Digital Sculpture
I chose a Japanese story because the Japanese have a strong cultural connection to the firefly and many interesting traditions surrounding it. The story says that there was once a man and women who lived in a forest near Mount Fujiyama in Japan. The couple wished for a child but had not been able to conceive. One night, the women lay beneath the great mountain and prayed for a child. As she prayed, a light appeared from the top of the mountain and drifted towards the women. When the light reached the women, she was overjoyed to see that it was a Moonchild sent from the Lady of the Moon. The couple raised the moonchild and she grew to be the Moon Princess. At the climax of the story, the Emperor’s son falls in love with her and wishes to marry her. The girl refused because she had to return back to her mother when she turns 20. On that day, the Lady of the Moon sent down a beam of light and the Princess floated up towards the moon while her family and loved ones watched. As she floated, she cried for those she had to leave behind. As the tear fell they became silver and traveled across the land. Today, her tears can still be seen on moonlight nights.
There are a few big moments in this Japanese myth. The three large moments that stand out are when the mother receives the child from the Lady of the Moon, when the Emperor’s son falls in love with the Moon Princess and when the Princess must leave her loved ones.
For the purposes of this project, I believe I will change the story slightly so that the Moon Princess gives gifts to her loved ones before she leaves. She will perhaps give them a light in some sort of glass jar or container. This has a strong connection to how I think of fireflies because I often caught them in jars as a child. She can give them a gift so one of my frames can include the bugs in a container. When she leaves she can still cry and allow them to spread across the land.
