animated marginalia

Long, long ago, an eldery couple lived at the foot of Mt. Fuji. The old man made a living by cutting and selling bamboo. Every day he would go into the bamboo forest, and every night he would leave with a pile of bamboo to sell. One day, however, he noticed something strange in the forest: a shining light glowed from the base of a tall bamboo shoot. Curious, the old man cut quickly chopped down the bamboo.

To his surprise, there lay a beautiful little girl on a pile of golden coins. The old man and his wife had no children, so he excitedly gathered the girl up in his arms and rushed home with her to his wife. His wife was delighted. The couple named the baby Kaguyahime, meaning "Shining Princess," and raised her tenderly.

At first, the elderly couple worried about how they would support on their meager means. But the next time that the old man went into the bamboo forest, every stalk he cut down spilled out golden coins. Soon, the old man was the richest person in the town.

Another surprise was how quickly Kaguyahime was growing. In a few months, she was a beautiful young woman, graceful, fragrant, and glowing. The news spread quickly that the rich old man's daughter was very beautiful, and men came from all over Japan to woo Kaguyahime.

But Kaguyahime was not easy to convince. She told her five suitors that she would marry the one who brought her the rare item she requested. She asked the first man to bring her the stone bowl from India that Buddha used, another to bring her a branch from the tree of Eternal Youth that bears pearls, another to bring her the five-colored ball from a dragon's neck, another to bring the hide of the Chinese fire mouse, and the last to bring her a shellfish born in the egg of a swallow. The men eagerly set out on their quest, but the old man was puzzled. "Kaguyahime," he said, "none of those things are real. No one will succeed." Kaguyahime simply looked at him with sad, wet eyes.

The men, of course, never returned with the items Kaguyahime had requested. A few tried to trick her, but they were turned away firmly. All the while, Kaguyahime became quieter and quieter, often staring sadly for hours at the moon. Finally, the old woman begged Kaguyahime to explain why she had grown so sad.

Kaguyahime answered slowly and tearfully, "I come from the moon. At the next full moon the Moon King is sending his servants to take me back. I miss my home there, but the thought of leaving you makes my heart break." Kaguyahime's elderly parents were horrified at the thought of losing their daughter. "We won't let anyone take you!" they promised. But Kaguyahime only smiled sadly.

Two nights later the moon rose full, yellow and bright. It was bigger and brighter than anyone could remember ever seeing it before. Then, out of the brilliant sky, a large cloud began to descend, closer and closer to the old couple's home. When it stopped, motionless, above their house, the old couple could see that it was filled with heavenly people. One of the men began speaking in a clear, ringing voice: "Old man, we thank you for raising our princess well, but now it is time for her to return to the moon." Before the old man and his wife could respond, Kaguyahime was suddenly on the cloud, surrounded by the heavenly people. And, with a silvery flash, the cloud began ascending into the night sky until it was swallowed up in the brightness of the moon.

The elderly couple was devastated. All of the rich gifts that had suddenly appeared in their home and all of the gold that continued to spill from the bamboo stalks did little to assuage their grief. So still, to this day, whenever the moon is full, the old man and his wife watch and wait for Kaguyahime to come home to them.