Long ago, there was apparently a cooper's apprentice named Sankichi. One day he was up on Takeyama mountain cutting bamboo for hoops/1 when he heard a voice somewhere calling "Kozo, kozo!"
"Who's there? Who's there?" he said.
"Over here! Over here, San-chan, over here!" the voice said.
Sankichi looked in that direction to see where the voice was coming from. But there was no one there. "This is weird," he said, tilting his head to one side.
"Inside the bamboo! Inside the bamboo!"
One stalk of bamboo was shaking and rustling. Sankichi quickly started cutting that bamboo with his saw. When the bamboo was cut down, a small child poked out his hand, then his head, and then came all the way out. It was a person only 5 sun (about 15 cm) tall.
The little boy stood up straight and said, "San-chan, thank you," in a normal human voice.
Sankichi was all the more amazed, so much that he stood there silent, not knowing what to say. Finally he asked, "How come you were inside that bamboo?"
"I was captured by a bad bamboo boy. He put me in the bamboo," the bamboo child answered.
"But how come you knew my name was Sankichi?"
"My body may be small, but I know all about this world. I knew about you, Sankichi, before you were born."
Sankichi was amazed again when he heard that. Then he asked, "What's your name?"
"Takenoko Doushi."
"Well then, how old are you?"
"1,234 years."
"Eeh? So where are you going next?"
"I'll go back to heaven."
"Are you going right away?"
"No, I'm obliged to you, San-chan. If I returned to heaven without repaying my obligation, the gods of heaven would scold me."
"In that case," Sankichi asked, "how are you going to repay the favor?"
"I'll give you anything you want, up to seven wishes," Takenoko Doushi said. Sankichi was overjoyed, but he still had another question.
"Takenoko-san, is this for real? You're not kidding, are you?"
"It's true. It's anything but a lie."
When he heard that, Sankichi closed his eyes and mumbled, "Takenoko, Takenoko, make me a samurai." He said that three times to see what would happen. And what do you think? When he opened his eyes, he had already become a samurai, with a sword hanging at his side.
"Thank you, Takenoko-san! Thank you!" Sankichi said that three times too, and then started off on warrior business.
Takenoko Doushi asked, "What are the other six wishes?"
But Sankichi was so happy, he said "That's enough-- this is plenty!" And he continued on his way. The doushi had no choice but to resume his heavenly form and ascend into the sky.