The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the classical narrative depicted here, a baby found in a glowing bamboo stalk by an old bamboo cutter grows to be a woman of unearthly beauty. Unwilling to marry, Kaguya-hime (The Shining Princess) sets her suitors tasks they are unable to fulfill. The emperor desires her, but she reveals that she is from the moon and will soon return there. Although the emperor sends soldiers to guard her, a retinue from the moon arrives and ascends to the moon with her. The lacquer storage box for these three volumes is decorated with a maki-e (“sprinkled picture”) design of a bamboo grove, two birds, and the crest of the Tokugawa family.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Tale of the Bamboo CutterThe Tale of the Bamboo CutterThe Tale of the Bamboo CutterThe Tale of the Bamboo CutterThe Tale of the Bamboo Cutter

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.