A long time ago in Dewa Province a kami descended from the lunar world. 

In our language, "kami" can mean "spirit," "god," "deity," or maybe another word for yokai, depending on the context.

In this tale the kami was probably a deity. Her skin was white as snow, and her eyes, though dark orbs, seemed as radiant as the moon. Her hair was black as night, and when she walked it flowed gracefully behind her like a cold winter breeze.

It was said that she came down from the mountains, bringing with her the winter snow. No one knew who she was or where she came from, so you can imagine the shock upon learning that she was from the Moon.

She said that on the Moon she often gazed at the Earth, dreaming of what life might be like down here. She said that the people on the Moon called Earth small and powerless, but a necessary existence filled with misfortune and mortality.

Up there, she was told that she need not be concerned with the happenings on Earth. Up there, she was told to be happy with the life she had been given. 

She lived in luxury, you see, for her people treated her as a princess. She lived in a grand palace with over a hundred rooms. She had a thousand servants at her disposal who answered immediately when she called them. If asked they would bring whatever food she wanted. If asked they would play heavenly songs on their instruments. If asked they would accompany her to the gardens where she could watch the stars.

Though she had everything she wanted up there on the Moon she found it to be very boring. She said that every day she would wake and try to entertain herself. She had lived for so long that she'd read all the books in her palace library, learned all the songs she wished to learn, and visited all the places she'd wanted to go.

All, that is, except for Earth.

She could not help it, she said. Every time she saw the little blue sphere floating in the abyss she wondered what kind of people lived there. 

What kind of people dwelled on solid ground where they could feel the warm soil between their toes? What kind of people lived down there amongst the yokai and the kami? What kind of music did they play? What kind of stories did they tell?

Her curiosity became too much for her to bear.

She said that she could wonder aimlessly no more. She had to see for herself what Earth was really like. 

Against the pleas of her family and her people, she came down to Earth with a flurry of snow. Landing on the peak of a tall mountain, she looked around at the world of the clouds. She thought it to be very cool up there, and very lonely with nothing but the distant mountains piercing the sky.

She climbed down the mountain, hoping to find something more exciting. She walked through a forest thick with aged trees. Wind rusted through her hair, carrying distant songs. She discovered many new species of plants and animals, including pretty coloured birds and multi-petaled flowers. 

In awe of everything before her, she was not prepared to meet the humans. 

Alas, how fascinated she was with the humans.

It was strange to see beings who looked like her, but they possessed no extravagant powers of the wind and rain. They were mortal, their lives as fleeting as a spring flower. They were also very fragile, for even the slightest fall could break their bodies.

But it was their way of being that intrigued her the most. Up on the Moon emotions were not experienced quite the same. Down here, she observed, people loved and hated one another as they pleased. They could feel great passions such as anger and jealousy. They could also be calm and serene like the heavenly kami.

She travelled far across the Earth, experiencing new things everywhere she went. Never did she tire of this place, and for a while she was content with her new life.

But after several years she began to long for her old home. For all its great mysteries, things on Earth were very different from the Moon. 

Though she was one of the lunar folk there were many who doubted her origin. Some people even treated her harshly, turning her away when she had no money, or trying to capture her and lock her away for her unearthly beauty. 

Although she remained the same throughout time things on Earth constantly changed. She might leave one village and return what felt like days later to her, but to the humans several decades might have passed; all whom she knew had aged or died. 

Overwhelmed by what she'd found on Earth, she decided to return home to the Moon. Perhaps she might return again someday, but not for a very long while. 

But when she climbed back up the mountain where she'd first landed she found she could not return to the Moon. She tried to walk across the clouds and fly through the sky, but her feet remained planted firmly on the ground. It was then that she realized she was stuck here in this desolate place, down here with all the sufferings that humans had to face.

She wept bitterly at her fate, her tears freezing into snowflakes as they fell down from the mountain. 

They say that on winter nights when the moon is full you can see her walking across the snow, leaving no footprints in her wake. She remains just as young and beautiful as she had been when she first arrived, with her rich robes of silk and her sleek, black hair. 

Only, now, her eyes are not filled with wonder. 

Now, she looks up at the night sky with great longing for the home she has left behind.