Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

Hi Everyone,

I'm just wondering, with all the Usagi stories out there, has he ever visited the same town in more than one story (besides his home town)? I'm guessing that eventually he'd run out of places to visit and could only wander so much before he comes upon familiar territory again.

hi Ian_B!
welcome to the dojo first of all!;)

to answer your question for my part he can come across a town twice or multiple times if the story needs it, but if not hinted at it specifically I always take it that this land he is wandering is huuuuge..vaster than any imagination of vastness my mind can accustom to so there is always something new to see....also I should point out, my personal usagi-logic dictates that in these tumultous times in feudal japan a putch at each and every power or harmony level can set in and shift things-or towns etc..-to unrecognizable states...
so even if he HAS come across one place before he may not even be recognizing it;)..but to be honest I never dealt with this thought when reading usagis adventures...I just go where the story takes me;)

coolray85 wrote:hi Ian_B!
welcome to the dojo first of all!;)

to answer your question for my part he can come across a town twice or multiple times if the story needs it, but if not hinted at it specifically I always take it that this land he is wandering is huuuuge..vaster than any imagination of vastness my mind can accustom to so there is always something new to see....also I should point out, my personal usagi-logic dictates that in these tumultous times in feudal japan a putch at each and every power or harmony level can set in and shift things-or towns etc..-to unrecognizable states...
so even if he HAS come across one place before he may not even be recognizing it;)..but to be honest I never dealt with this thought when reading usagis adventures...I just go where the story takes me;)

Thank you very much! That is a very interesting way of looking at it. I go where the story takes me as well, but I'm just wondering about it from a writing and creativity standpoint since the stories have continued to be so outstanding for so long. I know Stan Sakai would come up with great ideas for revisiting any location!

In the latest volume, UY Book 27: A Town Called Hell, he visits the same town at the beginning and at the end of the book. He has also returned to his own village. Beyond that, I don't remember off hand. Has he gone back to visit Inspector Ishida? If he has not, we certainly have.

Usagi has visited the White Heron Castle in the Geishu province a number of times, and he has also been to the temple where Priest Sanshobo resides at least a couple times, so he must pass through familiar territory once in a while.

Stan Sakai wrote:In the latest volume, UY Book 27: A Town Called Hell, he visits the same town at the beginning and at the end of the book. He has also returned to his own village. Beyond that, I don't remember off hand. Has he gone back to visit Inspector Ishida? If he has not, we certainly have.

Hi Mr. Sakai! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question! Your work is truly wonderful and I will always be a fan.

Steve Hubbell wrote:Usagi has visited the White Heron Castle in the Geishu province a number of times, and he has also been to the temple where Priest Sanshobo resides at least a couple times, so he must pass through familiar territory once in a while.

Thanks a lot! It would be very cool for Usagi to revisit a town after many years, like a random one from one of the early stories, and have a new experience there, especially if the people he met previously were no longer there. If there would be anyone there who remembers or heard about Usagi, it would be great to see how a town back then responded to seeing the same wanderers more than once.

In the story Taiko, he revisits a town and looks in on the drum maker he befriended the previous year. However, I never drew up the first encounter. It is only referenced.

There was also that story where a lord meets Usagi at an inn and hires him to find his son who is on the run. After a prolong time during which he has had other adventures, Usagi comes across the son and brings him back to the same inn to meet his father. I forget the title, but, again, the first meeting is just referenced. I was particularly pleased with this story.

Stan Sakai wrote:In the story Taiko, he revisits a town and looks in on the drum maker he befriended the previous year. However, I never drew up the first encounter. It is only referenced.

There was also that story where a lord meets Usagi at an inn and hires him to find his son who is on the run. After a prolong time during which he has had other adventures, Usagi comes across the son and brings him back to the same inn to meet his father. I forget the title, but, again, the first meeting is just referenced. I was particularly pleased with this story.

I'm very much looking forward to coming across those.