Name _______Bariah Zafar____________________________________ Date ___20 Sep 2022___ Page 1

Read this adaptation of an old Japanese myth. Then answer the questions that follow.

The Bamboo Cutter and

l

the Moon Child

Long ago, there lived a bamboo cutter, Taketori no Okina. home, but she refused to see them. She had no desire to
He was very poor and sad, for he and his wife had never marry anyone. But five of the knights refused to give up,
had children. One morning as usual, Taketori no Okina until finally, Kaguya-hime sent to each of them a
was gathering bamboo from the forest. Suddenly, he saw a
glowing light within the bamboo grove. He followed it and, challenge to prove their love. The challenges were
to his great surprise and delight, discovered a tiny child, no impossible tasks, but each knight gladly accepted his
more than three inches tall and glowing with the soft light challenge for the chance to win Kaguya-hime’s hand in
of the moon. The old man gently carried the lovely creature marriage.
home. He and his wife were filled with joy! They resolved
to raise the tiny girl as their own child. They named her But not one of the knights proved himself worthy. The first,
Kaguyahime, Princess of Bamboo Scattering Light. tasked with bringing back Buddha’s very own stone bowl,
Kaguya-hime grew quickly into a lovely, radiant, full- instead tried to pass off an ordinary bowl as the real thing.
grown woman. The second was tasked with bringing Kaguya-hime a
jeweled branch from the silver-and-gold tree of Mount
In the years following the day that Taketori no Okina Horai. Instead, he hired jewelers to make a counterfeit
found Kaguya-hime, his fortunes changed. Not only did branch. The third, tasked with fetching the robe of the
he and his wife have the child they had always dreamed mythical fire rat, also offered up a fake. The fourth, tasked
of, they soon found great prosperity as well. Every time with bringing back the radiant, five-colored stone of a
the old man cut a piece of bamboo from the forest, he dragon, became resentful for having to go on such a
found nuggets of gold or precious stones inside. Soon, the dangerous journey; he simply gave up. Alas, the fifth,
family was very wealthy. News of their great fortune, and tasked with finding a shell of a snail born of swallows, was
the loveliness of Kaguya-hime, spread far and wide. Tales never heard of again. As such, Kaguya-hime was finally
of Kaguya-hime’s beauty led men from faraway lands to free from the unwanted attentions of the five knights. But
come seek her hand in marriage. They camped outside her now, the Emperor had heard of her legendary loveliness; he
traveled to meet Kaguya-hime and fell instantly and deeply descended, blinding the guards and taking Kaguya-hime to
in love with her. But Kaguya-hime refused to go with him, their chariot. Before leaving, Kaguya-hime kissed her
telling him that she would fade away should he force her to grieving Earth parents goodbye. She wrote a letter to the
go with him. The Emperor relented, and the two instead Emperor and enclosed in it a vial of the Elixir of Life.
struck up a friendship, writing letters and poems to each Then, she ascended to Tsuki-no-Miyako, the city of the
other from afar. moon.

As time continued, Taketori no Okina and his wife noticed The Emperor was overcome with grief that his beloved
that Kaguya-hime had grown melancholy. They often Kaguyahime was gone from Earth. He sent a letter to the
found her weeping and gazing at the moon. Kaguya-hime top of the most sacred mountain in Japan. He ordered his
confessed to them that she was a moon princess; on the men to burn the letter in hopes that his message would
next harvest moon, the moon people would come to take reach her on the moon. Having no desire for immortality
her back home. She did not want to leave. Taketori no without Kaguya-hime, the Emperor had them burn the
Okina desperately sought the Emperor’s help. The Emperor Elixir of Life as well. To this day, the smoke from the fire
sent guards to prevent the moon people from stealing can still be seen, forever burning on the Mountain of
Kaguya-hime away. Despite their greatest efforts to protect Immortality, Mount Fuji.
her, on the night of the harvest moon, the moon people

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Name ___________________________________________________________ Date ______________________
Page 2

Answer the questions about “The Bamboo Cutter and the Moon Child.”
1. This story is a Japanese myth. It was meant to
_______________________________________________
explain a natural feature that was visible at the
____
time of its telling. What feature was that?
a. snow on the top of Mount Fuji _______________________________________________
b. a lunar eclipse ____

c. smoke rising from the top of Mount Fuji

d. a meteor shower _______________________________________________

____ 4a. Which two adjectives describe Taketori no

2. What clues in the first paragraph of the story
indicate that the child found by Taketori no Okina’s character?
Okina is no ordinary child? Choose two. _____________________ _____________________
a. The child is lovely.
b. The child is found in the forest. 4b. Cite two pieces of textual evidence that reveal
c. The child stands no more than three inches tall. aspects of Taketori no Okina’s character.
d. The child glows like the light of the moon.
_______________________________________________
____
3. How does Taketori no Okina’s decision to take the
tiny child home advance the plot? _______________________________________________
____
_______________________________________________
____ _______________________________________________
____
_______________________________________________
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_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
____ ____

_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
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_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
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_______________________________________________ 8. What theme below can be seen in the relationship

____
of Kaguya-hime and the Emperor?

_______________________________________________ a. Never give up, even if a task seems impossible.

____ b. If you truly love someone, let them be free.
5. Why does Kaguya-hime assign impossible tasks to c. Fortune follows fame.
the five knights? d. Be careful what you wish for.
a. She wants to teach them a lesson.
b. She wants them to leave her alone. 9. Summarize the last two paragraphs of the story.
c. She wants to marry someone else.
_______________________________________________
d. She truly desires the things she sends them after.
____

6. In the third paragraph, what does the word _______________________________________________

counterfeit mean? ____

_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
____ ____

_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
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_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
____ ____

_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
____ ____

_______________________________________________
7. How does the Emperor prove himself different ____
from the five knights?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________ ____
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