Today’s post is going to be a little different. I’m hoping to introduce more people to Usagi Yojimbo, a comic book series by Stan Sakai. Usagi Yojimbo has anthropomorphic animals in a mimic of Edo-period Japan and is filled with great information about its history, folklore, architecture, and clothing. Everything in the comic is painstakingly period correct… except for the talking animals.
History of Usagi Yojimbo
The comic, now published by three different companies for over 30 years, has won numerous awards including the 1990 Parents Choice Award because of its educational value. If you want to get started at the beginning, start with Vol. 1 and work your way though all 31 collected volumes.
Miyamoto Usagi, the titular character, is a ronin (masterless samurai) rabbit who occasionally hires himself out as a bodyguard (yojimbo). His life and adventures are based on those of legendary swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi. The names of many of the characters are often dual language puns. For example, in Japanese usagi means rabbit.
If Usagi looks or sounds vaguely familiar, its because he has been on numerous versions of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shows and toy shelves. They’ve also been in his comics and, for obvious reasons, he and Leonardo are friends.
The stories are influenced by numerous sources, including Akira Kurosawa (like the movie Yojimbo). Lone Wolf and Cub and Zatoichi are both memorialized as other animal characters named Lone Goat and Kid, and Zato Ini (pig). The stories themselves often involve samurai philosophy, which has become prevalent in today’s Japanese martial arts.
Why you should give it a try
If you have a child who is taking martial arts and you want to start to introduce them to some of the other aspects of Japanese culture, or if you (as an adult) just want a great comic featuring a rabbit samurai, then give Usagi a try. You won’t be disappointed.
Have you read this series or other similar collections? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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Thank You for this one! My daughter Jade is called sometimes Jade rabbit like one in daoist tale, but she has her sleeping rag that has rabbit head. Anyway, I think this could be great for her besides Ginga nagareboshi gin Cartoons