A long time ago in Japan, there lived a kind old man and his wife. The old man, Sanuki no Miyatsuko, worked by cutting bamboo in the forest.
One day, while walking through the bamboo grove, he saw something strange — a glowing stalk of bamboo! Curious, he walked over and cut it open.
Inside was a tiny, beautiful girl, only about three inches tall.
He rushed home to show his wife. The couple had no children of their own, so they decided to raise the little girl as their daughter.
From that day on, something magical happened — every time the old man cut bamboo, he found gold hidden inside. Soon, they became very rich.
The girl also grew incredibly fast. In just three months, she became a graceful young woman. Her beauty was so radiant, it seemed to fill the whole house with light.
To give her a proper name, they invited a wise man. He named her Kaguya-hime, which means “Shining Princess of the Bamboo.” They celebrated with a joyful feast full of music and dancing.
News of Kaguya-hime’s beauty spread far and wide. People from all over came just hoping to catch a glimpse of her.
Many gave up, but five noblemen never stopped trying. They were:
Her adoptive father told Kaguya, “You should choose a husband. I am old, and I want to see you happy.”
But Kaguya replied,
“I will only marry someone who is truly kind and sincere. Let them each bring me something I wish for — something rare and special.”
Each noble received a different, impossible task:
None of them succeeded.
Kaguya felt sad when she heard Counselor Isonokami died from his injury. But none of the nobles won her heart.
Even the Emperor of Japan heard about Princess Kaguya and sent a messenger to meet her. But she refused to see him.
So the Emperor himself went to visit. When he saw her, he was overwhelmed by her beauty and tried to bring her to the palace.
But as he reached for her, Kaguya began to fade like a shadow.
She said softly,
“I am not from this world. You must let me go.”
The Emperor left with a heavy heart. After that, he couldn’t forget her. He often sent her poems, and she replied with kind letters, but always stayed away.
Three years passed.
One night, as the full moon grew near, Kaguya stared at the sky with tears in her eyes. She finally told her parents the truth:
“I come from the Moon. I was sent here as punishment. But now... I must go back.”
The old couple was heartbroken.
The Emperor sent 2,000 soldiers to guard the house. They stood on the roof and on the ground, ready to protect her.
But Kaguya said,
“It’s no use. You cannot stop them. They are not of this Earth.”
At midnight, a bright light filled the sky. Beings from the Moon floated down on clouds. The soldiers were frozen in fear — they couldn’t move.
The leader of the Moon people spoke:
“Kaguya-hime’s time in your world is over. She must come home now.”
Kaguya wrote letters to her parents and to the Emperor. She was given a shining robe and a small bottle — the Elixir of Immortality.
As soon as they put the robe on her, all her human memories and feelings disappeared. Her love and sorrow faded away.
She stepped into the flying chariot and rose into the night sky, leaving Earth behind.
The Emperor was filled with grief. He read her letter and held the elixir in his hand.
He said,
“Without her, I don’t want to live forever.”
He gave orders to climb the highest mountain in Japan — Mount Fuji — and burn the letter and the elixir at the top.
It is said the name “Fuji” comes from the word “fushi”, which means immortality.
Even today, people say the smoke from that fire still rises from Mount Fuji, drifting up toward the Moon.