MovieChat Forums > Kaguya-hime no monogatari (2013) Discussion > Question on prince with flower

Question on prince with flower

posted 9 years ago by bsimeonov
7 replies | jump to latest

I watched this wonderful film last night but couldn't quite figure out what happened with the prince who brought Kaguya a flower.

He seemed nice and his words about going somewhere together and living in the wild seemed to touch her but all of a sudden her mother put a hand on her shoulder, showed up instead of her and started talking about nuns?

I couldn't understand the meaning of that scene, could someone please clarify?

[–] speedy1383 9 years ago

That apparently was his wife. The guy had done this before with other women.

[–] Milkyway123 9 years ago

That apparently was his wife. The guy had done this before with other women.

Really? I watched the film with the original audio (Japanese) and got the impression that this was another trick/test by the princess; she tested his devotion to her. Was he really in love with her, or was he in love with an idea of her (the superficialness that all the royalties exhibited)? So she traded place with one of her servants that was not beautiful. And his reaction showed that his character and words were empty. He just wanted to own the most beautiful woman in the land.

Now when I read your answer, I re-watched the scene and still can't say that I would have any other interpretation. Then I changed to the English audio, and then it aligns much better with your answer. It is much more clear that she is his wife by the dialog. But I don't know if that makes much sense. The princess planned this and brought his wife there? But if multiple wives were accepted, then what shame is there for him to try to court another one? Besides, he was royalty and young, why would he accept such an ugly woman as his wife?

But I do wonder which version is correct? Is it a case of bad translation or...?

[–] Steamboy 9 years ago

Amazing you didn't get it, it was so simple: the suitor made plenty of beautiful, grand declarations but as soon as he saw that the princess wasn't pretty, his empty words collapsed and he ran away. It showed he was just shallow and fake.

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[–] jshoaf 9 years ago

I watched with Japanese audio (which I don't understand but like the sound of) and English subtitles.

The ugly woman was not the princess's mother, but the lord's senior wife (presumably a woman from an important family he can't offend by handing her back). She accused him of making exactly the same speech to her, years ago. Apparently he also used it on other princesses, who had ended up becoming nuns, presumably because he abandoned them when he got tired of them, or perhaps because he didn't follow through on the "marriage," much less the house in the country.

Anyway, that's what I understood. I did not understand how the wife got there, though, unless maybe she knew he was coming and wanted to be there.

[–] matts82173 9 years ago

She knew what he was up to and followed him there. He very clearly calls her wife and she very clearly calls him husband and even mentions all the other women he seduced and tossed aside like flowers picked from a roadside. Apparently they all had to go to nunneries.

[–] matts82173 9 years ago

Reading over these comments again, I wonder if there wasn't a mistranslation. It would've made a lot more sense if the prince freaked out when he saw that the princess was ugly and took off, showing that he really was completely superficial.

[–] parknourie 8 years ago

Yep, like others have said, that was his wife.
Before Kaguya is almost convinced of his words, someone taps her shoulders and replaces her position.
She is the man's wife (almost thought it was Kaguya's mother but she wasn't) and caught him red-handed.

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