Japan: Kaguya -hime, immortal moon maiden. Ukiyo-e woodblock print by Yoshu Chikanobu (1838-1912), 1891. The oldest known Japanese narrative, this sad fairy tale dates back to the 9th or 10th century. In this tale Kaguya-hime was found inside a bamboo stalk by a bamboo cutter, who took her home and raised her as his daughter. She eventually returns to her people on the moon. Toyohara Chikanobu, better known to his contemporaries as Yōshū Chikanobu, was a prolific woodblock artist of Japan's Meiji period. His works capture the transition from the age of the samurai to Meiji modernity.

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Size: 3400px × 5178px
Photo credit: © Pictures From History / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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