Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

I was working on the UY 2004 calendar today, looking up dates for various events and birthdays (thanks Steve, you were a tremendous help and motivated me on this search). Anyway, I came across a few stumbling blocks during my search, mainly because Japan used a lunar calendar and dates were determined in relation to the ruling emperor at that time.

I had wanted to include the birthdates of some historical figures such as Ieyasu Tokugawa, Hideyoshi, Nobunaga, etc but specific dates prior to 1600 are very difficult to pin down. The western calendar was just coming into use in Japan and the country had to adjust to it in some unusual ways--in 1599 the month of March occurred twice. Even today, in Japan the Battle of Sekigahara took place on September 15, 1600 but it is October 21 in western calendars. Where there is conflict, I will choose to go with the western dates because most of my references are western.

Even some festivals occurs within a range, such as Setsubun (the bean-throwing festival) somewhere between Feb 1 through the 4th. Tanabata (Festival of the Weaver Star) literally means "Seven-seven" because it is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month. It is celebrated in different regions on both July 7th or August 8th.

However, I did find some important dates such as the arrival of the first American, Commodore Perry, on July 8, 1853 or the birthdate of Yasunari Kawabata (June 11, 1899) the first Japanese to win the Nobel Prize for literature (1968).

I also came across some peculiar festivals such as the Mud-fight Festival, the Toad Mourning Festival, and various fertility festivals.

Just a quick note to mention a couple interesting books...

1. Japanese Festivals by Helen Bauer and Sherwin Carlquist. 1965 Doubleday and Co. This is the book which provided the dates which I posted for you previously. The book is broken down by Communities Celebrate, Festivals of the Faithful, Festivals on a National Scale, and Festivals with a Seasonal Touch... Lot more in here than I listed...

2. The Five Sacred Festivals of Ancient Japan by U. A. Casal. 1967 Charle E. tuttle Company. This one is a bit more limited on the number of festivals but gives more detail on what it does cover...includes (Oshogatsu) The New Years Festival, (Hinamatsu) The Girls' Festival, (Tango no sekku) The Boys' Festival, (Tanabata) The Star Festival, and (Jugoya) the Chrysanthemum Festival...

3. The Emperor and the Wolf by Stuart Galbraith. 2002 Faber and Faber 823 pgs. [32] p. of plates. $40.00 hard cover, $20.00 trade paperback.
This is an exceptionally interesting combined biography of both Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, and includes a great look inside the Japanese film industry... an example of the great amount of info in here is the mention of Toshiro Mifunes first appearence as Miyamoto Musashi in a film by Hiroshi Inagaki prior to starring in the Samurai Trilogy in 1954 - 1956. Mifune portrayed Musashi in 1951 in the final film in Inagaki's trilogy about Sasaki Kojiro, with the third film concerning the same duel that is depicted in the final film of the Musashi trilogy... I think this is the first English language biography of Toshiro Mifune. It also has a great filmography consisting of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune film credits.

Abayo,
Steve

Hi Steve,
I actually have a copy of Japanese Festival that was autographed by Helen Bauer. It's a terrific book and I have used it as a reference in a couple of stories.

Another book I've found useful is Festivals of Japan published in 1985 by the Japan Travel Bureau. I have a couple of others around somewhere in my studio that I have been unable to locate.

I was unaware of The Emperor and the Wolf. I'll look out for it, though I'm really far behind in my reading as it is.

I'm just amazed that you find time to read as it is!

I do two online comic strips myself, and I gotta tell you, these days the only way I really get time to sit back with a good book is at the end of the evening before I go to bed (which is usually reserved for readng my Bible) or while I'm on my exercise bike for an hour after work. I can't imagine what it must be like when you're doing a professional monthly comic.

Back on the topic of the calendar; does that mean we're going to see more calendar-exclusive art on the 2004 model? Eeek! Can't wait! More Gennosuke!

Matt

Matt Nelson wrote:...does that mean we're going to see more calendar-exclusive art on the 2004 model?

There's a new piece of art for December. Bowing to wife Sharon's request, this is a happy piece with no real fighting...Usagi is even smiling.

I found out which images are going to be used in the 2004 calendar. I'll post the information in a couple of days, once I verify where they were first published.

Stan Sakai wrote:Bowing to wife Sharon's request, this is a happy piece with no real fighting...Usagi is even smiling.

My thanks to your wife!

I realize that "aggressive" themes lull more (young) people into buying a comic but I would really enjoy more covers which show how funny you can be (like V3#49).

Ever thought about making an Usagi issue which leaves your readers rolling on the ground laughing?

Hey Stan are you going to have Yamamoto tsunetomo on the calendar?
the author of Hagakure?

Why stop with the Hagakure? Why not Kyu Sakamoto's birthday? I mean he's THE ONLY Japanese pop singer to make # 1 on US charts. LOL! -Jason

Alec wrote:Hey Stan are you going to have Yamamoto tsunetomo on the calendar?

There are so many people/events I neglected. He is one of them. Post his birthdate and I'll see if there's time to include him. There are also a lot of dates that I intentionally left out--such as many actors or directors. I did include Kurosawa and Mifune, though.

Stan Sakai wrote:

Alec wrote:Hey Stan are you going to have Yamamoto tsunetomo on the calendar?

There are so many people/events I neglected. He is one of them. Post his birthdate and I'll see if there's time to include him. There are also a lot of dates that I intentionally left out--such as many actors or directors. I did include Kurosawa and Mifune, though.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo was born June 12th 1659 in Katatae.
He was the author of Hagakure, for people that don`t know who he was.
he died in 1719. i hope this was enough.


Hagekure, A unique guide to living-and dying: a focused life, a willing death...

Stan are you going to have the dates dealing with the "47 samurai" marked on the calender? Just me but that would seem fitting.

Kodiakc wrote:Stan are you going to have the dates dealing with the "47 samurai" marked on the calender?

That's on there, as is the Battle of Sekigahara.

[quote=
3. The Emperor and the Wolf by Stuart Galbraith. 2002 Faber and Faber 823 pgs. [32] p. of plates. $40.00 hard cover, $20.00 trade paperback.

I read the book and found it very interesting, especially his ideas on the breakup between Kurosawa and Mifune. However I do believe I spotted some errors. Jim Silke (Rascals in Paradise, Betty Page Comics) is identified as a UCLA professor who arranged the screening of a Kurosawa film in the early '60s. I spoke to Jim at WonderCon this April. Jim says he was a publicist at the time for the Toho theatre in LA, not a professor. The author also claims Mifune was once grand marshall for the San Francisco Japantown parade. I've lived in the area for 40 years and have no recall of the event. However I do remember another Kurosawa actor, Tatsuya Nakadai, being grand marshall. I don't think I'd have missed Mifune, if he'd been here.

Steven Ng wrote: The author also claims Mifune was once grand marshall for the San Francisco Japantown parade. I've lived in the area for 40 years and have no recall of the event.

Hi Steven, nice to see you on the boards.

The author might have gotten confused with San Francisco and LA. Mifune was grand marshall for the LA Nissei Week parade once. I got to see him and he was impressive.

Stan, can't remember if this was done with the 2002 calendar, but how about including some dates related to UY? Like the publishing dates for Albedo #2, UY #1 (all of them), etc? Some of those dates may be hard to pin down, but I'm sure Steve G. and Kim T. may be of some help... What do you think?