Gen Part 1

First Published: June 1992 by Fantagraphics Books

• Miyamoto Usagi
• Murakami Gennosuke
• Lady Asano
• Magistrate Oda
• General Murakami

Gennosuke, expert swordsman and rogue extraordinaire, is on the run. Again. Not from unpaid inkeepers, not from hordes of bandits, not even from the law. Gen is unsuccessfully trying to escape from a bunch of tokage - you know - the cute little lizards that pop up from time to time.

A lone brigand has trained them to help him rob people and Gen has taken it upon himself to stop him, uh, them. It looks as though Gen may be overwhelmed by the reptiles when Miyamoto Usagi happens along and rescues him. Again.

Later, Usagi is approached by an old woman and her retainer who begs him for food. Allowing them to sit at his table, Usagi listens to the story of Lady Asano. The wife of a daimyo, her husband was assassinated by a supposedly loyal retainer, Oda. Having no heir, the daimyo's land was given to a cousin and she was left with little. Giving up even that, she sent her retainers out to seek the traitor who killed her husband, and eventually went to seek him out herself. After many years, all that remains is the loyal retainer by her side.

At this point, Gen happens along and we discover that he is the son of Lady Asano's chief retainer - General Murakami. Despite Lady Asano's enthusiasm at finding another vassal of the Asano clan, Gen wants nothing to do with the old woman and storms off. Lady Asano and her retainer take their leave of Usagi and as they make their way outside, they are bullied out of the way by a magistrate's entourage.

The magistrate is none other but the traitorous Oda. Before Lady Asano can do anything, her single remaining vassal charges the magistrate, but is cut down. Lady Asano is taken away by the magistrates men...

Last change: 19. May 2003

Back to UY Dojo Home Page

Because of getting swamped by spam eMail, we don't publish an eMail adress here but you can always reach us via the DojoBoard.

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.