Usagi Yojimbo

AUTHOR: Sakai, Stan

ARTIST: Stan Sakai (illustrator); Tom Luth (colorist)

PUBLISHER: Fantagraphics Books; Mirage Comics; Dark Horse Comics

FIRST SERIAL PUBLICATION: 1987-

FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 1987-

Publication History

Usagi Yojimbo originated in small-press comics of the 1980’s, first appearing in the anthropomorphic-animal anthology series Albedo Anthropomorphics. The series moved to Fantagraphics Books, which first included Usagi Yojimbo in its anthropomorphic-animal anthology Critters and later showcased the comic in its own series. The series rode the wave of success of black-and-white independent comics through the 1980’s, until changes in the marketplace led creator Stan Sakai to take his samurai rabbit to Mirage Comics for a full-color run. When Mirage folded after sixteen issues, Sakai moved his series to Dark Horse Comics, which began carrying the title in 1996. The character of Miyamoto Usagi has also appeared as a guest star in a number of other titles. In 2011, Dark Horse released Usagi Yojimbo: Yokai,the only all-original Usagi Yojimbo graphic novel.

Although Sakai is a Japanese American artist creating comics in English for publication in the United States, he has noted in interviews that he is often considered a manga artist because Usagi Yojimbo is set in Japan and strongly influenced by Japanese culture and folklore.

Plot

Usagi Yojimbo is constructed as a slice-of-life picaresque. A samurai without portfolio, Usagi has no other agenda than to act according to his best judgment and to continue to improve himself as a person and a swordsman. Although there is an overarching plot of the series, in which Usagi opposes the schemes of the evil Lord Hikiji and other tyrannical or criminal figures, the real goal of the story is to provide a window into the history and culture of seventeenth century Japan while telling bittersweet stories of heroism and humanity.

The two major elements that drive the world of Usagi Yojimbo are time and death. Unlike the characters in other anthropomorphic-animal comics, who tend to be immortal clowns or unchanging whimsical figures, the characters of Usagi Yojimbo live, age, and die. Wars and duels have casualties, characters have children who grow, and every character can learn and change with time and experience. Over the course of the series, Usagi evolves from a rather simple, stern figure whose behavior is guided by rigid Bushido principals into a well-rounded protagonist who offers commentary on many aspects of life. He progresses from early manhood to something approaching middle age.

Seventeenth century Japan, the other “star” of the series, was a pivotal era. Japan unified as a nation during that time and greatly restricted the use of gunpowder until the nineteenth century, ensuring the value of swordsmen like Usagi until contact with the West.

Volumes

• Usagi Yojimbo: The Ronin, Volume 1 (1987). Collects short stories from Albedo and Critters.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Samurai, Volume 2 (1989). Collects issues 1-6 of the Fantagraphics series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: The Wanderer’s Road, Volume 3 (1989). Collects issues 7-12 of the Fantagraphics series, along with other materials.

• Usagi Yojimbo: The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy, Volume 4 (1990). Collects issues 13-18 of the Fantagraphics series, along with other materials.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Lone Goat and Kid, Volume 5(1992). Collects issues 19-24 of the Fantagraphics series, along with other materials.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Circles,Volume 6(1994). Collects issues 25-31 of the Fantagraphics series, along with other materials.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Gen’s Story, Volume 7 (1996). Collects issues 32-38 of the Fantagraphics series, along with other materials.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Shades of Death, Volume 8 (1997). Collects issues 1-6 of the Mirage series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Daisho, Volume 9 (1998). Collects issues 7-14 of the Mirage series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: The Brink of Life and Death, Volume 10 (1998). Collects issues 15-16 of the Mirage series and issues 1-6 of the Dark Horse series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Seasons, Volume 11 (1999). Collects issues 7-12 of the Dark Horse series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Grasscutter, Volume 12(1999). Collects issues 13-22 of the Dark Horse series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Grey Shadows, Volume 13 (2000). Collects issues 23-30 of the Dark Horse series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Demon Mask, Volume 14 (2001). Collects issues 31-38 of the Dark Horse series, along with other materials.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Grasscutter II—Journey to Atsuta Shrine, Volume 15 (2002). Collects issues 39-45 of the Dark Horse series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: The Shrouded Moon, Volume 16(2003). Collects issues 46-52 of the Dark Horse series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Duel at Kitanoji, Volume 17(2003). Collects issues 53-60 of the Dark Horse series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Travels with Jotaro, Volume 18(2004). Collects issues 61-68 of the Dark Horse series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Fathers and Sons, Volume 19 (2005). Collects issues 69-75 of the Dark Horse series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Glimpses of Death, Volume 20 (2006). Collects issues 76-82 of the Dark Horse series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: The Mother of Mountains, Volume 21 (2007). Collects issues 83-89 of the Dark Horse series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Tomoe’s Story, Volume 22 (2008). Collects issues 90-93 of the Dark Horse series, along with other materials.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Bridge of Tears, Volume 23 (2009). Collects issues 94-102 of the Dark Horse series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Return of the Black Soul, Volume 24 (2010). Collects issues 103-109 of the Dark Horse series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Fox Hunt, Volume 25 (2011). Collects issues 110-116 of the Dark Horse series.

• Usagi Yojimbo: Traitors of the Earth (2012). Collects issues117–123 of the Dark Horse series as well as stories from Dark Horse Maverick 2001 and MySpace Dark Horse Presents, issue 35.

Characters

• Miyamoto Usagi, the protagonist, is an anthropomorphic male rabbit and a samurai with a powerful sense of honor and decency.

• Ame Tomoe is an anthropomorphic female samurai cat modeled on a historical figure. She is a recurring character in the series and often an ally of Usagi.

• Murakami Gennosuke is an anthropomorphic male rhinoceros ronin with a severed nasal horn. Modeled on actor Toshiro Mifune, he is sometimes an ally of Usagi and sometimes an opponent.

• Jotaro is an anthropomorphic male child rabbit who is the unacknowledged son of Usagi by Mariko.

• Zato-Ino is an anthropomorphic blind male pig based on the main character of the Japanese Zatoichi film series. He is a masseur and swordsman.

• Yagi and Gorogoro are anthropomorphic goats who are based on the main characters of the manga series Lone Wolf and Cub (1970-1976), a disgraced samurai-turned-assassin and his infant son.

• Mariko is an anthropomorphic female rabbit from Usagi’s home village and the lost love of his life. She maintains the masquerade that young Jotaro is her husband’s son.

• Jei, a.k.a. the Black Soul, is an anthropomorphic male samurai wolf armed with a black-bladed spear. He is an almost unkillable psychopath and religious fanatic who has battled Usagi on numerous occasions.

• Lord Hebi is an anthropomorphic male samurai snake and the vassal of Lord Hikiji.

• Lord Hikiji is the ruthless and ambitious primary villain of the series. He has never been depicted “onstage” in the later series, though he crosses over with other Sakai stories. In his one appearance, he is drawn as a human.

• Lord Noriyuki is an anthropomorphic male panda cub who is a young daimyo (feudal baron) Bottom of Form struggling to learn to do his noble duty.

• Kitsune is an anthropomorphic female fox and a thief whose path has crossed Usagi’s on more than one occasion.

• Sensei Katsuichi is an anthropomorphic male samurai lion and swordplay trainer who has been a part of Usagi’s adventures several times, generally as an ally. He was the rabbit’s sword-training master.

• Inspector Ishida is an anthropomorphic male cat and a police detective who sometimes adventures alongside Usagi. He is based on Chinese Hawaiian police officer Chang Apana.

• Sanshobo is an anthropomorphic male bear who appears in a handful of Usagi stories. He is a monk/priest and a former samurai.

• Sasuke the Demon Queller is an anthropomorphic male fox who travels the land as an itinerant ghost- and monster-hunter. He sometimes shares adventures with Usagi.

• Neko, Mogura, and Komori Ninja are, respectively, anthropomorphic cat, mole, and bat ninja clans. They are generally both cannon-fodder opponents for Usagi and homages to the Japanese and American tradition of stagehand, garb-clad ninja assassins.

• Tokage lizards are small, ubiquitous lizard creatures doodled into many panels of the stories, offering lightly humorous nonverbal counterpoints to the goings-on. They are Sakai’s most obvious tributes to cartoonist Sergio Aragonés.

Artistic Style

Although Sakai’s work is classified as manga by some, there is little of the Disney-influenced manga style to his art. Sakai’s early work in fanzines demonstrates his love of many comics figures of the 1960’s and 1970’s, including some of his peers. However, in Usagi Yojimbo, his art is primarily inspired by the work of collaborator Aragonés (best known for his work in MAD magazineand his series Groo the Wanderer, 1982-1984) and the visual styles of classical Japanese painters and filmmakers. Despite clean, spare lines and neatly symmetrical compositions, every panel is packed with detail and action, a Harvey Kurtzman-esque touch that has been a comedic trademark of MAD artists such as Aragonés. However, Sakai uses this bustling sea of detail less for laughs and more to emphasize the living, breathing world he creates.

Despite Sakai’s considerable skill working with color, most of these stories are presented in black and white. The power of this visual choice is used to strong effect, though with far greater restraint than is seen in the often melodramatic Japanese-influenced artwork of Frank Miller. Much of Sakai’s work resembles classic “funny animal” comic books and cartoons (down to the absence of blood amid the frequent violence), and he has continued to use narrative captions and thought balloons long after most mainstream superhero comics abandoned these “outmoded” storytelling devices. Because it uses such straightforward methods, the art of Usagi Yojimbo perfectly complements the scripts, contributing to the series’ unpretentious, highly successful method of storytelling.

Themes

To a certain extent, Usagi Yojimbo is an exploration by a third-generation American, examining the culture of his ancestors and showing it through his eyes. As Sakai’s own Web site points out, Usagi Yojimbo is not an international success: It faces a tremendous uphill battle in Japan, where stories of samurai and of Miyamoto Musashi have burgeoned for centuries.

The samurai code of Bushido, and the ways in which it does or does not reflect the real lives of samurai (and others), is integral to the stories, as is the way everyday life works amid the seemingly rigid nature of feudal Japanese culture. Sakai seems to point out both the essential humanity behind all cultures and the fact that no set of ideas (samurai honor or other ideology) can completely explain all the modes of human expression. Sakai’s characters are both Japanese and cartoon animals; above all else, however, they are people. Sakai achieves this empathic link for the reader, bringing his world to vivid life.

Usagi Yojimbo is a graphic narrative that examines what it is to live and be human, and, incidentally, it expresses wonder at the heroism of a long-ago place and time. Readers learn who Usagi is and what his place is in his world, which helps them understand more of their own life and world.

Impact

Standing at the intersection of traditional “funny animal” comics and the hypersexualized “furries,” bridging the gap between 1980’s black-and-white independent comics and modern mainstream comics with circulations almost as small, and joining East and West, Usagi Yojimbo is a graphic narrative that takes its comfortable place between worlds. Feted by both genre-only institutions such as the Cartoon Art Museum and broader cultural institutions such as the Japanese American National Museum (which hosted the 2011 exhibit “Year of the Rabbit: The Art of Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo”), Usagi Yojimbo offers readers a mingling of “low” and “high” culture, with “funny books” that address everything from language to crafts, social mores, and personal responsibility.

The whimsical nature of Usagi Yojimbo puts it comfortably in the company of both Groo the Wanderer and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1984-1993), the latter of which has crossed over with Usagi Yojimbo on many occasions. Sakai’s work is a smart, introspective take on Japanese culture, especially popular culture, with tributes to Godzilla, Gamera, and Akira Kurosawa. Although Usagi Yojimbo was preceded by both Mark Rogers’ Samurai Cat stories (first published in 1984) and Larry Hama and Michael Golden’s Bucky O’Hare, a series about an anthropomorphic rabbit warrior created in 1981, the comic owes no particular debt of influence to either of these. Perhaps the strongest influence Usagi Yojimbo has exerted on other creations is in its creator’s quiet dedication to solid storytelling and painstaking research.

Further Reading

Laird, Peter, and Kevin Eastman. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1984-1993).

Sim, Dave. Cerebus (1977-2004).

Smith, Jeff. Bone (1991-2004).

Bibliography

Sakai, Stan. The Art of Usagi Yojimbo: Twentieth Anniversary Edition. Milwaukie, Oreg.: Dark Horse Books, 2004.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition. Seattle: Fantagraphics Books, 2010.

Solomon, Charles. “Don’t Get Between the Rabbit and His Sword.” Los Angeles Times, November 25, 2005. http://articles.latimes.com/2005/dec/18/books/bk-solomon18.