The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter

Japanese monogatari and folktale

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (Japanese: 竹取物語, Hepburn: Taketori Monogatari) is a monogatari (fictional prose narrative) containing elements of Japanese folklore. It was written by an unknown author during the Heian period. It is considered the oldest surviving work in the monogatari form.

A young woman dressed in a pink kimono recedes on towards a palace the sky surrounded by clouds as people on the ground look on.
"The Receding Princess" from The Japanese Fairy Book, 1908