." The old couple wept bitterly.
The Emperor sent his finest warriors to guard the bamboo cutter's house. But on the night of the full moon, a great procession of celestial beings descended from the sky on a bridge of moonlight, playing heavenly music. The guards could not lift their weapons, for the light was too bright to bear.
Kaguya-hime put on a feathered robe of heavenly silk. As she placed it over her shoulders, her memories of Earth began to fade. With her last earthly tears, she wrote a letter to her parents and one to the Emperor, thanking them for their love.
Slowly, Kaguya-hime rose into the sky, carried by the moonlight. The old couple reached out their hands, but she was already far above, a shining figure among the clouds. She looked back one last time, and a single tear fell to Earth like a falling star.
The bamboo cutter and his wife treasured Kaguya-hime's letter for the rest of their days. The Emperor, heartbroken, ordered her farewell poem to be burned on the top of the highest mountain in Japan, hoping the smoke would reach her on the Moon. That mountain, they say, is called Fuji — the Immortal Mountain — and its peak still smokes to this day.
