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The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
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The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter by Anonymous
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3 starsA Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is a Japanese fairy tale. In the United States, we think of fairy tales as short little stories aimed at children, that are sweet, good and often a bit funny. However, they also have a moral or message of some importance. Because this one is Japanese, I am not all that certain about its importance or relevance. Anything I say would be a guess based on an extremely tiny amount of knowledge about the place.
The bamboo cutter is an older who works as a bamboo cutter. He is married, but they never had children. One day while out cutting bamboo he comes across a tiny girl (the size of his thumb) who glows like the moon. He takes her home and they raise her as their daughter. They adore her and are sad to have her leave home but want her to marry well. He wants her to be well-loved and cared for after he dies. He finds 5 knights who wish to marry her and wants her to choose. She doesn’t want to marry and gives them each nearly impossible tasks they must perform to win her heart. Each fails, and cheat, but she knows and they are sent away. Although there is an honorable and loyal royal who truly loves her she chooses not to marry him.
The ending is quite unique for this western reader.
It is a sweet tale and certainly felt unusual and as though it was likely an inspiration to more modern fairy tales.
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This is a very short book! I read it in about half an hour, even with taking some time to admire the lovely illustrations in the translation by Donald Keene, which I found on Open Library.An old man finds a tiny baby girl growing in a bamboo plant, and takes her home to his wife. They raise her with the aid of gold that he finds equally mysteriously in the bamboo from time to time. When she is grown, the old couple want her to marry, but she refuses. Her affection for them makes her agree to marry, but only if one of her five principal suitors can bring back an impossible treasure for her.
Up to this point, the story exists in a similar form in many cultures. I expected the usual ending: that is, one man (probably not one of the rich and noble suitors) manages to perform the required task by some sleight or ingenuity, and they marry and live happily ever after. However, the Japanese version ends very differently!
I enjoyed this and found it a refreshing change from fairy tales in Western culture.
Lovely Japanese fairy tale about an old and poor woodcutter who finds a small child in the bamboo and raises her. She has a number of suitors - she sets them difficult maybe impossible tasks, they try to cheat her into thinking they’ve succeeded but are caught out.This element of the story is similar to Western tales with a message about being honest and revealing your true value. The ending of the story is very different though, there is a fantasy element as the princess’s true origins and background is revealed. Its quite a poignant ending, but the whole tale is beautifully written with lightness and delicacy.
Read: December 2016
This is a 10th century Japanese folk story that incorporates elements of fantasy and science fiction. A childless bamboo cutter finds a daughter within a bamboo stalk. He and his wife raise her. This story reminds me a lot of The Snow Child. In fact, similar stories exist in many cultures.