(KOYASUGAI means "shell that protects children." In this episode, all references to shells refer to KOYASUGAI.)

The Chuunagon Isonokami-no-Marotari told his servants,

 "Let me know when the swallows build their nests." 

The servants asked, "We understand. But what do you intend to do?"

"To get the swallow's KOYASUGAI," the Chuunagon answered.

"I cut open the swallow's stomach, but I couldn't find the KOYASUGAI."

"I've heard that if you look into the swallow's nest while it's raising its young, the KOYASUGAI will disappear," the servants all repeated stories they'd heard somewhere before.

Then one of the servants said, "By the way, it seems that swallows have built many nests on the beams of the large kitchen in the rice storehouse of the palace. Why don't you gather some men who can climb to high places and check to see if any of the many nests contain KOYASUGAI?"

"Oh, I see. That's a good idea."

The Chuunagon was delighted and immediately gathered 20 men together, built scaffolding, and had them climb onto the beams of the rice storehouse. He had the 20 men each look into 20 swallow's nests located high up, and observe the swallows laying their eggs.

Although everyone has heard of the swallow's KOYASUGAI, no one knows what it is. There are various theories, such as that swallows bring it from somewhere and use it to lay eggs, or that they use it to warm the eggs and hatch the chicks, or that it's not that either, but that they use it to help the chicks grow strong after hatching from the eggs, and so on, but none of these have been confirmed yet.

The Chuunagon sent messengers every day to ask if the men had found the KOYASUGAI.

The reply from the men watching over the swallows' nests was, "Our peeking has scared the swallows and they won't return to their nests."

The Chuunagon was at a loss. As he was puzzling over how to find the KOYASUGAI, he heard that an old man had some wisdom, so he decided to call on the man and ask for his advice.

The old man's name was Kuratsumaro, and he worked in the kitchen of the rice storehouse.

"You won't get the swallows' KOYASUGAI with the way you're doing it. If there are so many men looking into the swallows' nests, the swallows will be scared and won't come back. We'll destroy the scaffolding immediately and disperse the 20 men. This job will work better if you leave it to just one person the master trusts. We'll have that person sit in a big cage hung from the ceiling by a rope, and then use a pulley to pull the rope from below, so that the cage can quickly rise up to the beam. If the swallows return and want to lay eggs, several strong men will pull the rope and pull the basket up to the beam."

"That's a good plan," the Chuunagon rejoiced, and asked Kuratsumaro further: "How do we know when the swallows are about to lay their eggs? And how do we know when to pull the basket with the person in it up to the beam?"

"It is said that when a swallow is about to lay an egg, it raises its tail and turns around seven times before laying the eggs. When the swallow makes this gesture, you should immediately pull up the basket," replied Kuratsumaro. The Chuunagon clapped his hands in joy and said, "I see, that is good to hear. I will immediately order my servants to put it into practice."

Kuratsumaro made such a good suggestion that the Chuunagon said, "I am happy that you have fulfilled my wish, even though you are not a servant working in my house," and he took off his own fine clothes and gave them to Kuratsumaro as a reward.

When the sun set, the Chuunagon went to the kitchen to check on the situation.

Looking up at the beams, he saw swallows really were flying in and out of their nests, raising and lowering their tails.

Thinking that this was just as Kuratsumaro had said, the Chuunagon placed his servant in a basket and pulled him up.

"Well, are there any shells?" the Chuunagon asked loudly. The servant felt around in the nest, but then turned to the Chuunagon below and answered, "There are none."

"That can't be true. You're looking wrong," the Chuunagon said angrily. Deciding that he would have to check it out himself, he climbed into the basket and had his servants pull him up.

Once pulled up to the beam, the Chuunagon looked into the swallow's nest and saw the swallow circling around with its tail up. Realizing that now was the perfect time, he stuck his hand into the nest and felt something hard.

"We did it! We've caught KOYASUGAI. Let it down quickly!" the Chuunagon ordered the basket to be lowered.

The moment his servants quickly loosened the ropes, the basket tilted and the Chuunagon fell headfirst into a big pot in the kitchen.

When the servants rushed to his aid, they found Chuunagon unconscious, with his eyes rolled up.

The group grabbed him by the arms and legs and pulled him out of the pot, giving him water to drink.

When the Chuunagon finally regained consciousness, Kuratsumaro asked him, "How are you feeling?" 

Chuunagon replied in a weak voice, "I'm conscious, but I can't move my waist. However, I'm happy that we managed to catch the KOYASUGAI. I want to see it quickly, so please bring a light."

When the attendant lit a candle, the Chuunagon opened his clenched hands to see the shells for himself.

However, what he held was an old swallow's droppings, as hard as a stone.

When the Chuunagon realized that it was not a KOYASUGAI that he had seriously injured himself to obtain but swallow's droppings, he felt even worse and fell ill.

His injured back was not healing, and the Chuunagon was worried that he would become a laughing stock if it became known that he had fallen into the cauldron clutching swallow droppings instead of the KOYASUGAI that Princess Kaguya had requested, and he became so weak that he was unable to get up from the bed.

Upon hearing this, Princess Kaguya sent a poem of sympathy.

"It has been a long time since you last visited, and since you have no shells, is it true that there is no point in me waiting?"

When the servant who was looking after the Chuunagon read this letter to him, the Chuunagon was so ill that he was unable to get up, but he raised his torso and, having the servant hold the paper for him, was somehow able to write a reply poem.

"I had no shells, but receiving this letter from you has made my labors not in vain. I am so weak that I feel as if I am about to die, so will you not save me?"No sooner had Chuunagon finished writing his reply letter than he passed away.

Hearing this, Princess Kaguya felt a little sorry for the Chuunagon.

Through these incidents, the emperor learned that Princess Kaguya possessed a beauty beyond compare in the world, and told his female secretary, Nakatomi Fusako,

"I want you to meet Princess Kaguya for yourself. She has captivated many men, and even after they have destroyed her, she has not married. What kind of woman is she?"

Fusako said, "I understand," and left.

Fusako visited Okina at her house.

Okina was nervous that the emperor's secretary had come to visit her.

Okina invited Fusako into her house.

When Okina's wife, Ouna, greeted her, Fusako said,

"It is said that Princess Kaguya is the most beautiful in the world, and I have come by order of the emperor to see if that is true."

"I understand. I will tell Princess Kaguya that," said Ouna, and went to Princess Kaguya's room.

"The emperor's female secretary has come to see you. Please meet her quickly," said Ouna, but Princess Kaguya replied, "I am not beautiful enough to be shown to the emperor's envoy, so you cannot meet her."

"What a troublesome thing to say. I couldn't be so rude as to refuse to meet a messenger from the emperor," Ouna said, confused.

"Besides, even though he is a messenger from the emperor, there is nothing special about her to me," Kaguyahime said coolly.

Though Ouna had raised Princess Kaguya as her own daughter, she couldn't help but feel that in this moment, Princess Kaguya was not of this world.

Ouna had no choice but to go and apologize to Secretary Fusako.

"Unfortunately, my daughter is very stubborn and doesn't look like she will be able to meet you. I'm sorry."

The secretary said with a stern expression, "I came here on the emperor's orders. He ordered me to meet her at all costs. It is unthinkable for someone living in this country to disobey the emperor's orders. How can she be so illogical?"

When Ouna told her this, Princess Kaguya replied, "If I have disobeyed the emperor's orders, please kill me quickly."

When Fusako returned to the palace, she told the emperor what had happened.

When the Emperor heard this story, he was surprised and said, "Is this the strong will that has ruined so many nobles?"

A few days later, the emperor summoned Taketori-no-Okina directly to the palace.

When the secretary met Okina, he said, "I had heard that Princess Kaguya was a beautiful woman, so I sent a messenger to see her, but she refused. She has also refused the emperor's orders, so I cannot just leave her like this. Bring Princess Kaguya here."

Okina replied, "My daughter may look like a fine young woman, but she is still a child at heart. The Emperor has ordered her to serve at the Imperial Court, but as she has never been outside before, I imagine she is very worried. But if the emperor says to bring her here, then I will do whatever it takes."

When the Emperor heard this, he said, "Okina has been raising Princess Kaguya since she was a child, but why does Princess Kaguya not do as Okina wants? 

If Okina brings Princess Kaguya to the palace and serves her, I will grant her the title of noble."

When Okina returned home, he immediately told Princess Kaguya of the Emperor's orders.

"The emperor has asked you to serve at the palace, but are you really going to refuse?"

"I absolutely do not want to serve at the court, but if you insist, I would like to disappear. I will serve at the court so that you can be promoted to a nobleman, and then I will die," said Princess Kaguya.

"You must not do that," Okina interjected.

"I do not want to become a noble in exchange for the death of you, who is like a child to me. But why do you hate serving at the palace so much? Is there a serious reason why you must die?"

Princess Kaguya looked sad and said, "If you think what I am telling you is a lie, try having me serve at the palace and see if I really will die. Up until now, so many people have shown me extraordinary love and affection, but I have turned them all down. It would be terrible if I simply accepted the emperor's order for only a day or two. It would be very shameful."

Hearing Princess Kaguya's decision, Okina thought, "If that is how she feels, then my daughter's life is the most important thing to her, so I will go back to the palace and tell the emperor that it is not possible for my daughter to serve in the palace."

Okina went to the palace and told the emperor timidly, "I was very grateful to hear that he would raise me to the rank of a nobleman if I allowed my daughter to serve at the palace, but my daughter said, 'If I insist on having her serve at the palace, I will die.' My daughter is not my real daughter. I found her in the bamboo forest, and she is not an ordinary human being. Therefore, her way of thinking is different from that of ordinary people."

Thus, the two of them never met in person, but kept in touch through letters, and three years passed.

Since early spring, Princess Kaguya seemed to be lost in thought whenever she saw the moon shining in the night sky. She usually looked at the moon and thought about something, but recently she had been looking up at the moon with a particularly sad expression, and when someone nearby warned her, "Staring at the moon all the time is bad for your mind," she began to cry.

One night in July when there was a full moon, Princess Kaguya went out to the garden and looked up at the moon with a sad expression on her face like never before, so her caretaker said to Okina, "It's normal for Princess Kaguya to gaze at the moon and become lost in thought, but something seems a bit off recently. We are very worried about the princess, who looks sad every time she looks at the moon. Please keep a close eye on her."

Okina called out to the princess as she stood in the garden gazing at the moon.

"Why do you look so sad as you gaze at the moon? There are so many joyous things in this world."

"When I gaze at the moon, I begin to feel that this world is terribly empty. That is why I feel so depressed," replied Princess Kaguya.

When Okina went over to the princess, he saw Princess Kaguya looking at the moon with a sad expression on her face, so he asked her, "My dear princess, what are you worried about while you are alone?" The princess replied, "I'm not worried about anything. I'm just feeling a bit lonely."

"But to me you look very worried. It would be better if you stopped looking at the moon," Okina said.

"How could I not look at the moon? I can't do that," Princess Kaguya said sadly.

Even so, when the moon is not out, Princess Kaguya's behavior is normal, but when the moon comes out, she goes out into the garden, looks up at the moon, becomes lost in thought, sighs, and sometimes even cries. Seeing this, the servants whisper to her, "She must be worried after all," but her parents do not know the cause.

When August came around and the full moon was approaching, Princess Kaguya went out into the garden and started crying bitterly, ignoring the servants who were nearby.

Her worried parents asked Princess Kaguya what was wrong, and she tearfully answered:

"I have been thinking about telling you this for a long time, but I thought that if I did, it would surely cause you trouble, so I have not said anything until now. However, I cannot keep quiet forever, so I will reveal one thing. I was not born of this world, but of the Moon Capital. I was sent to this world as a result of karma from my past life, but the time has finally come for me to return to the moon. On the night of the full moon in August, people from the Moon Capital will come to pick me up. This is inevitable, and I have been worried about it since the spring. I was afraid that I would disappoint you all, who have been so kind to me."

After saying this, Princess Kaguya began to cry bitterly, so Okina said, "What a thing to say! I found you among the bamboo, when you were so small that you could fit in the palm of my hand, and I raised you until you were as tall as me, but now I can never accept anyone who comes to get you. If I were to accept something like that, I would want to die." She tried to get angry and cry.

"My real parents are in the Land of the Moon, but I do not remember them. I was born into this world for a reason. You have raised me for many years, lovingly as if I were your own daughter. I have grown fond of this world, so I do not want to go back now. I feel so sad that my heart feels like it is about to burst, but there is nothing I can do," said Princess Kaguya, and she began to cry.

Upon hearing this, the aged parents cried with them too.

The servants also became so sad at the thought of having to part with Princess Kaguya, who they had cared for since she was a child, and who had grown up to be so kind-hearted and beautiful beyond description, that they could not even eat.

When the Emperor heard about this, he sent a messenger to Taketori-no-Okina.

When Taketori-no-Okina met the messenger from the Imperial Court, he just cried.

Perhaps because he was so worried about Princess Kaguya that he cried every day, his hair and beard had turned white, his back had become bent, and he had aged rapidly.

The messenger conveyed the emperor's words to Okina: "I hear that you are suffering greatly, and that you are troubled and distressed. Is this true?"

Okina answered tearfully.

" They say that they will come from the Moon Capital to pick up Princess Kaguya on the 15th, the full moon day. If they come to pick her up, could you please use the emperor's military forces to protect Princess Kaguya?"

When the messenger returned to the palace, he told the emperor about Taketori-no-Okina's condition and his request.

The emperor said, "Even I, who have only met Princess Kaguya once, miss her so much that it must be very hard for Okina, who raised her from a young age and lived with her every day."

On August 15, the Emperor appointed Lieutenant General Takano Okuni as the commander in chief and dispatched 2,000 Imperial Guards to Taketori-no-Okina's mansion.

When the army sent by the emperor arrived at Okina's house, soldiers immediately gathered around the house and on the roof, forming a tight defensive formation. The soldiers guarding the rooftop and outside the house all carried bows, while inside the house, Okina's servants protected Princess Kaguya and her elderly parents.

Ouna was secluded in a very sturdy room surrounded by walls at the back of the mansion, holding Princess Kaguya in her arms.

Okina sat in front of the door to the room where Ouna and Princess Kaguya were, and waited for the fateful moment, determined not to let anyone inside.

Okina told the soldiers guarding the roof, "There is no way even people from the Moon can break through such heavy defenses," and "If anyone appears in the sky, shoot them immediately." The soldiers replied, "We won't let even a single bat enter the mansion. If we find anyone, we will shoot them immediately and hang them as an example." Okina felt somewhat relieved to hear this.

However, seeing the situation, Princess Kaguya said, "No matter how much you lock me up, how strictly you guard the mansion, and how many soldiers with bows guard me, we will not be able to fight the people of the moon. Bows will be of no use. If the people of the moon come, they will open even the most tightly closed door, and no matter how brave the soldiers are, they will not feel like fighting the people of the moon."

Okina is angry and says bravely, "I'm not afraid of the moon people at all. If they come, I'll drag them down from the sky, poke their eyes out with my claws, grab them by their hair and swing them around, rip their clothes off and expose their buttocks in front of everyone, and make them a complete humiliation."

"You must not say vulgar things. It would be embarrassing to say something like that out loud and have people outside hear it. I feel very sad that I have to leave like this without repaying all the love you have shown me, even though it may be a connection from a past life. It would be cruel to leave without repaying your kindness, so every time the moon rose I begged the King of the Moon to postpone my return for just one more year, but my request was denied. The people in the Moon Kingdom are all beautiful, they never age, and they live without worries. But I don't want to go back there. I now consider you two to be my real parents, and it would be heartbreaking to have to leave this world without being able to take care of my aging parents." said Princess Kaguya.

"Don't say such heartbreaking things. No matter how impressive the people who come from the moon look, it means nothing to me," Okina said angrily.

Meanwhile, just after midnight, the area around the mansion was lit up brighter than it had been during the day. It was so bright that you could see the pores on the skin of the people guarding the mansion. Soon, people on clouds descended from the sky, and when they reached a height of about 1.5 meters above the ground, they were floating in a line.

When the guards saw this, they felt as if they were being attacked by something unknown, and lost the will to fight.

Still, the soldiers regained their composure and tried to nock their arrows on their bows, but their hands lost strength. One of the bravest soldiers mustered all his strength and fired an arrow, but the arrow had no momentum and did not fly towards the Moon People, but instead fell near the house.

The soldiers guarding the mansion lost their spirits and could only look at one another in dejected disappointment.

The Moon People were lined up about 1.5 meters above the ground, wearing clothing that was more beautiful than anything they had ever seen, and behind them was a strangely shaped vehicle-like object floating.

The vehicle had something like a transparent canopy, and when it opened, an even more impressive-looking person was inside, and in a dignified voice he addressed Okina, "Miyatsukomaro, come out."

Up until then, Okina had been brave enough to fight the people of the moon to protect Princess Kaguya, but upon hearing the dignified voice, his fierce heart vanished and he bowed down in reverence.

The person in the floating chariot was the king of the moon.

"You, young one. (The time in the world of the Moon is different from that on Earth, and the King of the Moon has lived for tens of thousands of years in Earth time, so from their perspective Okina, who is over 70 years old, is still like a baby.) Princess Kaguya committed a sin in heaven, so we entrusted her to the lowly Miyatsukomaro for a short period of time as penance. We also gave you gold to raise the princess, and as a result you became wealthy. Over the years, Princess Kaguya's sins were forgiven, and so we have come to retrieve her. So you too, do not cry or resist, but hand her over to us."

Okina still did not want to let go of the princess, so she told the Moon King, "Your Majesty, you said that you have only entrusted the princess to me for a short period of time. However, I have been raising Princess Kaguya for over twenty years. This is by no means a short period of time. Therefore, I believe that the princess you should bring home is a different person from the one who lives in my home. Also, my princess is currently seriously ill and cannot go out."

The Moon King did not reply, but drove his flying car to the roof of his mansion.

"Come on, Princess Kaguya. You cannot remain in this vile place forever," the King cried. Immediately, all the closed doors of the mansion were opened.

Ouna desperately tries to embrace Princess Kaguya, but as if clutching a cloud, the princess slips away. Ouna just chases after her, crying.

Princess Kaguya goes to Okina, who is also crying, and says, "I have to leave this country whether I like it or not. Please at least see me off as I ascend to heaven."

"I am so sad that I cannot see you off. Why have you gone up to heaven and abandoned us? I do not think I can bear it. Please take me with you," cried Okina. Princess Kaguya was also upset, and said, "I will leave a note for you, so please take it and read it whenever you miss me." So the princess wrote a farewell letter in tears.

"If I had been born in this country, I would have been able to take care of my parents to the end, without causing them so much grief. I am very unhappy that I have to leave this country and cause you all so much grief. I will leave the clothes I was wearing behind, so please consider them a memento of me. On nights when the moon is out, look at it from the ground and imagine that I am living there. But even so, I have to leave in this way, abandoning my parents, and I feel so sad that I feel like I will fall from the sky."

One of the Moon People who came to welcome the Princess holds the Heavenly Feather Robe, while the other holds a jar containing the elixir of immortality. The Heavenly Feather Robe is clothing that allows the wearer to fly through the sky. It is made of a very thin and light material, but it is woven with an anti-gravity substance, so wearing it allows them to float in the air. The elixir of immortality had been developed in the land of the moon, so by drinking it they are able to extend their lifespans by tens of thousands of years. They will never age, and will remain young and beautiful forever.

A man from the moon brought Princess Kaguya the elixir of immortality and urged her, "Please take this medicine quickly. You have eaten impure food from the earth, so your body must be full of poison." Princess Kaguya took the medicine, put a little in her mouth, and wrapped the rest in her own kimono, which she intended to leave as a keepsake, and was about to give it to Okina, but the man from the moon interrupted her and tried to put on Princess Kaguya the heavenly feather robe.

Princess Kaguya stopped them by saying, "Please wait a moment," and then said, "It is said that when you put on the Heavenly Feather Robe, you will have the mind of a human in heaven and forget the feelings of a human on this earth. Therefore, there is something you must do before putting on the clothes," and had them prepare a brush and a scroll of paper. The people of the moon seemed to be annoyed, saying, "You're taking too long."

"Stop talking nonsense and wait," Princess Kaguya scolded them, then calmly began to write a letter to the emperor.

"You have sent many soldiers to stop me, but it is impossible. I cannot stay on this earth. I am sorry. I cannot disobey the Moon King who has come to receive me. I am not of this world, so I cannot serve in the palace. I stubbornly refused, and the emperor must think I am rude. That is my regret."

The letter was accompanied by the following poem:

"Now that the time has come for me to finally put on my heavenly robes, I still fondly remember you."

Princess Kaguya called the lieutenant general, the commander of the troops dispatched by the emperor, and handed him a letter and a jar containing the elixir of immortality, saying, "Please give this to the emperor."

The Moon People, who had been waiting until Princess Kaguya was ready, hurriedly dressed her in the Heavenly Robe, now that she had completed all that she needed to do in this world.

Once she was dressed in the Heavenly Robe, Kaguya's sadness at parting with Okina and Ouna, and her nostalgia for this world, vanished like mist.

Led by the people who had come to pick her up, she got into her flying car, and with about 100 people in tow, she soared into the night sky lit by the full moon, gradually disappearing from sight.