TOZAI TIMES VOLUME 9 #103, MAY 1993
Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 11:30 -0700
NOT YOUR EVERYDAY WASCALLY WABBIT
by MAS DOBASHI (TOZAI TIMES VOLUME 9 #103, MAY 1993)
Much has been written in the local vernaculars recently about a Japanese American cartoonist, Stan Sakai. Having reached the celebrity status, I wondered if he would grant another interview with Tozai Times. Six years ago, Tozai exposed Stan’s artistic talents to the community with a story written by Darrell Hamamoto about Usagi Yojimbo. Sakai did grant me the interview.
Sakai arrived into this world while his father was fulfilling his military obligations in Japan. While his dad was serving in Japan, he met, courted, fell in love and married Sakai’s mother, the former Teruko Aisaka. His older brother Edward was born in Tokyo and Stan was born in Kyoto. His younger brother Kenneth arrived after his parents returned to Oahu. One would assume that Sakai with his accurate knowledge of ancient Japanese history was educated in Kyoto, the former capital of Japan. Not so -- he moved to Hawaii when he was only two years old and received all of his formal education in the 50th state.
After receiving his degree in Fine Arts from the University of Hawaii Sakai did free-lance artwork and was running a garment printing shop. I’m assuming that he was designing all of those colorful fabrics for muumuus and aloha shirts.
According to Sakai, the reason he came over to the mainland was that a company in California wanted to create a new line of junior sportswear to be distributed nationwide and they asked him to come and take over the designing and production. He stayed with the company for a year before he went on his own doing free-lance artwork. Quoting Sakai, “I did everything from newspaper ads, illustrations of record album covers and magazines. Basically I took anything I could find. But I was interested in doing comic books because I grew up reading comic books.”
Gradually Sakai found work in the comic book field doing artwork and writing. He created his own character Usagi Yojimbo in 1984.
Asked if his Usagi character was created on the spur of the moment or was it by trial and error? Sakai says, “I was always interested in Old Japan, because as a kid I would see those 25 cent chambara movies. I grew up with that culture and I wanted to do a strip about Miyamoto Musashi who was a 17th century samurai. I read books and did as much research about him that I could find. One day I drew a rabbit and tied his ears to make a samurai top knot and I loved the design. It’s very simple and I’ve been working on him ever since. I think it’s really unique. I try to make the story as historically accurate as possible to convey the culture of Japan at that time and even some of the political and historical situations of that time.”
Sakai attempts to convey to the American public the old Japanese culture and he has received many favorable comments about his Usagi and its educational values. In fact, Sakai is proud of the Parent’s Choice award he received for his comic strip.
To create a new comic series, Sakai begins with an idea. Next he has to do the research and make an outline. After the story line is set up, then comes the actual drawing of the panels. It takes Sakai four to six weeks to complete one book and he does all the artwork and lettering. Now that the comics are in full color, he has another artist, Tom Luth do all the coloring.
Sakai has recently changed publishers to the new firm Mirage Publishing, Inc., whose founders are Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. These two are known as the creators of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The publishers and Sakai have an agreement that his work not be edited under any circumstances and this agreement has caused no difficulty. Maybe it’s because his work has been received by Sakai’s strongest critic, his wife Sharon, and she suggests subtle changes every now and then.
Since his creation, Usagi Yojimbo has appeared in comic strips and on TV. Sakai has licensed the “samurai rabbit” to toy companies and wearing apparel companies. You can find kids pajamas with Usagi printed on them and Usagi toys. Sakai’s latest creation, Space Usagi is now under development and is being promoted in Japan and Europe - Perhaps we can look forward to Space Usagi toys and T-shirts in the near future. Today you are able to purchase Usagi Yojimbo in Far East countries. In some European countries his comic books are translated into their native languages.
This young Sansei artist prefers to work in his home studio where he can be with his young family at all times. His commute to work is rather short. From the kitchen to the studio which happens to be in the next room. His large studio is filled with reference materials and beautiful oil paintings that he has done and naturally a drawing table. His awards and commendations take up a lot of wall space. Among the many awards that Sakai has been presented with are the 1990 Parents Choice Literary Award and the 1991 Inkpot Award presented by the Comic Industry.
By working at home Sakai is easily accessible to his family and can work anytime he feels like putting his pencil to the pad. He can be there for his two young children and his wife Sharon at all times. He does get lots of work done in the early morning hours when the kids are asleep and in the evenings. His target is to complete at least one page per day. This will keep him on schedule to meet his deadline.
This schedule doesn’t mean that Sakai and his family are home day in and day out. Last year, they spent two weeks in Hawaii, another two weeks camping in Montana and attending comic book conventions from coast to coast. He recently returned from a New York convention and is looking forward to the big one in San Diego later on this year.
Usagi Yojimbo can also be purchased as a hard cover book. The publisher took a series of Stan’s paperback comic books and compiled them into a hardcover book. This means that the artist, writer, creator Sakai attends lots of book signing sessions at various book stores throughout the country. He finds it very gratifying that people will travel long distances just to meet him and he enjoys the experience of being a celebrity of sort.
Sakai’s other enjoyment about his work is getting fan mail from throughout the world. He regularly receives mail from Europe, Australia, and also from the Far East. Unfortunately, Sakai hasn’t the time to answer all the letters, but is appreciative of receiving them.
When Sakai addresses students at schools or libraries, he is asked how one can get started drawing cartoons. His answer is “There isn’t a school you can attend to learn cartooning. Cartooning is really self-taught and it really has to come from within.
Practice your artwork, show your work and get it accepted. What is important is that you learn to read well because in reading you learn to write your story line.”
Returning to the younger days of Sakai in Hawaii he grew up with Sharon Ota, who lived about five blocks from him. They attended high school together and in 1977, decided to share their lives “til death do us part.” According to Sakai, the thought of returning to Hawaii to live never became a question. Although the Islands are a beautiful place and all the relatives are there, they enjoy the vastness of the mainland and they want to explore the entire Continental United States.
Sharon and Stan are proud parents of Hannah and Matthew and they love to travel during the summer months. While Stan is home working on his drawings Sharon is out teaching preschool.
Being a professional person, Sakai belongs to a couple of professional groups. He is a member of the National Cartoonist Society and the local Comic Arts Professional Society (CAPS). They meet regularly to keep abreast of each other and exchange ideas and do a lot of networking pertaining to the comic field. It’s primarily a social group because most of the cartoonists like Sakai work by themselves and they don’t have contact with one another. Quoting Stan, “Belonging to the National Cartoonist Society is really a big dream come true, working and meeting people I grew up with and now I’m good friends with them.” When Sakai speaks of people he grew up with they are the likes of Hank Ketchum (Dennis the Menace), Charles Schulz (Peanuts), Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), etc. I feel that Stan takes great pride in the fact that he is accepted as one of the better known cartoonists and is able to rub elbows with the biggies in the industry.
Beginning on May 1st of this year, Sakai, along with three other artists will hold an exhibition at the George Doizaki Gallery located in the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC). The exhibition runs through June 13, 1993, so I would advise all art lovers and cartoon lovers to pay a visit to the George Doizaki Gallery and see first hand, the great talent that this young man possesses. He will be making a personal appearance at the center on May 1, and my advice to all of you, don’t miss the opportunity to meet and speak with this young man that loves his profession and loves to chat with people.
by MAS DOBASHI (TOZAI TIMES VOLUME 9 #103, MAY 1993)
Much has been written in the local vernaculars recently about a Japanese American cartoonist, Stan Sakai. Having reached the celebrity status, I wondered if he would grant another interview with Tozai Times. Six years ago, Tozai exposed Stan’s artistic talents to the community with a story written by Darrell Hamamoto about Usagi Yojimbo. Sakai did grant me the interview.
Sakai arrived into this world while his father was fulfilling his military obligations in Japan. While his dad was serving in Japan, he met, courted, fell in love and married Sakai’s mother, the former Teruko Aisaka. His older brother Edward was born in Tokyo and Stan was born in Kyoto. His younger brother Kenneth arrived after his parents returned to Oahu. One would assume that Sakai with his accurate knowledge of ancient Japanese history was educated in Kyoto, the former capital of Japan. Not so -- he moved to Hawaii when he was only two years old and received all of his formal education in the 50th state.
After receiving his degree in Fine Arts from the University of Hawaii Sakai did free-lance artwork and was running a garment printing shop. I’m assuming that he was designing all of those colorful fabrics for muumuus and aloha shirts.
According to Sakai, the reason he came over to the mainland was that a company in California wanted to create a new line of junior sportswear to be distributed nationwide and they asked him to come and take over the designing and production. He stayed with the company for a year before he went on his own doing free-lance artwork. Quoting Sakai, “I did everything from newspaper ads, illustrations of record album covers and magazines. Basically I took anything I could find. But I was interested in doing comic books because I grew up reading comic books.”
Gradually Sakai found work in the comic book field doing artwork and writing. He created his own character Usagi Yojimbo in 1984.
Asked if his Usagi character was created on the spur of the moment or was it by trial and error? Sakai says, “I was always interested in Old Japan, because as a kid I would see those 25 cent chambara movies. I grew up with that culture and I wanted to do a strip about Miyamoto Musashi who was a 17th century samurai. I read books and did as much research about him that I could find. One day I drew a rabbit and tied his ears to make a samurai top knot and I loved the design. It’s very simple and I’ve been working on him ever since. I think it’s really unique. I try to make the story as historically accurate as possible to convey the culture of Japan at that time and even some of the political and historical situations of that time.”
Sakai attempts to convey to the American public the old Japanese culture and he has received many favorable comments about his Usagi and its educational values. In fact, Sakai is proud of the Parent’s Choice award he received for his comic strip.
To create a new comic series, Sakai begins with an idea. Next he has to do the research and make an outline. After the story line is set up, then comes the actual drawing of the panels. It takes Sakai four to six weeks to complete one book and he does all the artwork and lettering. Now that the comics are in full color, he has another artist, Tom Luth do all the coloring.
Sakai has recently changed publishers to the new firm Mirage Publishing, Inc., whose founders are Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. These two are known as the creators of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The publishers and Sakai have an agreement that his work not be edited under any circumstances and this agreement has caused no difficulty. Maybe it’s because his work has been received by Sakai’s strongest critic, his wife Sharon, and she suggests subtle changes every now and then.
Since his creation, Usagi Yojimbo has appeared in comic strips and on TV. Sakai has licensed the “samurai rabbit” to toy companies and wearing apparel companies. You can find kids pajamas with Usagi printed on them and Usagi toys. Sakai’s latest creation, Space Usagi is now under development and is being promoted in Japan and Europe - Perhaps we can look forward to Space Usagi toys and T-shirts in the near future. Today you are able to purchase Usagi Yojimbo in Far East countries. In some European countries his comic books are translated into their native languages.
This young Sansei artist prefers to work in his home studio where he can be with his young family at all times. His commute to work is rather short. From the kitchen to the studio which happens to be in the next room. His large studio is filled with reference materials and beautiful oil paintings that he has done and naturally a drawing table. His awards and commendations take up a lot of wall space. Among the many awards that Sakai has been presented with are the 1990 Parents Choice Literary Award and the 1991 Inkpot Award presented by the Comic Industry.
By working at home Sakai is easily accessible to his family and can work anytime he feels like putting his pencil to the pad. He can be there for his two young children and his wife Sharon at all times. He does get lots of work done in the early morning hours when the kids are asleep and in the evenings. His target is to complete at least one page per day. This will keep him on schedule to meet his deadline.
This schedule doesn’t mean that Sakai and his family are home day in and day out. Last year, they spent two weeks in Hawaii, another two weeks camping in Montana and attending comic book conventions from coast to coast. He recently returned from a New York convention and is looking forward to the big one in San Diego later on this year.
Usagi Yojimbo can also be purchased as a hard cover book. The publisher took a series of Stan’s paperback comic books and compiled them into a hardcover book. This means that the artist, writer, creator Sakai attends lots of book signing sessions at various book stores throughout the country. He finds it very gratifying that people will travel long distances just to meet him and he enjoys the experience of being a celebrity of sort.
Sakai’s other enjoyment about his work is getting fan mail from throughout the world. He regularly receives mail from Europe, Australia, and also from the Far East. Unfortunately, Sakai hasn’t the time to answer all the letters, but is appreciative of receiving them.
When Sakai addresses students at schools or libraries, he is asked how one can get started drawing cartoons. His answer is “There isn’t a school you can attend to learn cartooning. Cartooning is really self-taught and it really has to come from within.
Practice your artwork, show your work and get it accepted. What is important is that you learn to read well because in reading you learn to write your story line.”
Returning to the younger days of Sakai in Hawaii he grew up with Sharon Ota, who lived about five blocks from him. They attended high school together and in 1977, decided to share their lives “til death do us part.” According to Sakai, the thought of returning to Hawaii to live never became a question. Although the Islands are a beautiful place and all the relatives are there, they enjoy the vastness of the mainland and they want to explore the entire Continental United States.
Sharon and Stan are proud parents of Hannah and Matthew and they love to travel during the summer months. While Stan is home working on his drawings Sharon is out teaching preschool.
Being a professional person, Sakai belongs to a couple of professional groups. He is a member of the National Cartoonist Society and the local Comic Arts Professional Society (CAPS). They meet regularly to keep abreast of each other and exchange ideas and do a lot of networking pertaining to the comic field. It’s primarily a social group because most of the cartoonists like Sakai work by themselves and they don’t have contact with one another. Quoting Stan, “Belonging to the National Cartoonist Society is really a big dream come true, working and meeting people I grew up with and now I’m good friends with them.” When Sakai speaks of people he grew up with they are the likes of Hank Ketchum (Dennis the Menace), Charles Schulz (Peanuts), Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), etc. I feel that Stan takes great pride in the fact that he is accepted as one of the better known cartoonists and is able to rub elbows with the biggies in the industry.
Beginning on May 1st of this year, Sakai, along with three other artists will hold an exhibition at the George Doizaki Gallery located in the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC). The exhibition runs through June 13, 1993, so I would advise all art lovers and cartoon lovers to pay a visit to the George Doizaki Gallery and see first hand, the great talent that this young man possesses. He will be making a personal appearance at the center on May 1, and my advice to all of you, don’t miss the opportunity to meet and speak with this young man that loves his profession and loves to chat with people.