Japanese Fairy Tale: Princess Splendor, the Wood Cutter's Daughter · Rare Book & Manuscript Library · University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library

Descriptive Information

https://exhibits.library.illinois.edu/s/rbml/item/14

Title: Japanese Fairy Tale: Princess Splendor, the Wood Cutter's Daughter
Creator: E. Rothesay Miller
Edition: Second edition
Publisher: Tokyo: T. Hasegawa, 1895
Format: Printed on crepe paper on one side of double leaves, folded once in Japanese style.
Description: Japanese fairy tales are largely influenced by the nation’s religious beliefs, Shinto and Buddhism. This book beautifully illustrates “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter,” a proto-science fictional story about a mysterious girl called Kaguya who is discovered as a baby inside the stalk of a glowing bamboo plant. The tale dates back to the 10th century and is considered the oldest extant Japanese prose narrative. This is one of several Japanese fairy tale crepe paper books in our collection.