is a (fictional prose narrative) containing elements of Japanese folklore. Written by an unknown author in the late 9th or early 10th century during the Heian period, it is considered the oldest surviving work in the form. The story details the life of Kaguya-hime, a princess from the Moon who is discovered as a baby inside the stalk of a glowing bamboo plant. After she grows, her beauty attracts five suitors seeking her hand in marriage, whom she turns away by challenging them each with an impossible task; she later attracts the affection of the Emperor of Japan. At the tale's end, Kaguya-hime reveals her celestial origins and returns to the Moon. The story is also known as , after its protagonist. Background The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is considered the oldest surviving , though its exact date of composition is unknown. A poem in the , a 10th-century work that describes life in the imperial court, invokes the tale in reference to a moon-viewing party held at the palace in 909. A mention of smoke rising from Mount Fuji in The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter suggests that the volcano was still active at the time of its composition; the indicates that the mountain had stopped emitting smoke by 905. Other evidence suggests the tale was written between 871 and 881. The author of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is also unknown, and scholars have variously attributed the work to Minamoto no Shitagō (911–983), to the Abbot Henjō, to a member of the Inbe clan, to a member of a political faction opposed to Emperor Tenmu, and to the poet Ki no Haseo (842–912). It is also debated whether the tale was written by one person or a group of people, and whether it was written in , Japanese , or even Chinese. Some modern commentators regard The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter as proto-science fiction, although few mainstream scholars would endorse this interpretation. The concept of travel between the moon and the earth might superficially resemble science fiction, but it held no such associations in the belief systems of the Heian period. For the original audience of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, the moon that Kaguya-hime ascended to was a mythical topos, much like Hо̄rai or the undersea Dragon Palace. The motif of flight to the moon was closely tied to the Daoist cult of