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The original transcription of the Stan Sakai Interview/Article from the Comics Buyer's Guide #1235, July 18, 1997. Submitted by UYD-Hatamoto Bruce Costa for the Usagi Yojimbo Dojo.
by Bruce Costa
I must begin the transcription of this interview with a personal note. Stan Sakai was an absolute pleasure to speak with. His mild, friendly voice answered each of my questions with humility and joy. He was not only willing to share the most detailed aspects of his life and work with me, he was also genuinely interested in mine. At the end of our conversation, Stan wanted to make sure I had all of the Dark Horse Usagi Yojimbos. After telling him of the couple of issues I was missing, he graciously sent them (each signed with a Usagi sketch) along with a gorgeous cloisonne pin, a nice letter (which also featured a sketch), and other goodies. I'll cherish them always - not just because I've become so wrapped up in the wandering rabbit's world, but because his creator is a rare thing indeed: a gentleman.
Bruce Costa: Stan, I've greatly looked forward to this conversation; I've been a fan of your work for a long time. I must say, it's getting to the point where you need some pretty strong bookshelves to be a Sakai completist. You've produced quite a bundle of work!
Stan Sakai: Mm-hmm. Well, Usagi was first published in 1984, so he's been around for...what, 12 or 13 years now?
Costa: What was your career prior to Usagi?
Sakai: I was a freelance commercial artist here in Los Angeles. I did, oh, book illustrations, magazine advertising, record album covers, you know, that kind of stuff. But I've *always* loved comic books. I grew up reading comic books and I just wanted to get into it.
Costa: What was your art training?
Sakai: I have a fine arts degree from the University of Hawaii - I grew up in Hawaii. And I went to Art Center here in Pasadena for a few years.
Costa: What made you decide to not take the traditional route into the comic book business?
Sakai: Traditional route?
Costa: You know, work for hire, standard superhero stuff.
Sakai: Oh, well, I grew up reading superheroes. But at one point I really got into the Japanese culture. I'm third generation Japanese, for one thing. But I really wanted to do a series, an historical series, based upon a samurai who lived at the turn of the seventeenth century named Miyamoto Musashi. Basically, one day I just drew a rabbit, tied up his ears to make a samurai top-knot, and fell in love with the design. Instead of Miyamoto Musashi, he became Miyamoto Usagi (usagi means rabbit). From then on, I just stayed with the rabbit!
Costa: That was pretty much a turning point of your career.
Sakai: That, and also meeting Sergio Aragones. At that time I was doing freelance work, and I also taught calligraphy. Sergio asked if I could letter his new comic book, Groo, that was coming out from Pacific. From then on I got into comics.
Costa: Other than your heritage, what drove you to make the thorough discovery of Japanese culture that you have?
Sakai: Hawaii has a mixed culture, so I grew up with a great deal of Japanese culture around me. There was a movie theater down the street that showed Japanese movies every weekend. I'd go down every weekend and see the samurai films and the old serials. As I got older I got more into it - not just the filmmaking, but also the history of Japan.
Costa: And I assume that you chose the 17th century because of Musashi.
Sakai: Musashi and also because there was a lot happening at that time. The Tokugawa Shogunate had just become established, the age of civil wars had just ended. This is a time of turmoil, not only for the country, but for the samurai class itself. Suddenly, because of the peace brought to the land by the shogun, there are a lot of unemployed samurai, or ronin, walking around. Usagi is [such] a wanderer. It was a really interesting time in history for Japan.
Costa: I can only imagine what your library must be like.
Sakai: It's pretty big. It spills over onto the floor and takes up about half the studio here.
Costa: One of the reasons I so enjoy your books is the research notes you tend to include at the end. They always provide the answers to the questions I'd ask if you were sitting in the room as I finished the story. I'd think they're similarly valuable to the entirety of your readership.
Sakai: Usagi is pretty much just a fantasy series, but it's rooted in Japanese culture and history. I try to do as much research as I can. There are a few things that I take liberties with...
Costa: Well, there weren't a lot of little dinosaurs running around at the time...
Sakai: No - and fans have actually asked if those dinosaurs existed at that time in Japan! The dinosaurs came about because, well...I like drawing dinosaurs! Also, I needed something to take the place of the pets and scavengers of Usagi's world. Rats, cats, dogs and things are potential people! So I needed something to fill that niche, and the dinosaurs are perfect.
Costa: Who is Usagi Yojimbo?
Sakai: He's a creature of honor. He follows the path of bushido, which is the path of the warrior. It teaches that honor and loyalty are above all things. First of all, he has to be true to himself. He's been offered positions with other lords but he's always maintained that a samurai only serves one lord in his lifetime. His lord died a while back, so to remain true to himself he takes the path of the wanderer.
Usagi grew up in a small, northern village. He was sent away to learn swordsmanship under a mountain hermit. From there he served a lord. This was right at the end of the age of civil wars with the great wars coming. Then, when his lord was killed he became a wanderer.
Costa: In his first adventure he meets Tomoe.
Sakai: And she'll be in Grass Cutter, too. She's one of my favorite characters, and one of the most popular.
Costa: I'll bet! She's got such strength...
Sakai: All my female characters tend to be strong characters. Grass Cutter, in fact, has a lot to do with fan requests.
Costa: Let's hear about it!
Sakai: There are three treasures given by the gods to the emperor of Japan. There was a jewel, a mirror, and a sword. The sword was named Kusanagi or, literally, Grass Cutter and was lost at sea during the 12th century during the great civil war of Japan. To make a long story short, there was a conspiracy of nobles wanting to overthrow the shogunate and reinstate the power of the emperor. To do this, they wanted to gather all three treasures together. The jewel and the mirror were already in their possession. However, since Grass Cutter was lost at sea, they had to find it. They did find it, and Usagi got hold of it. So you've got the emperor loyalists and you've got the shogunate faction after the sword, with Usagi in the middle.
Besides making a good story, I also had to keep it in line with history. There is a replica of Grass Cutter existing. Some say it's the actual sword, some say it's just a replica. So I had to justify everything and make it all historically accurate.
Grass Cutter is an 8-issue story. The first two issues are just prologue. It begins with the mythological creation of the Japanese islands, goes off through the discovery of Grass Cutter by Susano-O-No-Mikoto in the dragon's tail, and it follows Grass Cutter through history to Yamato-Dake and how he named the sword Grass Cutter. Issue 14 deals with the Genji Wars, the death of the emperor, and how Grass Cutter was lost during the Wars. Everything's historically [accurate].
Costa: What else is coming to stores that features the Ronin Rabbit?
Sakai: The eighth trade paperback will be out in the fall, entitled Usagi Yojimbo: Shades of Death. It will be 200 pages, which will make it the thickest trade paperback so far. It's the first one out by Dark Horse.
It contains the first six issues of the Mirage run, a story called Shades of Green. In it, Usagi meets up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I really liked the way that turned out - it was a fun story to do. Usagi helps a village that the local magistrate wants to try to take over, since gold, that the villagers don't know about, was found there. He tries to drive the villagers out, but Usagi is there standing his ground against [the magistrate's] hired assassins. Plus there are backup stories from issues seven and eight. Most of these stories deal with Usagi as a young boy when he's still learning the arts of the samurai under his teacher. I like those stories the best. Usagi's personality is a lot more... well, not more mischievous, but a lot more fun. In each story he learns a lesson at the end - how the sword is the soul of a samurai, or just lessons about life.
The trade paperback will be in black and white, but I went back and touched up the artwork for black and white production.
Costa: Will it be in a format compatible with the Fantagraphics trades?
Sakai: Yes it will. I'm really happy with the way the trade paperbacks have been going. They look so nice on bookshelves. One thing about Fantagraphics is that they have been keeping those books in print.
Costa: All of them?
Sakai: Oh, yes. Book One is in its fifth printing now.
Costa: Then we've got the one shot serializing the story seen in *Diamond Previews - The Green Persimmon.*
Sakai: Yes. Jamie Rich, my editor, offered me the chance to serialize the story in Previews, which meant 2 pages every month for a year. That, in itself, set up some challenges. Every other page had to end in a cliffhanger. I had to recap the story every few pages, but not be so blatant as to make it boring, since I knew it would be collected as a single issue down the line.
Usagi comes upon a dying samurai who is retainer to his friend, Lord Noriyuki. The samurai asks Usagi to deliver a cheap, porcelain persimmon to the lord. He doesn't say what it's for or what it is. Usagi tries to carry out the dying man's last request, when suddenly he's besieged by all these assassins who are after the persimmon. He keeps trying to figure out what it is and what its significance is.
Costa: What are your thoughts about the amazing Usagi Yojimbo Dojo website?
Sakai: It's put together completely by fans. I'm frankly flabbergasted by the amount of work that they put into it. I'm just floored by all that they have on there! Graphics, histories of each character, synopses of all the stories, upcoming storylines, artwork - black and white as well as color, some limited animation, a website specifically made for Grass Cutter. Like I say, I'm amazed. I'm so grateful for what Todd Shogun has done - it's incredible!
Costa: Here is perhaps an impossible question. Who is the average Usagi Yojimbo reader?
Sakai: The audience that I aimed for is myself. I just write whatever I feel comfortable with, whatever I like drawing. It seems to have clicked with so many people; I'm up for four Eisner awards this year! This year it's the most for any creator. And last year I received two Eisners! Just to be nominated for those is incredible. I'm up against people like Joe Kubert and Osama Tezuka. It's, it's, it's just...overwhelming. [Laughter] I don't expect to win, but it's terrific!
Bruce Costa, freelance writer, lecturer, and business consultant, writes "Suggested For Mature Retailers" for CBG's sister publication, *Comics Retailer*. He'll also be the guy standing in line in front of you at Stan's table at the San Diego Comic Con.
Bruce would like to offer special thanks to the "students" of the Usagi Yojimbo Dojo Website, http://www.usagiyojimbo.com/, and especially Shogun Todd Shogun, for their countless efforts in the compilation of this feature.
If you want to get an idea of the kind of infectious enthusiasm that exists for Stan Sakai and his roaming rabbit at the Usagi Yojimbo Dojo website, you need only speak with Todd Shogun, its creator. And I thought I loved Usagi!
"My first exposure to Usagi was in Critters in 1986," he explained. "I was 12 years old, heavily into both Feudal Japan and anthropomorphics, and Usagi was the perfect comic for me. I started writing in letters of comment when Usagi came out with his own series, in hopes one would grace the Usagi letters column. To this date I've had over twenty letters printed. I'm now 23 years old, and still writing letters to the Usagi lettercol, and they're still being printed."
"Stan's Usagi stories are absolutely amazing. Usagi is the only comic I can read over and over again. Stan's stories are accurate portrayals of feudal Japanese society, along with a little folklore thrown in for good measure. The amount of research put into Usagi by Stan is astonishing, as is the amount of detail in his artwork. Stan keeps Usagi Yojimbo in strict control as far as quality is concerned, so you can trust him to never "sell out" to merchandising. The story continuity in Usagi is also kept well in check, but the #1 reason why I read Usagi is because it's just so entertaining."
Todd is the founder of The UYD, or Usagi Yojimbo Dojo. It is a website founded in February of 1996 as a part of Todd's personal website. "As I became more familiar with the web and HTML, the site began to grow. One day I got the idea of starting an Usagi Yojimbo fan club over the internet, and the UYD became the headquarters of the club. I've known Stan Sakai for many years now, and I told him about the site a few months after its inception. Much to my delight, he decided to contribute preview art and info for placement on the UYD." The site soon became the ultimate source for information about Usagi Yojimbo and Stan Sakai in general. The website has strong ties to Dark Horse Comics, appearing in all Usagi-related advertising, such as for the new Grasscutter series. "[Dark Horse VP-Sales] Lou Bank and [UY Editor] Jamie Rich have been instrumental in providing publicity for the site, and have been very cooperative in providing late-breaking info on release dates and such, on demand. Also, much of the new info comes from Stan Sakai directly." The UYD is the Official UY website, with over 30 megabytes of graphics and text available free to those with internet access.
"The UYD is more than just a website. It's also a fan club/organization dedicated to the promotion of UY and other works by Stan Sakai. Anyone interested can "join" the UYD free of charge by simply signing the login page. Available to all members is the UYD Email Newsletter delivered whenever the UYD is updated with important news and/or previews of UY. The UYD membership is structured as well. This allows members an opportunity to contribute to the UYD. For instance, the UY Journal, a collection of synopses of every single UY story to date, was completed by several members."
The UYD Membership is structured as follows: Todd Shogun reigns as Shogun. Those who have done considerable work on the UYD both on and off the web are known as 'Daimyo'. Those who have done strictly web work are known as 'Hatamoto'. And all other members are known as 'Shugyosha'. Accordingly, Todd honored me in an e-mail ceremony: "I... officially dub thee a bonafide HATAMOTO of the Usagi Yojimbo Dojo for the service that you have done for us. Rise, and grasp the Daisho, Hatamoto Bruce-san. ***GOOOOOOOONNNNGGGGGGG***" Whoever said being gonged was a bad thing?
Todd is justifiably proud of his work: "The Usagi Yojimbo Dojo features everything you've ever wanted to know about Usagi Yojimbo. It also has every single cover of every UY comic ever published available for viewing. There's a bulletin board for members to interact with one another, a member log featuring members from all over the world, and the UYD even has its own search engine. There's traditional Japanese background music, animations, a FAQ page, character descriptions, and a complete listing of every comic that UY has appeared in. The site is so vast that I get people complaining that there's too much to explore and discover. As a result, special care has been taken to make the UYD extremely user-friendly. It is easily one of the largest sites on the web."
contributed by Todd Shogun
"UYD Daimyo Glenn Masuda once told me about a little kid who approached Stan at a convention for an autograph and a free UY print. Stan had just run out of the prints, and was on his way out, but was gracious enough to take the Comic Convention Flyer that the kid had in his hand, flipped over to the blank side, and drew out a complete battle scene with Usagi in it! The kid was very happy, but not quite as happy as his Dad; I think that drawing was well on its way to being framed. Sakai-san is quite a nice guy!"
Questions for Stan Sakai
For this interview, I must begin with a personal note. Stan Sakai was an absolute pleasure to speak with. His mild, friendly voice answered even my most naive questions with humility and joy. He was not only willing to share the most detailed aspects of his life and work with me, he was also genuinely interested in mine. At the end of our conversation, Stan wanted to make sure I had all of the Dark Horse Usagi Yojimbos. After telling him of the couple of issues I was missing, he graciously sent them (signed with a Usagi sketch) along with a gorgeous cloisonne pin, a nice letter (which also featured a sketch), and other goodies. I'll cherish them always - not just because I've become so wrapped up in the wandering rabbit's world, but because his creator is a rare thing indeed: a gentleman.
Bruce Costa: Stan, I've greatly looked forward to this conversation; I've been a fan of your work for a long time. I must say, it's getting to the point where you need some pretty strong bookshelves to be a Sakai completist. You've produced quite a bundle of work!
Stan Sakai: Mm-hmm. Well, Usagi was first published in 1984, so he's been around for...what, 12 or 13 years now?
Costa: What was your career prior to Usagi?
Sakai: I was a freelance commercial artist here in Los Angeles. I did, oh, book illustrations, magazine advertising, record album covers, you know, that kind of stuff. But I've *always* loved comic books. I grew up reading comic books and I just wanted to get into it.
Costa: What was your art training?
Sakai: I have a fine arts degree from the University of Hawaii - I grew up in Hawaii. And I went to Art Center here in Pasadena for a few years.
Costa: What made you decide to not take the traditional route into the comic book business?
Sakai: Traditional route?
Costa: You know, work for hire, standard superhero stuff.
Sakai: Oh, well, I grew up reading superheroes. But at one point I really got into the Japanese culture. Well, I'm third generation Japanese, for one thing. But I really got into that and I wanted to do a series, an historical series based upon a samurai who lived at the turn of the seventeenth century named Miyamoto Musashi. Basically, one day I just drew a rabbit, tied up his ears like a samurai top-knot, and fell in love with the design. Instead of Miyamoto Musashi, he became Miyamoto Usagi (usagi means rabbit). From then on, I just stayed with the rabbit.
Costa: That was kind of the turning point of your career.
Sakai: That, and also meeting Sergio Aragones. At that time I was doing freelance work, and I also taught calligraphy. Sergio asked if I could letter his new comic book, Groo, that was coming out from Pacific. From then on I got into comics.
Costa: Other than your heritage, what drove you to make the thorough discovery of Japanese culture that you have?
Sakai: Hawaii has a mixed culture, so I grew up with a great deal of Japanes culture around me. There was a movie theater down the street that showed Japanese movies every weekend. I'd go down every weekend and see the samurai films and the old serials. As I got older I got more into it - not just the filmmaking but also the history of Japan.
Costa: And I assume that you chose the 17th century because of Musashi.
Sakai: Musashi and also because there was a lot happening at that time. The Tokugawa Shogunate had just become established, the age of civil wars had just ended. This is a time of turmoil, not only for the country, but for the samurai class itself. Suddenly, because of the peace brought to the land by the Shogun, there are a lot of unemployed samurai, or ronin, walking around. Usagi is [such] a wanderer. It was a really interesting time in history for Japan.
Costa: This is one of the reasons I so enjoy your books, particularly the research notes you tend to include at the end. They always provide the answers to the questions I'd ask if you were sitting in the room as I finished the story. I'd think it's similarly valuable to the entirety of your readership.
Sakai: Usagi is pretty much just a fantasy series, but it's rooted in Japanese culture and history. I try to do as much research as I can. There are a few things that I take liberties with...
Costa: Well, there weren't a lot of little dinosaurs running around at the time...
Sakai: No - and fans have actually asked if those dinosaurs existed at that time in Japan! The dinosaurs came about because, well, I like drawing dinosaurs. Also, I needed something to take the place of the pets and scavengers of Usagi's world. Rats, cats, dogs and things are potential people! So I needed something to fill that niche, and the dinosaurs are perfect.
Costa: Who IS Usagi Yojimbo?
Sakai: He's a creature of honor. He follows the path of bushido, which is the path of the warrior. It teaches that honor and loyalty are above all things. First of all, he has to be true to himself. He's been offered positions with other lords but he's always maintained that a samurai only serves one lord in his lifetime. His lord died a while back, so to remain true to himself he takes the path of the wanderer. Usagi grew up in a small Northern village. He was sent away to learn swordsmanship under a mountain hermit. From there he served a lord. This is right at the end of the age of civil wars with the great wars coming. Then, when his lord is killed he becomes a wanderer.
Costa: In his first adventure he meets Tomoe.
Sakai: And she'll be in Grass Cutter, too. She's one of my favorite characters and one of the most popular.
Costa: I'll bet! She's got such strength...
Sakai: All my female characters tend to be strong characters. Grass Cutter, in fact, has a lot to do with fan requests.
Costa: Let's hear about it!
Sakai: There are three treasures given by the gods to the emporer of Japan. There's the jewel, a mirror, and a sword. The sword is named Kusanagi, or, literally, Grass Cutter. The sword was lost at sea during the 12th century during the great civil war of Japan. To make a long story short, there is a conspiracy of nobles wanting to overthrow the Shogunate and reinstate the power of the emporer. To do this they want to gather all three treasures together. The jewel and the mirror are already in their possession. However, since Grass Cutter was lost at sea, they've got to find it. The do find it, and Usagi gets hold of it. So you've got the emporer's loyalists and you've got the Shogunate faction after the sword, with Usagi in the middle.
Besides making a good story, I've also got to keep it in line with history. There is a replica of Grass Cutter existing. Some say it's the actual sword, some say it's just a replica. So I've got to justify everything and make it all historically accurate.
Grass Cutter is an 8-issue story. The first two issues are just prologue. It begins with the mythological creation of the Japanese islands, goes off through the discovery of Grass Cutter by Susano-O-No-Mikoto in the dragon's tail, and it follows Grass Cutter through history to Yamato-Dake and how he named the sword Grass Cutter. Issue 14 deal with the Genji wars and the death of the emporer and how Grass Cutter was lost during the wars. And everything's historical as far as Japanese history goes.
Costa: What else is in store for the Ronin Rabbit?
Sakai: The eighth trade paperback will be out in the fall, it's entitled Usagi Yojimbo: Shades of Death. It will be 200 pages, which will make it the thickest trade paperback so far. It's the first one out by Dark Horse.
It contains the first six issues of the Mirage run, a story called Shades of Green. In it, Usagi meets up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I really liked the way that turned out - it was a fun story to do. Usagi helps a village that the local magistrate wants to try to take over, since gold, that the villagers don't know about, was found there. He tries to drive the villagers out, but Usagi is there standing his ground against the hired assassins. Plus there are backup stories from issues seven and eight. Most of these stories deal with Usagi as a young boy when he's still learning the arts of the samurai under his teacher. I like those stories the best. Usagi's personality is a lot more - not more mischevious, but a lot more fun. In each story he learns a lesson at the end - how the sword is the soul of a samurai, or just lessons about life.
The trade paperback will be in black and white, but I went back and touched up the artwork for black and white production.
Costa: Will it be in a format compatible with the others?
Sakai: Yes it will. I'm really happy with the way the trade paperbacks have been going. They look so nice on bookshelves. One thing about Fantagraphics is that they have been keeping those books in print. Book One is in its fifth printing now.
Costa: Then we've got the one shot serializing the story seen in Diamond Previews - The Green Persimmon.
Sakai: Yes. Jamie Rich, my editor, offered me the chance to serialize the story in Previews, which meant 2 pages every month for a year. That, in itself, set up some challenges. Every other page had to end in a cliffhanger. I had to recap the story every few pages, but not be so blatant as to make it boring, since I knew it would be collected as a single issue down the line.
Usagi comes upon a dying samurai who is retainer to his friend, Lord Noriyuki. The samurai asks Usagi to deliver a cheap, porcelain persimmon to the lord. He doesn't say what it's for or what it is. Usagi tries to carry out the dying man's last request, when suddenly he's beseiged by all these assassins who are after the persimmon. He keeps trying to figure out what it is and what its significance is.
Costa: What's your library like?
Sakai: It's pretty big. It spills over onto the floor and takes up about half the studio here.
Costa: What are your thoughts about the amazing Usagi Website. What are your thoughts on it?
Sakai: It's put together completely by fans. I'm frankly flabberghasted by the amount of work that they put into it. I'm just floored by all that they have on there - graphics, histories of each character, synopses of all the stories, upcoming storylines, artwork - black and white as well as color, some limited animation, a website specifically made for Grass Cutter. Like I say, I'm amazed. I'm so grateful for what Todd Shogun has done - it's incredible.
Costa: Here is perhaps an impossible question. Who is the average Usagi Yojimbo reader?
Sakai: The audience that I aimed for is myself. I just write whatever I feel comfortable with, whatever I like drawing. It seems to have clicked with so many people; I'm up for four Eisner awards this year! This year it's the most for any creator. And last year I received two Eisners! Just to be nominated for those is incredible. I'm up against people like Joe Kubert and Osama Tezuka. It's, it's, it's just...overwhelming. [Laughter] I don't expect to win! But it's terrific!
Below: something else?
John:
I didn't know Maggie's address, and don't have time to find it. Please pass this along. You should also be receiving some graphics from the website, you should HAVE graphics from Dark Horse, and there should also be a Usagi Yojimbo checklist coming from Todd Shogun, who operates the website.
Thanks - Bruce
* * *
Last change: 30. Sep 2002
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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 authors imagination or are
used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead),
events, institutions, or locales, without satiric content, is
coincidental.
