In the care of the elderly Taketori no Okina and his wife, the tiny moon-child Kaguyahime, discovered inside a glowing bamboo cane, quickly grows into a young woman. Word of her great beauty spreads far and wide, attracting many suitors, including the emporer. But to her foster parents' dismay, the moon-people come to reclaim her, and nothing, not even the emporer's army, can prevent her departure.