Walt Lee reports that Gentaro Nakajima's novel, on which this film was based, was in turn based on the Japanese folktale Kaguya-hime.
wˈɔlt lˈiː ɹᵻpˈoːɹts ðæt dʒɛntˈæɹoʊ nˈækɐdʒˌɪməz nˈɑːvəl, ˌɔn wˌɪtʃ ðɪs fˈɪlm wʌz bˈeɪst, wʌz ɪn tˈɜːn bˈeɪst ɔnðə dʒˌæpənˈiːz fˈoʊkteɪl kæɡˈuːjəhˈaɪm.