The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter Discovery of the Bamboo Princess Once upon a time, in ancient Japan, there lived an old bamboo cutter named Taketori no Okina, which means "the Old Man Who Harvests Bamboo." He lived with his wife in the mountains, earning his living by cutting bamboo and crafting various items from it. One day, while walking through the forest, the bamboo cutter noticed a radiant bamboo stalk glowing mysteriously in the moonlight. Curious, he approached it and cut the stalk open. To his astonishment, he found a tiny, beautiful girl no bigger than his thumb inside the bamboo. She was so luminous and ethereal that he believed she must be a divine being. The old man took the tiny girl home to his wife, and they decided to raise her as their own child. The tiny girl grew rapidly, and within just three months, she became a full-grown, stunningly beautiful woman. The bamboo cutter and his wife were overjoyed and named her Kaguya-hime, meaning "The Shi...