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STORY NOTES Foxes, or kitsuné, in Japanese folklore were magical creatures, tricksters who could be benevolent as well as malicious. They are guardians of the rice crops and the messengers of Inari, the god of harvests. When a fox reaches a hundred years, its spirit can possess a person, causing insanity, and at one thousand, it grows nine tails and attains great wisdom. They can also shape-change at will, often taking on the form of a beautiful woman. It was upon these stories that I based my own Kitsuné. The last time Kitsuné appeared was in Usagi Yojimbo #37 of the Fantagraphics run (Book 7 in the trade paperback collections). Street peddlers were fairly common in feudal Japan, selling everything from fresh flowers to sandals and brooms to hot foods. Noodles’ soba stand is based upon an 1890 photograph found in the Peabody Museum of Salem, E.S. Morse Collection/Photography, published in Japan by Shogakukan Publishing. There were two types of fans used by Japanese. The rigid fan, which came from China, and the sensu or folding fan. The sensu appeared as early as the 7th century and was a purely Japanese invention. It assumed various symbolic meanings from the rituals in the imperial court to a prop used by a street juggler. It was a symbol of authority, as in the case of a battle fan used by a commander to order his troops. Even today, the referee at a sumo match carries a fan, his rank denoted by the color of its tassel. The sensu has also been used in theatre and in dance. People attending a tea ceremony must carry a fan tucked in their kimono though it is never used except to pass small cakes. Giant fans are carried in the festival of Amaterasu at Ise and Binbogami, the god of poverty, is depicted holding a fan. Magistrates in larger towns were equal in status to some daimyo (lords). He was responsible for the policing of the town and for settling civil disputes and issuing travel permits. He did not deal with samurai or priests for whom there were special officials. Under him were the yoriki. These were traditionally hereditary positions within a samurai family. The doshin served under the yoriki. Though this was also a hereditary samurai position, they carried only one sword. Below them were the okappiki, townspeople who patrolled the streets and basically acted as the eyes and ears for the police. The symbol of authority of the police was the jitte, a forked dirk that could catch and hold a blade in its prong, rendering a sword useless. Research for the section came from Secrets of the Samurai by Ratti and Westbrook, Everyday Life in Imperial Japan by Charles Dunn, and Shinju by Laura Rowland (a well-researched murder mystery that takes place in 1689 Edo). Susano-o-no-Mikoto, to whom Kitsuné referred, is the Shinto deity of storms. He is the brother of Amaterasu the sun goddess and was born from the nose of Izanagi who, with the goddess Izanami, created the Japanese archipelago. He slew the eight-headed dragon and found the sword that became Grasscutter, one of the imperial regalia. Besides the books mentioned earlier, I also relied on Mingei: Japan’s Enduring Folk Arts by Amaury Saint-Gilles, Japanese Crafts by John Lowe, and Japanese Mythology by Juliet Piggott. There were also two period manga that inspired the idea of the ladder brigade: Kozure Okami by Koike and Kojima, and Ni Jitte Butsugi. |
USAGI YOJIMBO LETTERS COLUMN
Dear Stan,
This is my first fan letter to you as the creator of Usagi Yojimbo. (although as part of the Groo Crew, you have had the misfortune of being included in my salutations to that comic.) I am really enjoying reading his adventures. Usagi is one cool rabbit. He has joined Groo as the only comics on my order list at my local comic-book shop.
There are a couple of things that really strike me about Usagi Yojimbo. First, it is very educational. A person who read nothing about Japan except UY would know more about 17th-century Japanese history and culture than 99% of all Americans. This period is apparently equivalent to our “wild west” period in terms of cultural significance and popularity, which is itself a neat thing to know. Second, your letters page is respectful and sincere in its answers to readers. (One smart mouth in the Groo Crew is enough, right, Mark?) I also like the strong moral themes where right and wrong are clearly defined and the elements of duty and honor are examined.
Finally, it seems like 95% of all comics are either superhero stuff or really gross in one way or another. (Some are superhero stuff and gross.) And while I certainly respect the right of people to create any kind of comic they want, I am glad there is still room out there for truly unique, fun, and interesting comics like Usagi Yojimbo. Thank you for your work.
Sincerely and Strangely
Lucid,
Gary Grossman
Olympia, WA
P.S. Who drew Groo in the following publications, you or Sergio: Usagi Yojimbo Summer Special, pg. 23 (“Stupid-looking barbarian.”); UY Vol. 1, #11, pg. 16 (silhouette); and UY Vol. 1, #20, pg. 5 (Groo flying a kite)?
I drew Groo in the first two.
I showed Sergio the original art to UY #20 shortly after I had completed it and was surprised when people came up to me shortly after it came out and pointed out Groo on that page. Incidentally, that’s Sergio on the cover of that issue.
Dear Stan,
Just caught the first issue of Dark Horse’s Space Usagi. Excellent! The return to black-and-white artwork was most welcome. It was kind of sad to see Mirage’s publishing department go under like that, but hey, these things happen. I’m just glad that I get to continue reading and enjoying your work uninterrupted. Dark Horse seemed like the most logical place to move the long-eared one, at least for now. I remember checking out your copy of the Swedish edition of Usagi, which wasn’t really all-Usagi, but had some Concrete as well. With that in mind, the move to Dark Horse was quite obvious for me. But the big question still remains: is Usagi venturing back to Fantagraphics?
All in all, I’m quite satisfied with the smooth transition to yet another publisher, and I can’t wait to see more Usagi from Dark Horse. Keep it up!
Todd Bustillo
Cypress,
CA
Usagi, in a sense, never left Fantagraphics since they’re still publishing the trade paperback collections. UY Book 7 should be hitting the stands about now (with an introduction by Sergio Aragonés), and Book 1 will be going into its fifth printing in June.
Dear Jamie & Stan:
About two years ago, I read the first of the collected volumes of UY and picked up most of the first series featuring Space Usagi. (Though not with Rhogen in it: I would’ve remembered him, both for his richly roguish ways and his resemblance to Gennosuké the Bounty Hunter.) I made a note to myself to seek out more issues and volumes of Usagi – past and future – but I never did. Either I was buried in backlogs (according to my current slowpoke guide, I have enough comics to keep me reading until the middle of this year) or I couldn’t pick up the series chronologically (very important to me). In the case of the other Space Usagi series, I think I just plain forgot about it…until I saw that Dark Horse was bringing it back. An in the same week as Warlords of Mars, no less! (Usagi and John Carter…think about it…or Carson Napier…)
Stan Sakai didn’t get fancy. Oh, he got futuristic in “Warrior” – and the “surge” put a wondrous new spin on the old blades – but his first chapter was best for its concentration of eternal verities: the young lord who must prove himself; the pirate whose amorality comes with a morality of its own; the mysterious relative who perhaps can be trusted and perhaps can’t; and, best of all, the samurai who carries on, perhaps because of the code of bushido and perhaps in spite of it. The results were quite entertaining and occasionally very poignant (Rhogen’s concern for Usagi, Usagi with the hologram of Tomoeh), and just the thing to make me feel a little better over not having any more reprints of Lone Wolf and Cub to read.
Make the next two issues as good as this one, and I will seek out what I meant to seek out in 1994. so, until the koroshi-tama summon us again, thank you for your time. To Barsoom! John Carter and Clayton call…
Very truly yours,
Charles J. Sperling
Flushing,
NY
Next issue: The conclusion of "Noodles"!
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“Usagi Yojimbo”, including all prominent characters featured in the stories and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Stan Sakai and Usagi Studios. Usagi Yojimbo is a registered trademark of Stan Sakai. Names, characters, places, and incidents featured in this publication either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events, institutions, or locales, without satiric content, is coincidental.