Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

Perhaps I'm the last to have spotted this, but just in case........

http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb11 ... y_art2.jpg

The Wikipedia entry for "Kemono" uses the same picture:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kemono

I think that the use of anthropomorphic characters in storytelling is a pretty universal thing. There are several examples of this from other cultures that I can think of, including the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, which features Monkey and Pigsy as two of the main characters; American Indian folktales about Coyote and other similar characters, and animal fables by European writers from Aesop to Geoffrey Chaucer. It's interesting to consider the possibility that the whole "furry" phenomenon may have some pretty deep historical roots.

I don't know whether or not Stan has been consciously or unconsciously influenced by Kemono artwork, but if I had to venture a guess, I would say that it's more likely that Usagi Yojimbo draws upon the general tradition of the use of anthropomorphic characters in world literature and folklore.

Maybe Sakai-sensei is "channeling " a previous life?