Sophia Rose reviews - The Tale of Princess Kaguya: Japan’s Oldest Fairytale translated by Matthew Stavros

 

The Tale of Princess Kaguya: Japan’s Oldest Fairytale translated by Matthew Stavros

Classic, Fantasy

Publisher:  Tuttle Publishing

Published:  9.22.26

Pages:  208

Rating: 5 stars

Format: Hardback

Source:  Tuttle

Sellers:  Amazon

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Amazon Synopsis:

One of the great works of early literature—a fantastical tale of beauty, intrigue, lust and salvation.

The Tale of Princess Kaguya is Japan's oldest surviving prose narrative and one of its most famous literary works. Familiar to every Japanese child, the story, also called The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, tells of a tiny otherworldly girl found inside a bamboo stalk, whose beauty captivates emperors and commoners alike.

Blending folklore, romance and mythology, the tale explores timeless themes of greed, lust and loss. Beneath its surface lies a strikingly modern current of female empowerment, as its heroine quietly resists the desires and demands of a world that seeks to possess her.

This definitive edition presents the original text alongside an engaging English translation by Matthew Stavros that highlights the poetry and biting wit of the tale. Insightful commentary, illustrations and superb scholarship make this a book that will appeal to every lover of Japanese language, culture and literature.

 

Sophia Rose's Review:

A tale from the ninth century Japan, distinct for being some of the earliest Japanese writing and Japanese folklore and fairytale telling, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya as translated by Matthew Stavros and his team of scholars gives western readers a chance to experience the diversity of Ancient Japan through this entertaining story.  This is the newest, fullest translation that this annotated and includes a side-by-side of Japanese and English pages.

 

The Tale of Princess Kaguya begins with an introduction to the historical and literary backdrop of the story, how the work came about, and then lovely glossy color print illustrations of the story that are copies of illustrated scrolls from the 16-18^th centuries.

The reader can peruse these color print plates and descriptions then settle in for translated and annotated story broken into five acts (chapters) and these chapters contain lovely pen and ink illustrations throughout.

 

A humble bamboo cutter goes out into the bamboo forest to cut and comes across a glowing stalk of bamboo.  Inside, he discovers a tiny girl baby no bigger than his thumb.  He is entranced so he brings her home to his wife and they raise the little baby as their child.  From the beginning there is something mystical about the little girl because in a matter of months she grows to the size of an adult woman and her presence in their home brings wealth and prosperity.  The bamboo cutter continues to work his trade, but his ‘princess’ has attracted the attention of nobles and princes, alike.  Her beauty is renowned and men vie outside the family home to get the princess’ attention.  Because of society back then, the princess is kept in an inner court and secluded, the men have only brief glimpses of her through breaks in the surrounding bushes and are awed by her grace and beauty.

 

Eventually, because her father makes it clear that something must be done about her suitors, the princess gives the faithful five who remain at their door five impossible tasks because she doesn’t want any of them.  Go and bring her five legendary objects and she will wed the one who fulfills his task. 

The first prince knows the task is beyond him so he resorts to trickery.  His substitution is spotted at once and she denounces this with a wry, pointed poem to him and he goes off in disgrace.  Four further suitors and four different tasks.  Then the emperor gets in on the wooing when he hears of these suitors and the stories of their exploits.  Not being like the other suitors, the bamboo cutter and his princess daughter must handle matters differently.  Will any of them fulfill his task and gain the princess’ hand? 

In the end, the mystery of the princess’ appearance in the world and her mystical appearance and abilities is explained.  Not the emperor’s might or the bamboo cutter’s love and begging can change the results in the end.

 

The Tale of Princess Kaguya in English is not especially lyrical, but it was descriptive of the period and customs and it was neat to see those scathing poetic responses mingled into the prose.  The princess is independent and has no desire to be married, later it is clear that it wouldn’t have worked out anyway.  There are elements that are familiar with plots in other fairytales (the group of suitors given a task), but there were unique motifs and Asian elements, too.  While a translation can’t necessarily give the reader the soul of the piece, I felt the heart was there for a reader to appreciate.  A delightful discovery for me and I recommend it to others who appreciate Japanese and Asian literature or love diverse fairytales.

 

 

Translator Bio:

Matthew Stavros is an historian of early Japan at the University of Sydney and a translator of Classical Japanese literature. He is the author of Kyoto: An Urban History of Japan's Premodern Capital (University of Hawaii Press, 2014) and the translator of Hojoki: A Buddhist Reflection on Solitude, Imperfection and Transcendence (Tuttle, 2024). His research focuses on the material culture of premodern Japan and eastern Asia, with particular interest in cities, buildings and religious monuments. He trained in architectural and urban history at Kyoto University and read history at Princeton University where he earned a PhD. He teaches modern and classical Japanese language, Japanese history and historiography, and more broadly on the histories and cultures of East and Southeast Asia. You can find out more at www.mstavros.com

Sophia’s Bio:

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.

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