“A Samurai’s Tail : An Interview With Stan
Sakai”
The Rafu Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 3 -
June 5th, 1998
Transcribed by Steve Hubbell USAGIGOYA@HOTMAIL.COM
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A Note From The Editor -
The response to The Rafu Magazine has run the gamut from “I love it” to “I hate it”. Either way, keep those cards and letters coming in, we want to know what you think.
This issue of
the Magazine features Stan Sakai, the creator and alter ego of “Usagi
Yojimbo”. While not a regular reader of
the Usagi series, I did find quite a few people who are, shall we say, a bit
“rabbit” in their admiration of this cartoon character. And there are more than a few people who
have that same admiration for Stan. He
is a truly nice man who was as cooperative as can be.
Newcomers to
the “Usagi” cartoons will find the characters fresh and interesting, while
veterans of the series can discuss in depth, the morality and ethical nature of
the protagonist.
There is now a
new action figure based on this brave samurai rabbit. Distributed by Antarctic Press, it should be available this
month at a toy store near you.
A Samurai’s Tail by Brian Kaya
He is a paragon of the feudal-Japan Samurai. He lives by a strict code of honor, ”bushido”. He fights for justice, protecting the
innocent. He treats all, from peasant
farmer to fellow samurai, with the same respect and courtesy. He…he’s a rabbit? A samurai rabbit?
Yes, a samurai rabbit, the brainchild of artist / writer Stan Sakai and
hero in the on-going comic book “Usagi Yojimbo”. The story begins in Kyoto, Japan, with the birth of his
creator. A couple of years after Stan’s
birth, his father, a Nisei serviceman stationed in Japan, and his mother, a Japanese native, moved Stan and his
brother Kenneth to Hawaii.
Twenty-two years later, with a B.F.A. from the University of Hawaii,
Stan flew to Los Angeles, where he continued his education at the Pasadena Art
Center College of Design. He supported
himself and his wife ,Sharon, by doing book illustrations, magazine advertising
and record album covers as a freelance artist.
But comic books were always his dream.
Currently, Stan resides in Pasadena, California, with Sharon and two
children, Hannah and Matthew. Having
been an “Usagi Yojimbo” fan for the past decade or so, I discovered that Stan
is very much like his rabbit hero, a humble soul who’s nice to everyone,
without the ears or swords.
Stan remains modest despite his success. “Usagi Yojimbo” has earned Stan the 1991 Parent’s Choice Literary
Award, plus two Will Eisner Awards in 1996.
This year, he was one of three North American comic book artists
selected to attend the 4th Annual Tezuka Studios Seminar, which took
Stan back to Japan for the first time since leaving [as a child].
Q. Was Japan everything
you thought it would be?
SS. Yeah, it was. Sharon and I were amazed at how polite and
friendly everyone was and how clean the cities were. We rode the subway and the trains. It was so easy to get around.
We walked around on our own and got lost a couple of times. We saw this great “Godzilla” statue and
went to a toy store with three floors of toys. We also made a pilgrimage to the Tokugawa Shrine and toured the
Edo/Tokyo museum, which shows life in feudal Japan. I shot a lot of video, some of which is starting to appear in
Usagi’s stories.
Q. What was this
seminar all about?
SS. The seminar is named
after Tezuki Osamu (creator of
“Astroboy” and “Kimba the White Lion”).
It was started four years after his death.
We (Lynn Johnson of “For Better or For Worse” and Erik Larsen of “The
Savage Dragon”) met with comic book publishers, editors, artists and writers
from all over Japan. It was an
opportunity to meet and learn about each other and the comic book industries of
both countries. I feel really honored
to have been invited.
Q. Is Usagi
popular in Japan?
SS. No, not really. In fact, I was surprised that anyone even
knew who he or I was.
Q. So, who is “Usagi
Yojimbo”?
SS. Usagi is a ronin, an
unemployed samurai. His adventures take
place in Japan during the Tokugawa Shogunate.
This was an interesting period in Japan’s history because the civil war
has just ended and a new shogun has taken power. Without any wars to fight, there are a lot of ronin wandering
around Japan. Some ronin become
bandits because the only skills they had were with the sword. Usagi hires himself out as a yojimbo, a
bodyguard.
Q. How did you create
him?
SS. I originally wanted
to do a historical comic book series based upon the life of the 17th century
samurai, Miyamoto Musashi. One day I
drew a rabbit and tied his ears up, like a samurai’s topknot, and I loved the
design. So instead of Miyamoto
Musashi, he became “Miyamoto Usagi” (usagi is Japanese for rabbit).
Q. What are your
influences for “Usagi Yojimbo”?
SS. I saw a lot of
samurai movies as a kid in Hawaii, so of course (Akira) Kurosawa’s films,
especially with Toshiro Mifune, are a big influence. He (Mifune) was wonderful.
Also Eiji Yoshikawa’s book about Miyamoto Musashi. I do a lot of research. My library is overflowing with books on
Japan and samurai movies on video.
Q. How did you get your
start in the comic book business?
SS. I was teaching a
calligraphy class and Sergio Aragones asked me if I would letter his new comic
book, “Groo The Wanderer” (Pacific Comics version). I had never lettered a comic book before, and even before I
worked on his book, Sergio was telling everybody what a great letterer I was. We’ve been friends ever since.
Q. Do you consider
yourself to be a role model?
SS. (Laughs
uncomfortably) I, uh…Five years ago, I would have said , “No”. But my wife insists, “You ARE a role model
so when you meet people you should be nice”.
I meet a lot of Japanese Americans at festivals like Nisei Week, so I
try to think of myself as one.
Q. Comic books are not
a “traditional” career choice for Asian Americans, but their number is growing
in the field. I stink at math, which
is why I became a writer…
SS. Well, I stink at math
too. My dad told me, “You can’t make a
living as a cartoonist. Why don’t you
go into accounting or computers?” I
wondered, “Should I go into business?”
But, no, I couldn’t do that.
It was gratifying when I went back to Hawaii for my first (Usagi
Yojimbo) book signing. It was
crowded. There were kids
everywhere. My dad said, “Okay, I
guess you can make a living…”
But, yeah, cartooning is a very risky career choice. Parents want their kids to get a secure
job. Cartooning is very if-y. It’s hard to make a real living as a
cartoonist. Like acting or singing,
the arts.
Q. How do you address
the violence issue in “Usagi Yojimbo”?
SS. There’s a lot of
violence inherent in the genre, samurai stories. It was a violent culture back then. I try to keep the violence within reasonable boundaries. I never put in gratuitous violence.
At first my wife would be my censor.
But since the kids arrived, she doesn’t read Usagi as much. Now I pretty much censor myself. My arrangement with my publishers is that
they publish whatever I send them, so there’s an additional bit of
responsibility placed on me.
I get letters written in crayon from five- year-old kids, all the way up
to one grandmother reader with whom I used to correspond. Usagi appeals to a wide range of
readership.
Q. Do you feel it’s
part of your responsibility to teach Japanese history and culture, or is it
there to help the story?
SS. Both actually. I enjoy doing the research and writing
about it. I try to put a lot of
Japanese culture and history into the book.
At the same time, I try not to make the cultural aspects so blatant as
to interfere with the story. The story
is always foremost.
I’m Sansei, and, growing up, I didn’t learn a lot about Japanese
culture. I enjoy the research
now. It helps to authenticate the
story. From the reader input I get,
they seem to love it too. If I make a
mistake, I hear about it. They let me
know…
Q. I can’t wait for the
new Usagi figure. What can you tell me
about it?
SS. The new action
figure comes out in June, from Antarctic Press. I designed this one myself, as opposed to the other two, tied in
with “teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” cartoon and action figures. (Usagi appeared in two episodes of
“TMNT”.) I’m really happy with the way
this new one turned out. I’ve seen the
prototypes, and it should be neat.
Q. What else does a fan
like myself have to look forward to?
SS. The tenth trade
paperback (Dark Horse Comics) is coming out in August. And there will be a “Space Usagi”
collection coming out in December.
We’ve already scheduled the 11th Usagi book for next year
March. Dark Horse seems to be behind
Usagi.
When the first book came out, I thought “Wow! I have a book!” now, it’s hard to imagine that number ten
is coming out.
There have also been t-shirts by Comic Images, and a new company in
Spain, 1000 Editions, will be selling Usagi prints. The Usagi Yojimbo role playing game, by Gold Rush Games, has
sold out and its first supplement is coming out this summer.
Q. What’s next for you?
SS. I’m doing a back-up
series for (Jeff Smith’s) “Bone”, called “Riblet”. It’s based upon Jeff’s Rat Creatures.
I still enjoy working with Usagi.
I’m concentrating on him right now.
The toys and the other merchandise are neat. But for the hands-on stuff, I like doing the Usagi books,
working on the stories, doing the art.
I do enough other projects at the same time so that working on Usagi
doesn’t get old. I letter the
Spiderman newspaper comic strip, which is neat because I get to work directly
with Stan Lee. I’m still lettering
“Groo The Wanderer” for Sergio (Dark Horse Comics current version).
Q. What “Usagi Yojimbo”
story are you most proud of?
SS. I give talks at
libraries and schools, and I used to give out copies of “A Kite Story” (a tale
about a Japanese kite festival told from three different points of view). It was a good story to give to kids and had
a lot of cultural information. It was
a fun story. I was proud of that
one. I did a lot of research for
it. I’m also proud of Grasscutter (the
most recent series), because of the way it pulled together as one cohesive
story. I spent about five years doing
research for Grasscutter. I’m looking
forward to when it gets collected into a trade paperback.
Q. How do you
envision Usagi’s last story?
SS. Actually, before
Usagi, I created Nilson Groundthumper.
Nilson’s adventures take place in Europe, with Usagi in Japan as a
secondary character. At one point,
Nilson goes to Japan and meets Usagi.
I wrote a story where everyone dies, including Usagi.
Q. You mean Usagi
doesn’t marry Tomoe Ame, grow old and have dozens of grandkids?
SS. No, he dies in
battle. Glorious battle. But I doubt that I’ll ever draw that story
because I’ve neglected Nilson for so long, and I prefer working with Usagi.
The Usagi Yojimbo Dojo website, which is a fan-run website, held a
write-a-Usagi-story contest. The
winning story is about Usagi’s last battle, where he dies quietly, saving
lives. The prize was an original piece
of (Usagi) art based on a scene from the winning story.
Q. I’d rather not end on
a sad note. What do you know about
“Usagi“ that no one else knows?
SS. One question that
comes up every so often is whether or not Usagi has a tail. I know the answer, but I’m not telling.
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Comic books are often dismissed as kid’s stuff, particularly in the
U.S. But, with Stan Sakai’s accurate
portrayal of life in historic Japan, his meticulously, hand-drawn, attention to
detail, and epic tales of high adventure and light hearted humor, as well as
stories of pathos and tragedy, “Usagi Yojimbo” is more a tribute to and a
continuation of those great Kurosawa/Mifune samurai movies.
Readers itching for more should check out the seven volumes of collected
“Usagi Yojimbo” stories (Known as trade paperbacks) published by Fantagraphics
Publishing. Usagi’s on-going
adventures continue in a monthly format via Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse has also published two volumes
of collected stories, with more to come.
In the meantime, I’m still hoping that Usagi and Tomoe tie the
knot. I love happy endings…
Usagi Yojimbo -
Major Players (sidebar)
Usagi is a wandering ronin (masterless samurai) for whom “honor” is above all. Since his lord’s death at the battle of Adachigahara (Sekigahara in historical Japan), Usagi roams Japan helping others in need, righting wrongs, and seeking perfection of himself and his swordplay skills.
If ever there was an antithesis of the honorable Usagi, it’s
Gennosuke, or “Gen”. Gen, also a
ronin, has turned bounty hunter to make
a living. Scruffy and crafty, Gen
claims he is Usagi’s best friend (though Usagi may disagree). Deep down, Gen is a good samurai with a big
heart, unless he is stiffing Usagi with his food and lodging tab.
Based on the popular movie and TV
series, “Zato-Ichi”, this blind swordspig seeks nothing more than a peaceful
life. With a large bounty on his head,
a life of peace seems an impossible dream.
Unlike his movie counter-part, Ino uses his incredible sense of smell to
guide and defend him. Ino has an
off-and-on-again friendship with Usagi and Gen.
As chief retainer of the Geishu
Clan, Tomoe is fiercely loyal to her lord, Noriyuki, and is every bit as
skilled and honorable a samurai as Usagi.
She and Usagi share a strong bond of respect and admiration for each
other. Maybe more…?
This young “Daimyo” (warlord) of the
Geishu Clan owes his life and the well-being of his clan to Usagi many times
over. As he matures, Noriyuki shows
promise of growing into a good and just lord, with the guidance of Tomoe and Usagi.
Indigenous to Stan’s Japan are these
“Tokage” lizard creatures. As Stan put
it, since all of the characters in Usagi Yojimbo are animals, he needed a
creature that could serve as pets or “Scavengers” when needed. Besides, he loved drawing dinosaurs. Spot was Usagi’s faithful traveling
companion for a number of adventures before he…Well, new readers to “Usagi
Yojimbo” will just have to find out for themselves.