(The Art of Usagi Yojimbo #2) Miyamoto Usagi: "The samurai are the military class of feudal Japan. 'Samurai' literally means 'one who serves' and he is absolutely loyal to his lord."

(The Art of Usagi Yojimbo #2) Miyamoto Usagi: "A masterless samurai was called a 'ronin' <wave man> because he had been set adrift in the sea of life."

(UY Vol 2, #14) The ronin maintained their samurai status without burden of its duties but they were also without the protection and benevolence of a lord.

(UY Vol 2, #12) Masterless samurai were called ronin, literally "men of the waves", because they were subject to the ebbs and flows of life without a lord to anchor them. They were looked upon with fear and suspicion because many of these ronin were desperate men trying to earn a living any way they could. Also, even after the great "Sword Hunt" of 1587, which had supposedly disarmed everyone outside of the samurai class, there were still criminals who wore the two swords and passed themselves off as samurai. There were also groups such as the Otokodate (Chivalrous Men) who were feudal Japans' equivalent of today's street gangs and who walked about openly in defiance of the laws forbidding anyone outside of the samurai class to wear swords.

Usagi, though still technically a ronin, fits more under the category of Kengo (master swordsmen), samurai who voluntarily chose not to serve a lord but instead went on the Musha Shugyo (warrior pilgrimage) to hone their spiritual and martial skills. The Musha Shugyo can range from the lone wanderings of Miyamoto Musashi to the pilgrimage of Tsukahara Bokuden, who took along eighty attendants and had a procession as elaborate as any feudal lord's.

(The Art of Usagi Yojimbo #2) Miyamoto Usagi: "The samurai follows "Bushido" <The Way of the Warrior>, a code of conduct much like the code of chivalry of Europe's middle ages! One's honor is prized above all else."

(The Art of Usagi Yojimbo #2) The sword was the soul of the samurai and his most prized posession. Even in times of peace, he never appeared in public without them. The standard fighting sword is called the "katana" and the shorter sword is a "wakizashi".

(UY Vol 2, #14) Muramasa and Masamune were two of Japan's greatest swordsmiths, though Muramasa blades were thought to be blood-thirsty and unlucky. There is a story which illustrates the different character of these blades. A Muramasa blade was dipped into a leaf strewn stream and even with such a gentle current, each leaf that passed it was cut in half. However, when the Masamune blade was dipped in, all the leaves avoided it.

(UY Vol 1, #38) As I've said so many times, the sword is the symbol of the samurai and reflects his status. It is passed down through generations. It is the very soul of the warrior. In the decline of the samurai, swords were often pawned and replaced with bamboo imitations. The samurai kept up appearances but lost their souls.

(UY Vol 1, #6) Katsuichi-sensei: "The sword is not just a weapon...it's also a mirror. It reflects the soul of the samurai. It is the soul of the samurai. Just as the blade can be tarnished, so can the soul be corroded. Swordsmanship is a discipline and a way of strengthening one's inner self. So keep your soul sharp and clear. Remember...a true samurai does not look for a fight...but tries to avoid it. The best souls are those which are kept in their scabbards."

(UY Vol 1, #1) Katsuichi-sensei : "The sword is the soul of the samurai and his badge of station. To appear in public without it is a disgrace."

(UY Vol 2, #14) The Ninja sword was completely different than the Samurai's blade both in its meaning and in appearance. The katana was an almost mystical symbol of the samurai's class whereas the shinobikatana was merely another tool used by the ninja. The samurai's sword was crafted by master swordsmiths but the ninja's sword was of very poor quality, little more than a length of sharpened iron.

It was a straight blade, shorter than the samurai sword and with an oversized tsuba or handguard. The scabbard was about three inches longer than the blade to accommodate a hidden compartment in which powders or poisons could be stored. The ninja carried his sword across his back and the shorter, straight blade made drawing it in confined areas such as low-ceilinged Japanese homes easier than a samurai-type sword.

(WWW Board June 2000) The katana was traditionally worn through the sash with the blade facing up. The tachi was worn hanging from the sash with the cutting side down.

(UY Vol 1, #7) Usagi lives in the early 17th century, historically, the time that the Tokugawa Shogunate was established.

(UY Vol 1, #7) Though the "Teppo" was in use by the 17th century, I've resisted introducing it into Usagi's Japan, preferring the more traditional weapons. However, I've just plotted a "novel" in which it plays a central part

(WWW Board July 2000) Traditionally, "san" and the more honorific "sama" and even "sensei" are used as a suffix to a family name.

(WWW Board July 2000) Miyamoto is his family name. In Japanese, the family name comes first. If a lord was to succeed his father, I believe both names would be used such as Tokugawa Ieyasu was succeeded by Tokugawa Hidetada, his third son. Or the retired lord may be referred to with another title such as "Great Lord".

(WWW Board June 2000) Not neccessarily. For example, Miyamoto Musahi had a head full of hair with a top knot.

(WWW Board May 2000) Japanese Design Motifs, 1972 by Dover Publications, Inc., compiled by the Matsuya Piece-Goods Store has 4,260 mon but, unfortunately, does not list the clan or family to which they belong.

(WWW Board August 2000) Taméshigiri (Sword-testing) was a story that ran in Dark Horse Usagi Yojimbo #30 and was reprinted in UY Book 13 -- Grey Shadows. A sword-testing school cannot procure enough appropriate bodies -- traditionally, certain corpses are forbidden to be tested upon -- so they start getting their own.

There were 18 prescribed cuts ranging from the lopping off of a hand to cutting through the hips. The beheaded corpses were either suspended or (as I showed it because it is less gory) placed on a bed of soft sand.

Testers were not executioners. Edward Morse describes a couple of executions by beheading in his book Japan Day by Day.

In seppuku (ritualized suicide), the samurai would make the two cuts to his stomach and, at a signal, his second would cut through his neck leaving a flap of skin holding his head so that his noggin would not go bouncing all over the place in an undignified manner.

(UY Vol 3, #6) Shinju, or lovers' suicide, had become particularly fashionable toward the end of the 17th century when there were a series of highly successful puppet dramas glorifying it. Lovers who couldn't marry due to family opposition, differences in class, etc., chose suicide in the hopes that they would spend eternity together in the Buddhist paradise. They were often buried together, but the authorities regarded shinju as a crime and the bodies were publicly exposed as was the practice with executed criminals to disgrace the dead and discourage the practice. Those who were unsuccessful and survived suicide were from then on regarded as hinin, or "non-human," a small step above the eta class as hinin had a hope of returning to "legitimate society."

(UY Vol 3, #6) The Eta was a restricted class. Their professions were usually concerned with death, the disposal of animal carcasses, with their skins and the leather goods made from them. But it was not an economic class, as some of them were quite wealthy. They lived in assigned areas of town or in separate settlements in the country. They were not allowed to marry outside their class and it was a crime for them to conceal their status. A law in 1871 removed class stigmas; however, the Eta have not really disappeared, though the term is no longer used except historically.

(UY Vol 3, #35) My creation, Usagi Yojimbo, was inspired by the life of Miyamoto Musashi, who was himself molded from a country ruffian into arguably the greatest warrior in Japanese history by a priest named Takuan (1573-1645). The priest is also noted for a method of seasoning turnips which is called takuanzuke.

(UY Vol 1, #21) Miyamoto Musashi heavily influenced Miyamoto Usagi. Musashi was born around 1584 and began his samurai career at the age of 13. His father was a country samurai rather than a court samurai. Musashi fought in the battle of Sekigahara which was a turning point in Japanese history (he was on the losing side). He perfected the two-sword style of fighting but was also an artist, philosopher, and the author of A Book of Five Rings. He was a wanderer but died in the service of Lord Hosokawa in 1645 and is buried on the island of Kyushu. He was in more than sixty duels over his lifetime, the most famous of which was with Sasaki Kojiro on Ganryu Island in which Musashi used a boat paddle instead of a sword.

The book, Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa, recounts a portion of his life and has been adapted a number of times. The best and most accessible version is the three mid-‘50s films The Samurai Trilogy, all directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring Toshiro Mifune.

(UY Vol 3, #3) Musashi used a boat's oar in his greatest duel with Sasaki Kojiro, though some historians have speculated that he did it because the oar would give him a longer weapon as Kojiro used an unusually long sword.

(UY Vol 2, #10) The Emperor, being descended from the gods, was the formal ruler of Japan; however, in Usagi's time (16th-17th century), the real power was held by the Shogun, the military ruler.

The three major Shogunate governments in history were the Kamakura (1185-1336), Ashikaga (1336-1568) and Tokugawa (1603-1868). Imperial rule was re-established with the Meiji Restoration (1868).

As a side note, in the late 1940's Emperor Hirohito, the 124th ruler in the dynasty, "gave up" his divinity and today the Emperor is a purely symbolic office.

(UY Vol 3, #3) The inspiration for the Tangled Skein came from a line in a Japanese documentary. There is a forest at the base of Mt. Fuji whose trails are so convoluted that it is difficult to find your way back out without help. It is a favorite location for suicides.

(UY Vol 3, #6) When he formally became shogun in 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu moved the seat of government from Kyoto to Edo (present-day Tokyo). He made the move to surround himself with his supporters as he hailed from that area, called the Kanto. He did it also because he thought Kyoto, with its devotion to fine arts and elegant living, was too decadent and would corrupt his military followers.

(UY Vol 3, #13) Kusanagi is a ken or tsurugi-type sword. These swords are about two-and-a-half to three feet long, straight, double-edged, and very heavy. The scabbards were generally made of wood bound with metal bands.

(UY Vol 3, #17) The shachihoko is a clay or metal ornament placed at the end of the roof ridge. It is in the shape of a mythological fish/dolphin known as the makara, which has the head of a tiger. These were thought to have the power of preventing fires.

(UY Vol 3, #32) "Gaijin" is descriptive rather than pejorative. "Gai" literally means "outside," and "jin" means "person."