Usagi Yojimbo
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Usagi Yojimbo (Literally "Rabbit Bodyguard," Japanese kanji 兎用心棒 or phonetically うさぎようじんぼう usagi yōjinbō) is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai.
Set in the beginning of Edo period Japan (early 17th century), with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, it features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, who wanders the land on a shogyusha (warrior's pilgrimage) occasionally selling his services as a bodyguard. The character of Usagi has been inspired by the famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi while the tone and inspirations of the stories are heavily influenced by the films of the acclaimed director Akira Kurosawa, Groo the Wanderer and Lone Wolf and Cub.
The books consist of short stories, with underlying larger plotlines which culminate in long extended stories. The stories include many references to Japanese history and folklore, and sometimes include mythical creatures. The architecture, clothes, weapons, and other objects are drawn with a faithfulness to the period's style. There are often stories whose purpose is to illustrate various elements of Japanese arts and crafts, such as the fashioning of kites, swords, and pottery. Those efforts have been successful enough for the series to be awarded a Parent's Choice Award for its educational value. The series also follows the standard Japanese naming convention for all characters, being surname given name.
Publishing history
Originally, Usagi and other characters in the series were going to be human in stories explicitly modeled after the life of Miyamoto Musashi. However when Sakai was idly doodling, he drew rabbit ears tied in a topknot on his proposed hero and was inspired by the distinctive image it gave him. Sakai quickly expanded on the idea and his story world quickly took on a furry nature which created a fantasy setting he decided suited his dramatic needs well with a unique look he thought could attract readers.Usagi first appeared in the anthology Albedo Anthropomorphics, and later in the Fantagraphics Books anthropomorphic anthology Critters, before appearing in his own series. The Usagi Yojimbo series has been published by three different companies. The first publisher was Fantagraphics (volume one; 38 regular issues, plus one Summer Special and three Color Specials). The second was Mirage Comics (volume two; 16 issues). The third is Dark Horse Comics, at which Usagi Yojimbo is still being published (as volume three), and who also released a fourth Color Special. A fourth publisher, Radio Comix, has published two issues of The Art of Usagi Yojimbo which contained a selection of unpublished drawings, convention sketches, and other miscellaneous Usagi Yojimbo artwork. The first issue also included an original Usagi Yojimbo short story. To confuse things, Dark Horse Comics has recently published a Twentieth Anniversary hardcover volume also entitled The Art of Usagi Yojimbo.
Because Usagi Yojimbo is a creator-owned comic and Stan Sakai has complete and sole ownership of the character, Miyamoto Usagi has been able to appear in occasional short stories published by companies other than the one currently publishing his series. Usagi has appeared in stories published by Cartoon Books, Oni Press, Sky Dog Press, Wizard Press, and most recently in the benefit book Drawing the Line, the proceeds of which went to Princess Margaret Hospital and The Hospital for Sick Children, for cancer research.
Stan Sakai has also been able to experiment with Usagi Yojimbo, such as when he published the color story "Green Persimmon" originally as twelve separate 2-page chapters serialized in Diamond Comic Distributor's monthly catalog "Previews". He has also serialized two short stories in a comic strip format in the tabloid size promotional publication "Dark Horse Extra". With Usagi Yojimbo stories ranging in length from single page "gag" stories to multi-issue "epic" adventures, Stan Sakai has proven himself a master of sequential story-telling.
Usagi has also appeared several times in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the comic, both of the animated series, and the toy line), and the Turtles have appeared in Usagi Yojimbo as well.
In addition, Sakai created a limited spin off series called Space Usagi which featured similar characters to those in the original series but set in a futuristic setting that also emulated Feudal Japan in political and stylistic ways. Three mini-series of three issues each were produced, as well as a couple short stories featuring the characters. There was also an abortive project for a Space Usagi animated series before the failure of Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars discouraged further development.
Two editions of an Usagi role-playing game have been made, a 1998 version from Gold Rush Games and a 2005 version from Sanguine Productions.
There was also a computer game called released for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC platforms in 1988, by the now defunct computer game label Firebird.
Collections
| No. | Title | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Ronin | 浪人 |
| 2 | Samurai | 侍 |
| 3 | The Wanderer's Road(TMNT) | 渡り者の道 |
| 4 | The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy | 龍轟謀 |
| 5 | Lone Goat and Kid | 子連れ山羊 |
| 6 | Circles | 輪 |
| 7 | Gen's Story | ゲンの物語 |
| 8 | Shades of Death(TMNT) | 死の影 |
| 9 | Daisho | 大小 |
| 10 | The Brink of Life and Death | 生死の境 |
| 11 | Seasons | 四季 |
| 12 | Grasscutter | 草薙の剣 |
| 13 | Grey Shadows | 灰色の影 |
| 14 | Demon Mask | 鬼面 |
| 15 | Grasscutter II—Journey to Atsuta Shrine | 続・草薙の剣～熱田神宮への旅 |
| 16 | The Shrouded Moon | 朧月 |
| 17 | Duel at Kitanoji | 北の路決闘 |
| 18 | Travels with Jotaro | 城太郎と旅立 |
| 19 | Fathers And Sons | 父子 |
| 20 | Glimpses of Death | 死の一目 |
- The Art of Usagi Yojimbo: 20th Anniversary Edition
Spin-offs
- Space Usagi. (A futuristic setting involving a descendant of Miyamoto Usagi.)
Trivia
- Usagi, along with several other characters from the comic book, have appeared several times in the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. Usagi has also appeared in the 1987 animated series.
- Usagi's former lord is named Mifune. This is most likely a nod to Toshiro Mifune, an actor who starred in countless classic Samurai films.
- The character of Murakami Gennosuke (Gen), the Rhino bounty hunter, was inspired by the characters made famous by Toshiro Mifune in the samurai films Yojimbo and Sanjuro.
- Usagi's sensei is named Katsuichi. This is thought to be an amalgamation of the names of both the star (Shintaro Katsu) and character (Zatoichi) of one of the longest running series of samurai films.
- The character of Zato Ino, the Blind Swordspig, appeared in a number of the earlier stories. This was also a reference and tribute to the film character of Zatoichi.
- The story arc Lone Goat and Kid features an assassin who wanders with his son in a babycart. This is a reference to the film/manga series, Lone Wolf and Cub.
- The character of female samurai Tomoe Ame was modeled after the historical figure of Tomoe Gozen, who actually lived during an earlier period of Japanese history.
- The main character's name, Miyamoto Usagi, is most likely a play on "Miyamoto Musashi", who is the author of The Book of Five Rings ("Usagi" is the Japanese language word for "rabbit").
See also
Awards
The Grasscutter storyline from issues 13 through 22 of the Dark Horse published series was a top votegetter for the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Story for 1999. The trade paperback collection of this story was a top votegetter for the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Reprint Graphic Album for 2000.External links
- [The official Usagi Yojimbo website]
- [Usagi Yojimbo at Dark Horse Comics]
- [Usagi Yojimbo Role-Playing Game]
- [Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards]
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