Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

The topknot was a typical hairstyle for the warrior (signifying his status as asamurai as it seems), but at times I find myself getting abit confused as there appears to have been another interpretation of it as a high ponytail (like Jei and Katsuichi-sensei's).

Stan, was this high ponytail worn only by ronin or non-samurai swordsmen, or is it actually a ficitional interpretation for aesthetic appeal (which I'm doubting, because in Lone Wolf and Cub afew ninja wear it).

Also, what kind of hair style does Lord Hijiki have (based on his only actual appearance in UY volume 1 from Fantagraphics) and why does he have it? Were only a few daimyo of high "esteem" allowed to wear their hair out like that?

They are all variations of the "chonmage", or samurai topknot. In Hikiji's case, his hair had not been through his daily tying.

I chose not to use a topknot in a couple of cases--Lone Goat and Gen. Lone Goat already has two horns on top his head, and I felt a chonmage would be too much. Gen has a pointed head with ears sticking straight up, and it would be a bit too much. Besides, going top knot-less reveals a lot of their characters.

Wow, thanks Stan!

The lack of a topknot for these guys sure does tell alot about their characters especially with their current status as ronin.

I was also curious about Hikiji's hair because I've seen about the same hair style on two other characters (Oroku Saki in the new TMNT cartoon, whose garb seems to suggest more or less that he sees himself as a lord, and Tezuka's Acetyle Lamp character on the official website in one of his "roles" as Yagyu Shuma).


If anybody (including Stan) is interested...

Oroku Saki's appearance
www.ninjaturtles.com
go to the 2003 tmnt cartoon section, check sneak peeks and scroll down for Saki in the villains section. I could link directly, but I'm nervous about getting trouble for that OO;;

Lamp as Yagyu Shuma can be found in the Character's World in Studio section (listed under his original name of Lamp)
http://en.tezuka.co.jp/studio/index.html