The Tale of Princess Kaguya

Forthcoming from Tuttle in 2026!

Japan’s oldest surviving fairytale, Taketori monogatari, is a fantastic and miraculous tale of feminine beauty, noble intrigue, lust, greed, piety, and salvation. Written more than a thousand years ago, it tells the story of an old bamboo cutter who discovers a radiant child inside a glowing stalk of bamboo. As the girl grows into a woman of unearthly beauty, she attracts the attention of aristocratic suitors from across Japan. Sending each of the men on impossible missions to win her love, the princess buys time before finally revealing her true nature as an avatar of the moon, to which she must ultimately return. 

This first, fully annotated and unabridged English translation of the tale presents the original Classical Japanese text alongside the English prose, rendering it an attractive volume for scholars, students, and general readers alike. Bringing together careful scholarship and an appreciation for the tale’s dreamlike atmosphere, The Tale of Princess Kaguya is a definitive edition of one of the world’s great works of early literature.

Translated and annotated by Matthew Stavros, PhD
with Anqi Teng, Jemima Rice, Matilda Loomes, Christopher Tran, and Nivritti Kumar

Anqi Teng, Managing Editor

Original illustrations by Reginald Jackson

For inquiries, contact Matthew Stavros on mstavros@mstavros.com