Usagi Yojimbo Dojo - Letters - Usagi Yojimbo Volume 3, Issue 59

	Dark Horse Comics Usagi Yojimbo #59 Crows - Part 3 July 2002

	(Click on the thumbnails to view full size cover art)

USAGI YOJIMBO LETTERS COLUMN
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STORY NOTES by STAN SAKAI

My good friend Sergio Aragonés and I were walking in downtown Columbus, Ohio, one November many years ago when a sudden noise startled flocks of blackbirds in the barren trees. They flew around for a while, blackening out the sky, then returned to their branches. Sergio whistled, startling them again, and they took off, circling us before flying back to the trees. As we continued on our way, he told me the story of a province in China that was plagued by an abundance of birds one year. The villagers in the area got together and devised a plan to harass the pests with noisemakers. They chased them unrelentingly day and night until the birds flew off or were too exhausted to fly. Months later, I saw on the news that a county in the midwestern portion of the U.S. had an infestation of blackbirds. The local police used sirens and other noisemakers, pursuing the birds until they finally left the area. I thought I had a story there somewhere. It was years before I finally got around to it.

Dear Mr. Sakai,

I've just read Usagi Yojimbo issues #55 and #56. The last year or so has seen issue after issue that I would rate among your best work ever on Usagi. There's an added depth to your art, your characters are coming even more to life, and the stories are a bit more sophisticated. And your previous work was excellent to begin with! Issue #56 was particularly strong; I've been anticipating the duel between Koji and Katsuichi for what seems like ages. Finally it approaches in earnest!

Now that you've shown us more of the character of Koji, he seems to be a very upright samurai, although his thirst for a fight seems to run ahead of his own already excessive pride. He reminds me of the character of Sasaki Kojiro from the novel Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa. Or, rather, Koji seems reminiscent of what Kojiro might have been like had he grown older, instead of falling to Musashi at Ganryu Island. I think I've gained a little insight into the character of Kojiro through your depiction of Koji. Was Kojiro part of your inspiration for Koji?

R. Scott Rogers
srogers@mindspring.com

The challenge was given in issue #7, and the duel will be fought next month. A year has passed in that time. In the past few issues, I've tried to flesh out the characters of Katsuichi and Koji. Koji was indeed inspired by Kojiro, in name as well as personality, though Koji is not as arrogant as Yoshikawa's antagonist.

Hello and greetings from Hawaii:

I have been a fan of Usagi Yojimbo and Stan Sakai for years now - thanks to my husband the comic book freak! I am also a teacher, and many of my students are non-native English speakers and/or lower level readers who would gain a greater understanding of feudal Japan's strict social structure and Bushido by reading some of Stan's work. I know this is a stretch, but I wondered if there would ever be a time when Usagi Yojimbo would be available as an educational supplement? I would definitely be interested, and I know a lot of other teachers who would be also!

Judy Sadoyama
singloud@hotmail.com

A large part of the fun for me is the research that I have to do for the stories. I try to get the history and culture as accurate as I can within the context of a fantasy series. Grasscutter was used as a textbook for a Japanese history course at Portland State University, and I have spoken to many groups from preschools to the College of William and Mary and Johns Hopkins University. Usagi recently received an American Library Association Award, and I know that the books are available in the Hawaii public libraries.

To Mr. Sakai:

Usagi Yojimbo #55 was the most enjoyable reading experience I have had in a while. Thank you so much for putting what must be a tremendous amount of effort into your craft. I find it not only engaging, but educational as well. Your work is an inspiration to me. I wish you ease of well-being as you continue expressing yourself through art.

Mike Acker
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA

Dear Stan and Diana,

What is it that Usagi is sitting next to on the back cover of issue #56? I really appreciate these sketches on the back covers, and look forward to them every issue. It's good to see you using this space. (It became quite frustrating in the periods when the same logo would appear there on the back, issue after issue.) Actually, the whole design of the book is great at the moment. Usagi Yojimbo is the most wonderful comic I have experienced, and I am very proud to call myself a fan.

Adam Mollinger
s4003070@student.uq.edu.au

That "box" is a lantern. It must be daytime because it's not lit. The sketches on the back cover are drawings I prepare for conventions, since I do not sell my original story pages.

[And take a bow, Cary Grazzini, designer par excellence! - Diana]

STAN SAKAI'S UPCOMING APPEARANCES

San Diego, CA: Comic-Con International San Diego, July 31-August 4
Cedar Rapids, IA: AnimeIowa, August 23-25

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 authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events, institutions, or locales, without satiric content, is coincidental.