Kaguya

""There's joy, there's grief, all who live here feel them in all their different shades. There's birds, bugs, beasts, grass, trees, flowers, and feelings." -Princess Kaguya"

Princess Kaguya (かぐや姫, Kaguya Hime), also nicknamed as Bamboo shoot (タケノコ, Takenoko, lit. "bamboo child/girl"), is the titular protagonist in the Studio Ghibli film The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, the final film directed by Isao Takahata.

Name
She was been given the title Princess (姫, Hime) after her adoptive father, Sanuki no Miyatsuko, who found her in a glowing bamboo shoot on his way from work. This is also coincidental to the fact that she is the daughter of the King of the Moon, making her literally a princess.

The girl grows rapidly and conspicuously, causing her parents to marvel and earning her the nickname Takenoko (Bamboo Shoot or Bamboo Child/Girl) from the other village children.

When she comes of age, Inbe no Akita gives her the formal noble name Kaguya. Now she is fully integrated into the noble society of Japan.

Physical Appearance

 * 1) When Princess Kaguya was a baby, she had a short black hair and wore a pinned creme-coloured cloth with red patterns on.
 * 2) When Princess Kaguya was a toddler she wore a mini kimono with long-sleeves and has the same pattern from No. 1.
 * 3) Still a toddler, Just like no. 2, Kaguya wore a mini kimono but this time, short-sleeved.
 * 4) When Princess Kaguya was a child, she had a black medium-length hair and often tied it up with a blue cloth. She wore the same outfit as No. 3 but longer and had a red ribbon to keep the kimono in place.
 * 5) Still a child, Princess Kaguya transformed from a lowly human child to a high prestigious princess. Her hair is let down and is dressed with an equisit kimono with layers of high quality material.
 * 6) Coming of age, Princess Kaguya's hair is tied up, her eyebrows are plucked off and she starts wearing make-up.
 * 7) Princess Kaguya is wearing her Heian Underwear (Kosode and Hakama) under a pink kimono.
 * 8) Number eight shows Princess Kaguya as a young adult, she is about to leave earth. On her head is a crown and she is wearing a 5-layered kimono.

Personality
She is a cheerful little girl in her core and she loves her parents very much. She has a good relationship to her mother Ona, who she meets often in the kitchen or garden. She likes to go there for recreation. However Sagami dislikes her behavior, because she didn't act as a noble woman.

Her father want her to become a proper noble woman, reminds her Sagami. So she bows to the noble label to make her father happy. She longs for breaking out of being a lady in order to find happiness.

Relationships

 * Sanuki no Miyatsuko (adoptive father): The relationship is a caring and loving one. When he first saw her he bows to her in respect at the first time they met. Later on the man adopted her and became her father. He believes that she was a gift from heaven. As Kaguya got bigger and more beautiful Miyatsuko thinks that when he saw her on the flower, he thought she was destined to be a princess, thus changing the lifestyle she was happy with. She obliged her to have a tutor and even marry men she didn't know. He told her to accept the Emperor's proposal to be his wife due to his ambition and desire to become a minister.
 * Ōna (adoptive mother): The relationship between mother and daughter is a genuine one. Ona along side her husband helped raised Kaguya into a fine young girl. As time went on and when they became wealthy, she still remained the same and helped Kaguya when she is emotionally unstable and comforts her.
 * Sutemaru (friend): In the film, Sutemaru is the closest friend for Kaguya. She addresses him as "brother", and hanged out together with the rest of the children of the village. She didn't want to leave the village too since she wanted to be with Sutemaru. Sutemaru later marries another woman and has a son, but it is shown that he wasn't really happy with the marriage despite being a loving and caring father when he proposed to Kaguya to run away together. The two of the might have mutual romantic feelings, but their relationship is cut off due to major plot details.
 * King of the Moon: Kaguya is his daughter.

Extraordinal Beauty

 * She is extremely beautiful and she has a lovely sounding voice. Even the emperor Mikado has heard of her.

Acerated Growth

 * At the beginning she was as big as a thumb. But soon she grew at an accelerated pace - On the exact day she was discovered, she soon was able to walk, run and even talk!

Controlling Light and Shadow

 * She can separate her light and shadow to become invisible. It also allows her to create a double.

Enhanced Intelligence

 * She learns very fast. She can even play, after Sagami shows it to her one time.

Enhanced Physical Capabilities

 * She can run very fast for very long time.

Celestial Features

 * She is a celestial princess that came from the moon. As a celestial being she is an immortal god. She knows the last verse of the Moon Song that build up her celestial origin.

Trivia

 * The Princess Who Loved Insects which inspired Nausicaä's character in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind also inspired Kaguya's personality especially when she was small.
 * Isao Takahata revealed in an interview that the Moon is implied to be an afterlife thus the appearances of the Celestial Beings are based on Buddhism Deities, and Kaguya's return to the Moon is equivalent to death. This is also consistent to the fact that this scene was inspired by Raigō which Isao Takahata also used for the death scene of Inugami Gyōbu in Pom Poko.