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Description
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (竹取物語; Taketori-monogatari): The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is one of the oldest Japanese folklore, back to early Heian period. The tale is about a mysterious girl, named Kaguya-hime who was found inside a stalk of a bamboo and was later adopted by the bamboo cutter couple.

Long time ago, there was a bamboo cutter, called 'Taketori no Okina' (竹取翁, 'The Bamboo Harvesting Old Man') who lived near bamboo forests. He went to cut some bamboos and sold them to the village every day. One day, he heard a crying sound of a newborn baby while he was working. The sound was from one of the bamboo, so he decided to cut it open carefully. Inside of it, there was a female human baby but it was as small as a finger. The bamboo cutter brought the small baby to his wife who had no children. They raised the baby as their own daughter and named her, Nayotake no Kaguya-hime (なよたけのかぐや姫, lit. 'Radiant Princess of the Young Bamboo). After adopting her into their family, the bamboo cutter would find golds inside of bamboos everyday. The family became rich and Kaguya-hime grew up to be an extremely beautiful woman in three months. Soon her beauty was known across the country and many suitors from everywhere came to visit her. In those suitors, there were five nobles; Prince Kuramochi (車持皇子), Abe no Mimuraji (阿倍御主人), Prince Ishitsukuri (石作皇子), Ootomo no Miyuki (大伴御行) and Isonokami no Marotari (石上麻呂). The bamboo cutter told Kaguya-hime to choose one of these five nobles but she had no interest in them, so she gave each of them an impossible task; to bring her legendary treasures - Hourai jeweled branch, Fire-rat robe, the begging bowl of Buddha, Dragon King's jewel and Cowrie shell born from a swallow.
Because of the impossibility, the nobles presented her with fake treasures instead. Prince Ishitsukuri gave her a fake stone bowl but it was noticed by her due to be lack of the holy light. Prince Kuromachi presented her a fine tree branch with finest jewels on it but it was exposed by a messenger of craftsmen who came to collect the payment of making the jewel branch. Abe no Mimuraji was deceived by a Chinese merchant and gave her a fake Fire-rat robe which couldn't withstand fire at all. Ootomo no Miyuki was unable to find the Dragon King and Isonokami no Marotari died from falling from a cliff during his mission to find the legendary swallow.

Not long, the story reached the Emperor and he decided to visit Kaguya-hime. After talking with her, he fell deeply in love and asked her to marry him. But Kaguya-hime rejected him and told him that she wasn't from this land and one day she would have to leave this land as well. Kaguya-hime and the Emperor continued exchanging letters.

Three years had passed. In that summer, Kaguya-hime began to upset and cry whenever she saw the moon. The bamboo cutter couple was worried and asked her the reason. She told them that soon she would have to return to her homeland, the Moon and have to leave them forever. The couple told the story to the Emperor who came to visit, so he sent thousands of soldiers to protect her from people from the Moon. But when the deities from the Moon descended upon the bamboo cutter's house, all the soldiers were blinded by strong light. They told Kaguya-hime that it was about the time to return with them, to her homeland. Kaguya-hime wrote a letter to apology to her parents and a letter for the Emperor. She left her parents her beautiful robe as a memento and the elixir of immortality to the Emperor before wearing feather robe and ascended into the night sky, back to the Moon where she came from.

The bamboo cutter and his wife became very sad after Kaguya-hime left. The soldiers returned to the Emperor with the letter and a bottle of elixir and reported him. After the Emperor read the letter, he asked his servants which mountain was the closest to the Moon. One of the servants told him that it must be the Mountain in Suruga Province (駿河国; now a part Shizuoka Prefecture) which was later named 'Mount Fuji' ( 富士山; some said that it was derived from 'Fushi' (不死; immortal)). He ordered soldiers to take his letters to burn it at the mountain's peak, so the letters might be able to reach Kaguya-hime. The Emperor also ordered them to burn the elixir of immortality because without Kaguya-hime beside him, he didn't wish to live forever as well.
(From WMA-093-かぐや姫)
Characters: Kaguya-hime
Series: Water-well's Moonlight
Colors: Copic markers, water-colors (white/red)
Date: 03-07-20
By Hallowie29

Description
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (竹取物語; Taketori-monogatari): The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is one of the oldest Japanese folklore, back to early Heian period. The tale is about a mysterious girl, named Kaguya-hime who was found inside a stalk of a bamboo and was later adopted by the bamboo cutter couple.

Long time ago, there was a bamboo cutter, called 'Taketori no Okina' (竹取翁, 'The Bamboo Harvesting Old Man') who lived near bamboo forests. He went to cut some bamboos and sold them to the village every day. One day, he heard a crying sound of a newborn baby while he was working. The sound was from one of the bamboo, so he decided to cut it open carefully. Inside of it, there was a female human baby but it was as small as a finger. The bamboo cutter brought the small baby to his wife who had no children. They raised the baby as their own daughter and named her, Nayotake no Kaguya-hime (なよたけのかぐや姫, lit. 'Radiant Princess of the Young Bamboo). After adopting her into their family, the bamboo cutter would find golds inside of bamboos everyday. The family became rich and Kaguya-hime grew up to be an extremely beautiful woman in three months. Soon her beauty was known across the country and many suitors from everywhere came to visit her. In those suitors, there were five nobles; Prince Kuramochi (車持皇子), Abe no Mimuraji (阿倍御主人), Prince Ishitsukuri (石作皇子), Ootomo no Miyuki (大伴御行) and Isonokami no Marotari (石上麻呂). The bamboo cutter told Kaguya-hime to choose one of these five nobles but she had no interest in them, so she gave each of them an impossible task; to bring her legendary treasures - Hourai jeweled branch, Fire-rat robe, the begging bowl of Buddha, Dragon King's jewel and Cowrie shell born from a swallow.
Because of the impossibility, the nobles presented her with fake treasures instead. Prince Ishitsukuri gave her a fake stone bowl but it was noticed by her due to be lack of the holy light. Prince Kuromachi presented her a fine tree branch with finest jewels on it but it was exposed by a messenger of craftsmen who came to collect the payment of making the jewel branch. Abe no Mimuraji was deceived by a Chinese merchant and gave her a fake Fire-rat robe which couldn't withstand fire at all. Ootomo no Miyuki was unable to find the Dragon King and Isonokami no Marotari died from falling from a cliff during his mission to find the legendary swallow.

Not long, the story reached the Emperor and he decided to visit Kaguya-hime. After talking with her, he fell deeply in love and asked her to marry him. But Kaguya-hime rejected him and told him that she wasn't from this land and one day she would have to leave this land as well. Kaguya-hime and the Emperor continued exchanging letters.

Three years had passed. In that summer, Kaguya-hime began to upset and cry whenever she saw the moon. The bamboo cutter couple was worried and asked her the reason. She told them that soon she would have to return to her homeland, the Moon and have to leave them forever. The couple told the story to the Emperor who came to visit, so he sent thousands of soldiers to protect her from people from the Moon. But when the deities from the Moon descended upon the bamboo cutter's house, all the soldiers were blinded by strong light. They told Kaguya-hime that it was about the time to return with them, to her homeland. Kaguya-hime wrote a letter to apology to her parents and a letter for the Emperor. She left her parents her beautiful robe as a memento and the elixir of immortality to the Emperor before wearing feather robe and ascended into the night sky, back to the Moon where she came from.

The bamboo cutter and his wife became very sad after Kaguya-hime left. The soldiers returned to the Emperor with the letter and a bottle of elixir and reported him. After the Emperor read the letter, he asked his servants which mountain was the closest to the Moon. One of the servants told him that it must be the Mountain in Suruga Province (駿河国; now a part Shizuoka Prefecture) which was later named 'Mount Fuji' ( 富士山; some said that it was derived from 'Fushi' (不死; immortal)). He ordered soldiers to take his letters to burn it at the mountain's peak, so the letters might be able to reach Kaguya-hime. The Emperor also ordered them to burn the elixir of immortality because without Kaguya-hime beside him, he didn't wish to live forever as well.
(From WMA-093-かぐや姫)
Characters: Kaguya-hime
Series: Water-well's Moonlight
Colors: Copic markers, water-colors (white/red)
Date: 03-07-20
By Hallowie29