Kaguya-hime - Japanese

My first memory of this world was a soft, green light. I was nestled inside a glowing bamboo stalk, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, when an old man with kind eyes found me. He and his wife had always wished for a child, and to them, I was a gift from the heavens. My name is Kaguya-hime, and though I lived on Earth for a time, my true home is much farther away. The old man, a bamboo cutter named Taketori no Okina, carried me home, and from that day, his life was filled with wonders. Whenever he cut bamboo, he would find nuggets of gold and fine silks inside the stalks. He and his wife became wealthy, but their greatest treasure was me. I grew with unnatural speed, becoming a young woman of extraordinary beauty in just a few months. News of my loveliness spread like wildfire across the land, but my heart felt a strange pull, a gentle ache for a place I couldn't quite remember. This is the story people tell about me, which they call 'The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter,' a story of my time among mortals, a time filled with impossible quests and a secret I carried from the stars.

As I grew, suitors came from every corner of Japan. Five of the most powerful princes in the land arrived at our simple home, each determined to win my hand in marriage. They brought lavish gifts and spoke of love, but their words felt hollow. I did not belong to this world, and I knew I could never truly belong to any of them. To discourage them, I devised a series of impossible tasks, hoping they would give up and leave me in peace. To the first prince, I asked for the stone begging bowl of the Buddha from India. He returned with a common bowl blackened with soot, but I saw through his trickery. To the second, I requested a jeweled branch from the mythical island of Hōrai. He hired the finest artisans to craft a perfect replica, but when he presented it, the craftsmen appeared, demanding their payment, and his deceit was revealed. The third prince was tasked with finding the legendary robe of the fire-rat, which would not burn in flames. He bought a robe from a merchant and brought it to me, but when we tested it in the fire, it instantly burned to ashes. The fourth was sent to retrieve a colored jewel from a dragon's neck. He set out to sea but was caught in a terrible storm, barely escaping with his life and giving up the quest. The final prince was tasked with finding a cowry shell born from a swallow. He spent days waiting by a swallow's nest, and in his attempt to snatch the shell, he fell and was badly injured. Even the Emperor of Japan heard of me and requested my presence at his court. I refused, but we began a correspondence, and I grew to respect his gentle and wise nature. Still, I could not stay. With each passing day, I found myself gazing at the moon, a profound sadness washing over me as I remembered where I truly came from.

Finally, the time came when I could no longer hide my secret. I confessed to my weeping parents that I was a child of the Moon, sent to Earth as a temporary punishment for a mistake I had made. My time was over, and my people were coming to take me home. On the night of the full moon, on the 15th day of the 8th month, a shining cloud descended from the sky. Celestial beings in shimmering robes arrived to escort me. My earthly parents tried to hold me back, and the Emperor sent his soldiers to protect me, but their earthly weapons were useless against the heavenly light. I wrote a final, sad letter to the Emperor and gave my parents my own robe as a memento. To the Emperor, I also sent a small vial containing the Elixir of Life. As a celestial being placed a feathered robe on my shoulders, all my memories of Earth, its joys and its sorrows, faded away. I returned to the Moon, leaving behind a heartbroken family and a grieving Emperor. He read my letter and, unwilling to live forever without me, ordered his men to take the Elixir of Life to the mountain closest to heaven. There, they were to burn it, hoping the smoke would carry his message to me on the distant moon. That mountain, forever smoking, became known as Mount Fuji. My story, 'The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter,' is now considered the oldest tale in Japan. It lives on in paintings, plays, and even animated films, reminding people of the beauty of fleeting moments, the pain of love and loss, and the wonder of looking up at the moon and imagining a princess who once lived among us.