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Kaguya Hime
Movie

Kaguya Hime

1935 • Unknown

Woke Score
2
out of 10

Plot

Toho's production of the classic Japanese fairytale.

Overall Series Review

The 1935 Toho production of "Kaguya Hime" is an adaptation of the classic 10th-century Japanese folktale, 'The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.' As a pre-war Japanese film based on a foundational national narrative, it is entirely disconnected from modern Western 'woke' ideology. The narrative's focus is on a cosmic conflict: an ethereal being's preference for simple, authentic human life over the artificial constraints of Heian-era aristocratic society, before her forced return to the Moon. The identity of the characters is purely Japanese and historical to the tale, with no elements of race-swapping or diversity lectures. The conflict regarding the heroine's freedom and rejection of five powerful male suitors forms the most significant thematic point, which demonstrates female agency but within the context of an ancient tragedy about cosmic duty versus earthly love, not modern 'Girl Boss' feminism. The story upholds a transcendent moral order represented by the celestial realm and traditional, normative structures for family and sexuality, giving it exceptionally low scores across all metrics.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

The film is a 1935 Japanese production of a Japanese folktale, set in historical Japan. The cast is historically and culturally authentic. There is no 'whiteness' to vilify and no forced diversity. Character conflict revolves around class aspiration (the foster father) and the heroine’s celestial nature, not immutable characteristics.

Oikophobia2/10

The film is Japanese and critiques a specific, corrupt element of its own past—the materialistic Heian-era aristocracy—by contrasting it with the simple, virtuous life of the village. The Moon people are celestial, not an external 'alien' culture designed to lecture on a fundamentally corrupt 'home culture.' The heroine's desire to stay on Earth reflects a valuation of her human experience.

Feminism3/10

The core of the story revolves around the heroine, Kaguya, rejecting five high-status male suitors and even the Emperor by setting them impossible tasks, demonstrating significant female agency and effectively emasculating the men of the court. However, she is ultimately taken against her will by a celestial force, which subverts the modern 'Girl Boss' perfection trope. Motherhood is not a plot point and is neither celebrated nor condemned as a 'prison.'

LGBTQ+1/10

The plot is a traditional romantic pursuit narrative, featuring a heroine sought after by male suitors and the Emperor. The narrative structure is entirely normative and focuses on traditional male-female pairing. There is no presence of alternative sexual ideologies, deconstruction of the nuclear family (the foster parents are a stable, loving couple), or gender theory lecturing.

Anti-Theism1/10

The narrative culminates with a celestial, spiritual force (the Moon/Heavenly beings, which in the full folktale have Buddhist overtones) intervening to recall the Princess. This spiritual realm is depicted as a place of objective, divine law and duty, not moral relativism. Faith or the transcendent moral order is a source of narrative conclusion, not a root of evil.