USAGI YOJIMBO Volume 3, Number 17

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[First up, the letter from our contest winner, and then the latest correspondence and replies from Stan. Yeah! - Jamie]

Dear Stan,

This is an entry to your contest, as listed in the Letters Column of Usagi Yojimbo [Vol. 3] #15.

You ask why we say Japan in English, while the Japanese themselves say Nippon. This is from memory, so I may not have every detail right, but it should be close enough.

In English, we use a corruption of the Chinese form, which is something like Jih-pon. This comes to us from China via Marco Polo, who lived many years in the court of Kublai Khan, and who learned it as (written in Italian) Cipangu. ("Ci" in Italian is pronounced as we would say "Chi" in English.)

When Marco Polo returned to Venice and published his memoirs, he write about the riches of Cipangu. many Europeans felt drawn to such riches - strange, eh? At any rate, many European voyages to the East were in search of Cipangu, and even Columbus hoped to find Cipangu, as well as the East Indies, by going West.

Thus, the English word Japan is just a voiced, shortened form of Cipangu, brought to us from the Chinese through the Venetian, Marco Polo.

Steffan O'Sullivan
Plymouth, NH

[Yes, kids, that was the right answer, so Steffan gets the sketch. About five of you got it in as early as he did, but his letter came out of the hat. Thanks for all the entries, though. It's cool to see you all get so involved. - Jei-mie]

Fan Art by Mark Kofler

Illustration by Mark Kofler from Esslingen, Germany

Dear Stan,

Love UY, love the stories, love every one back to his debut in Critters.

On page 20 of [] UY #15, the first panel, I noticed what appears to be fish on the roof of the Geishu castle. As everyone knows, fish were the symbol for Christianity in Japan. And if Noriyuki is a Christian Daimyo, what happens in 1616 when Hidetada abolishes Christianity? Does Noriyuki recant? Is the Geishu clan stamped out? Will the UY story line end before then? We anxiously await your decision.

Kevin Fujitami
Honolulu, HI

[Actually, Usagi made his first appearance in Albedo #2 from Thoughts and Images in 1984. He was also in Albedo #s 3 and 4 before appearing in Critters #1. Those early stories can be found in the UY Book 1 trade paperback.

[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.]

Last change: 19. May 2003

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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.