Summary:
A girl born from a mystical bamboo tree... a bamboo cutter receives this forest spirit girl, as well as lots of gold and sacred-looking princess cloths from some glowing bamboo trees... the girl appeared to this man as a tiny beautiful princess, as shown in the cover... but then after he brought her home she transformed into a normal baby... except this baby grew extremely fast... she became friends with the local wood smith's children and played in the forest carefree, until her adopted parents decided it was time for her to move to a mansion in the capital and become a princess like how the dad first saw her as.
She doesn't like the strict boring life of a noble, and at her coming-of-age party where the dad introduced her to everyone behind a curtain (they weren't allowed to see her, but she could see all of them through her side of the curtain... some really weird tradition in that era I guess), she hears some other nobles making fun of her, wondering if she's even a real princess... She runs away back to the forest where she grew up, but the forest seems dead now compared to before. some stranger explains to her that it'll be winter soon... and that it won't be that lively again until spring. from then on she submits to her new strict lifestyle and becomes a proper princess.
Five noble rich men hear about her, and they all propose to her without having seen her face... they each describe a rare precious treasure they found that they compare her to. The girl then says she will make her decision only when they each bring her this "treasure" that they cherish so much...
It's almost like... this girl who was born from the woods... hibernated as a noble princess through the dead
She doesn't like the strict boring life of a noble, and at her coming-of-age party where the dad introduced her to everyone behind a curtain (they weren't allowed to see her, but she could see all of them through her side of the curtain... some really weird tradition in that era I guess), she hears some other nobles making fun of her, wondering if she's even a real princess... She runs away back to the forest where she grew up, but the forest seems dead now compared to before. some stranger explains to her that it'll be winter soon... and that it won't be that lively again until spring. from then on she submits to her new strict lifestyle and becomes a proper princess.
Five noble rich men hear about her, and they all propose to her without having seen her face... they each describe a rare precious treasure they found that they compare her to. The girl then says she will make her decision only when they each bring her this "treasure" that they cherish so much...
Then I will be able to see in your heart... how you treasure me.The dad commented that these treasures were just figures of speech, and they may not even exist... but she still is determined to see one of these treasures. The men all leave, some of them thinking this girl is now unattainable... but they want her even more now after hearing her voice and music... suddenly she takes her makeup off and becomes her normal self again, and asks to go out to see the spring sakura trees.
It's almost like... this girl who was born from the woods... hibernated as a noble princess through the dead
