In Episode 1, adapting "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter," the character called "Old man" is a humble bamboo cutter who discovers a thumb-sized infant within a glowing bamboo stalk. Childless, he and his wife raise her as their daughter, naming her Kaguya-hime. Following this, he uncovers small gold nuggets in bamboo stalks, swiftly amassing wealth for the family.

As Kaguya-hime blossoms into extraordinary beauty, he attempts to shield her from outsiders, but her fame draws noble suitors seeking her hand. He eventually yields to their persistence and persuades Kaguya-hime to select a suitor. He witnesses her assign impossible tasks to deter marriage, like retrieving the Buddha’s stone begging bowl or a jeweled branch from Hōrai. When the Emperor of Japan desires to wed Kaguya-hime, he observes her reject the proposal despite their continued correspondence.

He grows concerned as Kaguya-hime exhibits sorrow, especially while moon-gazing, though she initially conceals the cause. After she reveals her celestial origins and imminent return to the moon, he and his wife sink into profound grief. He is present during the celestial envoys' arrival to retrieve Kaguya-hime, seeing the blinding light that overwhelms the Emperor’s guards. Following her departure, he and his wife fall ill from sorrow.

Later, the Emperor’s guards deliver Kaguya-hime’s farewell robe and a letter containing the elixir of immortality, which the Emperor commands burned on Mount Fuji. The character does not appear in subsequent episodes adapting other literary works.