Usagi Yojimbo
Encyclopedia
is a comic book
series created by Stan Sakai
in 1987. In 2011 IGN
ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.
of Japan
(early 17th century), with anthropomorphic
animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit
ronin
, Miyamoto Usagi
, whom Stan Sakai based partially on the famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi
. Usagi wanders the land on a musha shugyo
(warrior's pilgrimage
) occasionally selling his services as a bodyguard
. Usagi Yojimbo is heavily influenced by Japanese cinema and has included references to the work of Akira Kurosawa
(the title of the series is derived from Kurosawa's 1960 film Yojimbo) and to icons of popular Japanese cinema such as Lone Wolf and Cub
, Zatoichi
, and Godzilla
. The series is also influenced somewhat by Groo the Wanderer
by Sergio Aragonés
(Sakai is the letterer for that series), but the overall tone of Usagi Yojimbo is more serious and reflective.
The books consist of novel-length narratives or short stories, with underlying larger plots which create long extended story lines. The stories include many references to Japanese history and Japanese folklore
, and sometimes include mythical creatures. The architecture
, clothes, weapons, and other objects are drawn with a faithfulness to period style. There are often stories whose purpose is to illustrate various elements of Japanese arts and crafts, such as the fashioning of kites, sword
s, and pottery
. Those efforts have been successful enough for the series to be awarded a Parents' Choice Award
in 1990 for its educational value through Stan's "skillful weaving of facts and legends into his work." The series follows the standard traditional Japanese naming-convention for all featured characters: their family name
s followed by their given name
s. Usagi was named the thirty-first greatest comic book character by Empire Magazine.
. However, once as Sakai was idly doodling, he drew rabbit ears tied in a topknot
on his proposed hero and was pleased by the distinctive image. Usagi was first conceived as a supporting character in The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy, a brief series that predates Usagi Yojimbo. Sakai expanded on the idea of a rabbit samurai and his world took on an anthropomorphized cartoon nature, creating a fantasy setting which suited his dramatic needs with a unique look he thought could attract readers.
Usagi first appeared in the anthology
Albedo Anthropomorphics
in 1984, and later in the Fantagraphics Books
anthropomorphic anthology
Critters
, before appearing in his own series in 1987. 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, over 100 issues), 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. In 2004, Dark Horse Comics 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
, both in Toronto, for cancer research.
Stan Sakai has also been able to experiment with formats for Usagi Yojimbo, as when he published the color story "Green Persimmon" first 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 in single page "gag" stories as well as 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 his guest appearances, he is closest to Leonardo
, both sharing the same ideals and code of ethics.
In addition, Sakai created a limited spin off
series called Space Usagi featuring characters similar to those in the original series, including a descendant of Miyamoto Usagi, but set in a futuristic setting that also emulated Feudal Japan
in political and stylistic ways. Three mini-series of three issues each and two short stories featuring the characters were produced. Sakai has tentative plans to produce a fourth Space Usagi miniseries, but nothing has been announced yet. 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. Space Usagi was one of the action figures produced under the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line.
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 Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo
released for the Commodore 64
, ZX Spectrum
and Amstrad CPC
platforms in 1988, by the now defunct computer game label Firebird.
The Japanese American National Museum
in Los Angeles
's Little Tokyo is presenting an exhibit entitled "Year of the Rabbit: Stan Sakai
's Usagi Yojimbo from July 9 through October 30, 2011.
, an actor who starred in countless classic Samurai films. Gen, the rhino bounty hunter, was inspired by the characters made famous by Toshirō Mifune
in the samurai films Yojimbo and Sanjuro
. Zato-Ino, the Blind Swordspig, is 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, referring to the film
/manga
series, Lone Wolf and Cub
. Most significantly, the main character's name, Miyamoto Usagi
, is a play on "Miyamoto Musashi
", Japan's most famous historical samurai and the author of The Book of Five Rings
, and "Usagi
" the Japanese language
word for "rabbit
" (The story notes for one volume also cite as an influence Hiroshi Inagaki
's Samurai Trilogy
, which features Miyamoto Musashi as a protagonist.) His friend Tomoe Ame, a feline samurai, is inspired by the female samurai Tomoe Gozen
. The storyline "The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy" includes elements reminiscent of the classic Akira Kurosawa films The Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress, particularly the way that Usagi collects various allies to raid an evil lord's fortress.
While Usagi Yojimbo draws most heavily upon samurai and chanbara films, it has also been influenced by Japanese films from other genres. For example, the three-part story "Sumi-E" (included in Vol. 18. Travels with Jotaro) features monsters resembling Godzilla
(identified as "Zylla," who was first introduced in Vol. 2. Samurai), Gamera
, Ghidorah, Mothra
, and Daimajin
.
; Books 8+ are published by Dark Horse Comics
. Hardcover versions of the Dark Horse collections often include exclusive extras; some of this material was included in the 2004 artbook, also published by Dark Horse.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series created by Stan Sakai
Stan Sakai
is a third-generation Japanese American Cartoonist comic book creator. He is best known as the creator of the comic series Usagi Yojimbo. -Biography:...
in 1987. In 2011 IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.
Concept
Set primarily at the beginning of Edo periodEdo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(early 17th century), with anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
ronin
Ronin
A or rounin was a Bushi with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege....
, Miyamoto Usagi
Miyamoto Usagi
Miyamoto Usagi is the titular character of Usagi Yojimbo, a Dark Horse comic by Stan Sakai. Usagi is an anthropomorphic rabbit and a ronin now walking the musha shugyo ....
, whom Stan Sakai based partially on the famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi
Miyamoto Musashi
, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...
. Usagi wanders the land on a musha shugyo
Musha shugyo
is a samurai warrior's quest or pilgrimage. The concept is similar to Knight Errantry in feudal Europe. A warrior, called a shugyōsha, would wander the land practicing and honing his skills without the protection of his family or school. Possible activities include training with other schools,...
(warrior's pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
) occasionally selling his services as a bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
. Usagi Yojimbo is heavily influenced by Japanese cinema and has included references to the work of Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
(the title of the series is derived from Kurosawa's 1960 film Yojimbo) and to icons of popular Japanese cinema such as Lone Wolf and Cub
Lone Wolf and Cub
is a manga created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Yorozuya Kinnosuke, and is widely recognized as an important and influential work.Lone Wolf and Cub...
, Zatoichi
Zatoichi
is a fictional character featured in one of Japan's longest running series of films and a television series set in the Edo period. The character, a blind masseur and swordmaster, was created by novelist . This originally minor character was developed for the screen by Daiei Studios and actor...
, and Godzilla
Godzilla
is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
. The series is also influenced somewhat by Groo the Wanderer
Groo the Wanderer
Groo the Wanderer is a fantasy/comedy comic book series written and drawn by Sergio Aragonés, rewritten, coplotted and edited by Mark Evanier, lettered by Stan Sakai, and colored by Tom Luth...
by Sergio Aragonés
Sergio Aragonés
Sergio Aragonés Domenech is a cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to Mad Magazine and creator of the comic book Groo the Wanderer....
(Sakai is the letterer for that series), but the overall tone of Usagi Yojimbo is more serious and reflective.
The books consist of novel-length narratives or short stories, with underlying larger plots which create long extended story lines. The stories include many references to Japanese history and Japanese folklore
Japanese folklore
The folklore of Japan is heavily influenced by both Shinto and Buddhism, the two primary religions in the country. It often involves humorous or bizarre characters and situations and also includes an assortment of supernatural beings, such as bodhisattva, kami , yōkai , yūrei ,...
, and sometimes include mythical creatures. The architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, clothes, weapons, and other objects are drawn with a faithfulness to period style. There are often stories whose purpose is to illustrate various elements of Japanese arts and crafts, such as the fashioning of kites, sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
s, and pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
. Those efforts have been successful enough for the series to be awarded a Parents' Choice Award
Parents' Choice Award
The Parents' Choice Award is an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It is considered a "prestigious" award among children's products, and has been...
in 1990 for its educational value through Stan's "skillful weaving of facts and legends into his work." The series follows the standard traditional Japanese naming-convention for all featured characters: their family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
s followed by their given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
s. Usagi was named the thirty-first greatest comic book character by Empire Magazine.
Publishing history
Sakai originally planned for Usagi and other characters to be human in stories explicitly modeled after the life of Miyamoto MusashiMiyamoto Musashi
, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...
. However, once as Sakai was idly doodling, he drew rabbit ears tied in a topknot
Topknot
Topknot may refer to:* A hairstyle or haircut, historically prevalent in Asia:**Chonmage, a traditional Japanese haircut worn by men**Sangtu, a knot of hair that married men of the Joseon Dynasty wore in Korea.**Sikha, worn by orthodox Hindus....
on his proposed hero and was pleased by the distinctive image. Usagi was first conceived as a supporting character in The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy, a brief series that predates Usagi Yojimbo. Sakai expanded on the idea of a rabbit samurai and his world took on an anthropomorphized cartoon nature, creating a fantasy setting which suited his dramatic needs with a unique look he thought could attract readers.
Usagi first appeared in the anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
Albedo Anthropomorphics
Albedo Anthropomorphics
Albedo Anthropomorphics, or Albedo for short, was a furry comic book anthology series which was credited with starting the furry comic book subgenre that featured sophisticated stories with funny animals primarily intended for an adult audience...
in 1984, and later in the Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, magazines, graphic novels, and the adult-oriented Eros Comix imprint...
anthropomorphic anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
Critters
Critters
Critters was an animal anthology comic book published by Fantagraphics Books from 1985 to 1990 under the editorship of Kim Thompson.Prior to Furrlough and Genus, this was the longest running funny animal anthology comic book series. The title lasted for 50 issues...
, before appearing in his own series in 1987. 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
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
, at which Usagi Yojimbo is still being published (as volume three, over 100 issues), and who also released a fourth Color Special. A fourth publisher, Radio Comix
Radio Comix
Radio Comix is an alternative comic book publishing company based in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Founded in 1996 by former Antarctic Press employees Elin Winkler-Suarez and Pat Duke, Radio Comix has published hundreds of comics from many genres, from both American-created and translated...
, 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. In 2004, Dark Horse Comics published a Twentieth Anniversary hardcover volume also entitled The Art of Usagi Yojimbo.
Because Usagi Yojimbo is a creator-owned
Creator ownership
Creator ownership is an arrangement in which the creator or creators of a work of fiction retain full ownership of the material, regardless of whether it is self-published or by a corporate publisher. In some fields of publishing, such as fiction writing, creator ownership is a standard arrangement...
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
Oni Press
Oni Press is an American independent comic book publisher based in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1997 by Bob Schreck and Joe Nozemack with the goal of publishing the kinds of comics and graphic novels they themselves would want to read...
, Sky Dog Press, Wizard Press, and most recently in the benefit book Drawing the Line, the proceeds of which went to Princess Margaret Hospital
Princess Margaret Hospital (Toronto)
Princess Margaret Hospital is located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada on University Avenue at College Street. It is part of the University Health Network...
and The Hospital for Sick Children
Hospital for Sick Children
The Hospital for Sick Children – is a major paediatric centre for the Greater Toronto Area, serving patients up to age 18. Located on University Avenue in Downtown Toronto, SickKids is part of the city’s Discovery District, a critical mass of scientists and entrepreneurs who are focused on...
, both in Toronto, for cancer research.
Stan Sakai has also been able to experiment with formats for Usagi Yojimbo, as when he published the color story "Green Persimmon" first 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 in single page "gag" stories as well as 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
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
(the comic, both of the animated series, and the toy line
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
), and the Turtles have appeared in Usagi Yojimbo as well. In his guest appearances, he is closest to Leonardo
Leonardo (TMNT)
Leonardo is a fictional character that appears in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media.In the Mirage comics all four turtles wear red bandanas, but in other versions, he wears a blue bandana. His signature weapons are two ninjaken , which are universally referred to as...
, both sharing the same ideals and code of ethics.
In addition, Sakai created a limited spin off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
series called Space Usagi featuring characters similar to those in the original series, including a descendant of Miyamoto Usagi, but set in a futuristic setting that also emulated Feudal Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in political and stylistic ways. Three mini-series of three issues each and two short stories featuring the characters were produced. Sakai has tentative plans to produce a fourth Space Usagi miniseries, but nothing has been announced yet. There was also an abortive project for a Space Usagi animated series before the failure of Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars
Bucky O'Hare
Bucky O'Hare is a fictional character and the hero of an eponymous comic book series as well as spin-off media including an animated TV series and various toys and video games...
discouraged further development. Space Usagi was one of the action figures produced under the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line.
Two editions of an Usagi role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
have been made, a 1998 version from Gold Rush Games and a 2005 version
Usagi Yojimbo Role-Playing Game
The Usagi Yojimbo Role-Playing Game is an American role-playing game based on Stan Sakai's Eisner-award winning comic-book series Usagi Yojimbo...
from Sanguine Productions
Sanguine Productions
Sanguine Productions Ltd. is a role-playing game production house founded in 1997. Their games include Ironclaw, Jadeclaw, Albedo: Platinum Catalyst, Usagi Yojimbo, and Noggle Stones.- External links :* official website...
.
There was also a computer game called Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo
Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo
Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo is a computer game released for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC platforms in 1988, by the now-defunct label Firebird. It is based on the comic book Usagi Yojimbo, which featured the adventures of an anthropomorphic samurai rabbit. The...
released for the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
and Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
platforms in 1988, by the now defunct computer game label Firebird.
Awards and reception
The series has been awarded 3 Eisner awards and around 20 nominations.- 1996 Eisner Award for "Best Letterer" (Groo and Usagi Yojimbo)
- 1996 Eisner Award for "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition" (Usagi Yojimbo)
- 1999 Eisner Award for "Best Serialized Story" (Usagi Yojimbo "Grasscutter")
The Japanese American National Museum
Japanese American National Museum
The opened its doors in 1992. The idea for the museum was originally thought up by Bruce Kaji with help from other notable Japanese American people at the time. The museum is located in the Little Tokyo an area near downtown Los Angeles, California. It is devoted to preserving the history and...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
's Little Tokyo is presenting an exhibit entitled "Year of the Rabbit: Stan Sakai
Stan Sakai
is a third-generation Japanese American Cartoonist comic book creator. He is best known as the creator of the comic series Usagi Yojimbo. -Biography:...
's Usagi Yojimbo from July 9 through October 30, 2011.
Film references
Several of the characters in Usagi's world are inspired by or make reference to samurai movies. Usagi's former lord is named Mifune, which is a nod to Toshirō MifuneToshiro Mifune
Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...
, an actor who starred in countless classic Samurai films. Gen, the rhino bounty hunter, was inspired by the characters made famous by Toshirō Mifune
Toshiro Mifune
Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...
in the samurai films Yojimbo and Sanjuro
Sanjuro
is a 1962 black-and-white Japanese samurai film directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshirō Mifune. It is a sequel to Kurosawa's previous film Yojimbo, with Mifune reprising his role as a wandering ronin...
. Zato-Ino, the Blind Swordspig, is a reference and tribute to the film character of Zatoichi
Zatoichi
is a fictional character featured in one of Japan's longest running series of films and a television series set in the Edo period. The character, a blind masseur and swordmaster, was created by novelist . This originally minor character was developed for the screen by Daiei Studios and actor...
. The story arc "Lone Goat and Kid" features an assassin who wanders with his son in a babycart, referring to the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
/manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series, Lone Wolf and Cub
Lone Wolf and Cub
is a manga created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Yorozuya Kinnosuke, and is widely recognized as an important and influential work.Lone Wolf and Cub...
. Most significantly, the main character's name, Miyamoto Usagi
Miyamoto Usagi
Miyamoto Usagi is the titular character of Usagi Yojimbo, a Dark Horse comic by Stan Sakai. Usagi is an anthropomorphic rabbit and a ronin now walking the musha shugyo ....
, is a play on "Miyamoto Musashi
Miyamoto Musashi
, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...
", Japan's most famous historical samurai and the author of The Book of Five Rings
The Book of Five Rings
is a text on kenjutsu and the martial arts in general, written by the samurai warrior Miyamoto Musashi circa 1645. There have been various translations made over the years, and it enjoys an audience considerably broader than only that of martial artists: for instance, some business leaders find its...
, and "Usagi
Usagi
Usagi may refer to:*Usagi, a Japanese term for rabbit*Usagi, a Japanese unisex given name meaning rabbit*Hana Usagi, a manga series by Kentarō Kobayashi*Samurai Usagi, a manga series by Teppei Fukushima...
" the Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
word for "rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
" (The story notes for one volume also cite as an influence Hiroshi Inagaki
Hiroshi Inagaki
was a Japanese filmmaker most known for the Academy Award-winning Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto, which he directed in 1954.-Career:Born in Tokyo as the son of a shinpa actor, Inagaki appeared on stage in his childhood before joining the Nikkatsu studio as an actor in 1922...
's Samurai Trilogy
Samurai Trilogy
The Samurai Trilogy is a film trilogy directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring Toshirō Mifune as Musashi Miyamoto and Koji Tsuruta as Kojirō Sasaki...
, which features Miyamoto Musashi as a protagonist.) His friend Tomoe Ame, a feline samurai, is inspired by the female samurai Tomoe Gozen
Tomoe Gozen
, pronounced , was a late twelfth-century concubine of Minamoto no Yoshinaka.Tomoe was a rare female samurai warrior , known for her bravery and strength...
. The storyline "The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy" includes elements reminiscent of the classic Akira Kurosawa films The Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress, particularly the way that Usagi collects various allies to raid an evil lord's fortress.
While Usagi Yojimbo draws most heavily upon samurai and chanbara films, it has also been influenced by Japanese films from other genres. For example, the three-part story "Sumi-E" (included in Vol. 18. Travels with Jotaro) features monsters resembling Godzilla
Godzilla
is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
(identified as "Zylla," who was first introduced in Vol. 2. Samurai), Gamera
Gamera
is a giant, flying turtle from a popular series of kaiju films produced by Daiei Motion Picture Company in Japan. Created in 1965 to rival the success of Toho Studios' Godzilla during the daikaiju boom of the mid-to-late 1960s, Gamera has gained fame and notoriety as a Japanese icon in his own...
, Ghidorah, Mothra
Mothra
is a kaiju, a type of fictional monster who first appeared in the serialized novel The Luminous Fairies and Mothra by Takehiko Fukunaga, Shinichiro Nakamura, and Yoshie Hotta...
, and Daimajin
Daimajin
The is a daikaiju from the Daimajin trilogy created by Daiei. All three movies in the trilogy — Daimajin, Return of Daimajin , and Wrath of Daimajin — were made in 1966, and were released months apart. Daimajin Kanon a new television drama based on the films premiered in Japan in 2010...
.
Collections
Books 1–7 are published by Fantagraphics BooksFantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, magazines, graphic novels, and the adult-oriented Eros Comix imprint...
; Books 8+ are published by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
. Hardcover versions of the Dark Horse collections often include exclusive extras; some of this material was included in the 2004 artbook, also published by Dark Horse.
- Book 1: The Ronin
(Collects appearances in Albedo 2–4; The Doomsday Squad 3; Critters 1, 3, 6–7, 10–11, 14; and the Usagi Yojimbo Summer Special, HC: ISBN 1560971320 ; TPB: ISBN 0930193350) - Book 2: Samurai
(Collects Fantagraphics issues 1–6, HC: ISBN 156097074X ; TPB: ISBN 0930193881) - Book 3: Wanderer's Road
(Collects Fantagraphics issues 7–12 and “Turtle Soup”) - Book 4: Dragon Bellow Conspiracy
(Collects Fantagraphics issues 13–18) - Book 5: Lone Goat and Kid
(Collects Fantagraphics issues 19–24) - Book 6: Circles
(Collects Fantagraphics issues 25–31, and story from Critters #50) - Book 7: Gen's Story
(Collects Fantagraphics issues 32–38 and story from Critters #38) - Book 8: Shades of Death
(Collects Mirage issues 1–6 and backup stories from 7–8) - Book 9: Daisho
(Collects Mirage issues 7–12, 14) - Book 10: The Brink of Life and Death
(Collects Mirage issues 13, 15–16 and Dark Horse issues 1–6) - Book 11: Seasons
(Collects Dark Horse issues 7–12, and "Green Persimmon" from Diamond Previews) - Book 12: Grasscutter
(Collects Dark Horse issues 13–22)
- Book 13: Grey Shadows
(Collects Dark Horse issues 23–30) - Book 14: Demon Mask
(Collects Dark Horse issues 31–38, and stories from Dark Horse Presents 140 & Annual 1999; Wizard 97; Oni Double Feature 10; and Dark Horse Extra 20–23) - Book 15: Grasscutter II: Journey To Atsuta Shrine
(Collects Dark Horse issues 39–45) - Book 16: The Shrouded Moon
(Collects Dark Horse issues 46–52) - Book 17: Duel at Kitanoji
(Collects Dark Horse issues 53–60) - Book 18: Travels with Jotaro
(Collects Dark Horse issues 61–68) - Book 19: Fathers and Sons
(Collects Dark Horse issues 69–75) - Book 20: Glimpses of Death
(Collects Dark Horse issues 76–82) - Book 21: The Mother of Mountains
(Collects Dark Horse issues 83–89) - Book 22: Tomoe's Story
(Collects Dark Horse Issues 90–93 and Usagi Yojimbo Color Specials 1–3) - Book 23: Bridge of Tears
(Collects Dark Horse issues 94–102) - Book 24: Return of the Black Soul
(Collects Dark Horse issues 103–109) - Book 25: Fox Hunt
(Collects Dark Horse issues 110–116) and “Saya” from MDHP #18.
- Space Usagi
(Collects the Space Usagi 3-issue miniseries "Warrior," "Death & Honor," and "White Star Rising;" and stories from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 47 and Usagi Color Special 3) - The Art of Usagi Yojimbo: 20th Anniversary Edition, published 2004.
- Usagi Yojimbo: Yokai
(The first Usagi Yojimbo original graphic novel. A fully painted self-contained story released to celebrate Usagi Yojimbo's 25th anniversary.) - Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition
(Collects Usagi Yojimbo books 1 to 7, published by Fantagraphics in December 2010)
See also
- List of Usagi Yojimbo characters
- Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo (Video Game)Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi YojimboSamurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo is a computer game released for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC platforms in 1988, by the now-defunct label Firebird. It is based on the comic book Usagi Yojimbo, which featured the adventures of an anthropomorphic samurai rabbit. The...
External links
- The official Usagi Yojimbo website
- Usagi Yojimbo at Dark Horse Comics
- Usagi Yojimbo Role-Playing Game (Gold Rush Games version)
- Usagi Yojimbo Role-Playing Game (Sanguine Productions version
- Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards
- Usagi Yojimbo Dojo Wiki
Translations
- Official website for the french edition (collection in progress)