The Bamboo Cutter

In a secluded private room of an Izakaya in Gion, Heian-kyo, Miketsu, dressed as an Onmyoji, and Mokou were eating beans and drinking tea. Mokou’s expression, however, was far from pleasant.

“Hmph… I’ve been calling for you for days, and you finally have time to show up, esteemed Great Onmyoji Asakura Hao…” Mokou said to Miketsu with a meaningful look. Miketsu offered a dry chuckle in response, “Haha… things in the demon realm have been quite busy lately, so I’ve been swamped. I apologize for not being able to make time sooner.”

“Indeed, everyone knows that Yokai Lord Owl is negotiating a great many things with the Onmyoryo, often appearing in person, truly very busy…” Mokou said casually, taking a sip of tea. Hearing her words, Miketsu immediately put a finger to her lips.

“Shhh… it’s best we don’t discuss such matters directly, especially here in Heian-kyo. It wouldn’t be good if someone overheard. I still need my human identity as an Onmyoji.”

“Relax, relax, I’ve already booked this entire establishment. It’s just the two of us here now, my esteemed Lord Deity.” Mokou continued casually. Perhaps it was her nature, but even after learning Miketsu was a deity, she only showed a brief period of etiquette and respect. After a while, her attitude towards Miketsu unconsciously reverted to how it was before, treating her like a friend. Miketsu, who inherently disliked putting on airs, was happy with this arrangement.

After the Great Snake incident, Mokou had already guessed the truth: Miketsu as Asakura Hao was also Owl. Miketsu was well aware of this.

After the incident, Miketsu had somewhat revealed her identity to Mokou. Mokou was quite surprised at first, unsure how to interact with a deity, but she later discovered Miketsu’s true personality and decided to treat her as usual, with nothing special to worry about.

“Speaking of which, why did you call me to meet you these past two days?” Miketsu then asked Mokou, having come here today at Mokou’s invitation.

“Nothing much, just been a bit annoyed these past few days, so I wanted to chat and unwind…” Mokou said directly. Although she lived well within the Fujiwara Clan, she constantly had to suppress her true nature and maintain a haughty facade. Staying in such a strict, prominent family for too long while keeping up this act made her feel stifled. In all of Heian-kyo, Miketsu was the only one she could confide in and be completely open with.

“Annoyed? Did something happen in the Fujiwara Clan? Did they offend you?”

“No, no, those fellows in the family are always extremely respectful of me; there’s no question of offense… The reason I’m annoyed is this…” As Mokou spoke, she pulled a small booklet from her sleeve and tossed it directly to Miketsu, who was seated opposite her. Miketsu caught the booklet and looked at the cover.

“The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter? Isn’t this a storybook?”

“It’s a story, but it’s also compiled based on real events. The person who wrote this story is truly detestable, portraying a malicious woman as flawless, completely beautifying her tale of wantonly toying with others using her beauty. It infuriates me!” Mokou said indignantly, pointing at the booklet in Miketsu’s hand. This made Miketsu quite curious.

A malicious woman? Could this be the so-called “princess” Mokou had once mentioned, the one who seduced her father? And her deeds were even written into a story that spread?

“May I read this story first?” Miketsu asked Mokou with a curious expression, and Mokou replied directly.

“Go ahead, just don’t believe the story’s description of that woman.”

Listening to Mokou, Miketsu opened the booklet and began to read. The story contained within wasn’t very long.

The story generally told of an old bamboo cutter who, by chance, found a tiny maiden, three inches tall, inside a glowing bamboo stalk. He took her home and raised her as his daughter. The maiden gradually grew up, exhibiting extraordinary beauty and special abilities, making the old man wealthy while also gaining a beautiful daughter. This maiden was named “Princess Kaguya.”

Princess Kaguya’s beauty soon spread far and wide, attracting countless men from distant lands who came to seek her hand. However, Princess Kaguya rejected almost all of them. There were only five noble suitors whom Princess Kaguya found difficult to directly refuse. At the old man’s earnest request, Princess Kaguya gave the five men a chance: whoever could obtain the treasure she specified would be allowed to marry her.

The five treasures were the Jeweled Branch of Hourai, the Dragon’s Head Jewel, the Stone Bowl of Buddha, Fire-Rat Fur, and the Swallow’s Cowrie Shell—all rare treasures said to exist only in legends, their actual existence in the world being questionable.

The five noble suitors accepted the task of finding the treasures, but the results were either that they couldn’t find them, or they tried to deceive Princess Kaguya with fakes, only to be exposed and publicly humiliated. In the end, Princess Kaguya married no one, and even when the Emperor himself pursued her later, it was to no avail. At the end of the story, Princess Kaguya revealed herself to be a princess from the moon, and was eventually taken back to the moon by people who descended from there.

After finishing the story, Miketsu let out a sigh of relief, filled with emotion. As someone who had loved stories since childhood, she hadn’t read a complete one since transmigrating here. This Tale of the Bamboo Cutter left her with a good feeling. If there were a test paper in front of her asking her to relate the context and express the author’s thoughts and feelings, Miketsu would immediately write: pursuing pure beauty and disdaining vulgar power and status.

“So… your father, Fujiwara no Fuhito, was one of those five suitors?” Miketsu asked Mokou after reading the story. Mokou replied irritably.

“Yes, Prince Kuramochi in that book is my father.”

“Prince Kuramochi? The one who looked for the Jeweled Branch of Hourai, right?” Miketsu said, understanding. In the story, Prince Kuramochi didn’t search for the Jeweled Branch of Hourai; instead, he hired craftsmen to create a high-quality replica. However, because he didn’t pay them, the craftsmen appeared on the very day Prince Kuramochi was to present the branch to Princess Kaguya, exposing him and causing him immense public humiliation. He was arguably the most thoroughly shamed of them all, which greatly angered Mokou.

“Hmph… don’t believe what that story says. My father would never do such a thing. Even if my father were to commit fraud, could my Fujiwara Clan not afford a single craftsman’s fee? And those craftsmen, why didn’t they come earlier or later? They appeared precisely on the day the branch was to be delivered to demand payment—isn’t that clearly a deliberate scheme to harm someone? This must all be that woman’s conspiracy!”

Mokou said angrily and indignantly. Miketsu merely shrugged in response.

“Alright, alright, centuries have passed since then. Your father has passed away, and that princess is no longer here. Getting angry won’t help, try to relax.” Miketsu soothed Mokou.

“I know all that, but I’m still annoyed! Why, after hundreds of years, does that malicious woman still have such a good image in people’s minds? She was clearly just a wicked woman! I can’t accept it! Now I have so much pent-up anger, and I can’t release it, it’s suffocating me.” Mokou continued to express her displeasure. She was furious about Princess Kaguya’s positive and beautiful portrayal in The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Seeing her state, Miketsu began to ponder, trying to think of a way to help Mokou calm down.

“How about… you find something to vent your frustration on? Let off some steam?”

“Vent? How?” Mokou asked Miketsu, a hint of confusion on her face.

“Hmm… for example… chop bamboo?”

…

South of Heian-kyo, in a lush bamboo forest near Mount Inari, Mokou and Miketsu stood amidst the sparse green woods of winter, each holding a hatchet.

“Die! Die! Die! Die! You damned woman, die!”

Muttering curses, Mokou swung her hatchet, relentlessly chopping down bamboo stalks one by one, releasing the fire in her heart.

Mokou was depressed due to the pent-up anger she felt towards Princess Kaguya. Now, she needed to unleash that anger. Miketsu’s suggestion to Mokou was to redirect her hatred: since Princess Kaguya had the title of “Bamboo Princess,” why not treat the bamboo as the princess and chop it down to vent her frustration?

“From the looks of it… it’s working quite well.” Miketsu said, stroking her chin and nodding as she watched Mokou continuously muttering and chopping bamboo. She then raised her own hatchet, preparing to chop a few bamboo stalks herself.

Miketsu’s purpose in chopping bamboo wasn’t to vent anger like Mokou, but to take some bamboo back to make bamboo rice. As a foodie, she planned to change her menu tonight.

Miketsu scanned ahead, looking for a good bamboo stalk. Just then, her gaze sharpened, fixing on a particularly thick bamboo. One of its nodes was currently emitting an unnatural glow.