General discussion about Usagi Yojimbo, the comics, the stories, the characters, collectibles, TV appearances, Stan Sakai, Space Usagi, Nilson & Hermy, and all other related topics.
Hiya:
I discovered Usagi Yojimbo about 4 months ago and liked it so much that I already have all the TPBs and some DH issues (and I'll try to get as many issues I can, since I can't get enough! =8-D ) . So first of all I'd like to congratulate Stan Sakai for the outstanding job he's doing with his comics.
I had in mind some questions that, although not directly related to the comic or the story itself, are about feudal Japan. In the time period Usagi Yojimbo happens on, did they have any kind of sewers or anything close to? I've noticed in the comic that the villages' streets seem pretty clean, so I was wondering how did they manage to get rid of any waste (it doesn't look like they just put everything in buckets and threw it away to the street like in feudal Europe). Also, I'm curious to know how they bathrooms (or whatever they had) were. How often did they wash their clothes, and how? On what time basis did they bath? Could anyone point me out any web adress with info about it? I'm asking 'cause in all the stories I know that do not happen in our timeset or world (it could be Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Farscape, or anyone), the author always ignores such trivial (and important!) stuff, and since Sakai-san does so much research in his work (something that I really appreciate and like) maybe he knew something about it.
Thanks in advance for any info. And looking forward for issue 64!
P.S.:Forgive me if I did any mistakes: English is not my native language
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ziritrion wrote: In the time period Usagi Yojimbo happens on, did they have any kind of sewers or anything close to? I've noticed in the comic that the villages' streets seem pretty clean, so I was wondering how did they manage to get rid of any waste (it doesn't look like they just put everything in buckets and threw it away to the street like in feudal Europe). Also, I'm curious to know how they bathrooms (or whatever they had) were. How often did they wash their clothes, and how? On what time basis did they bath? Could anyone point me out any web adress with info about it?
Toilets or privies were holes cut into the floor with cess pits under them. Public restrooms were common. "Night soil" collection was a large scale operation and was used to fertilize supplementary crops (not rice). Before being used, it was diluted and poured at the base of roots of crops such as cotton and trees. Boats transported it over distances and wooden buckets slung over poles could carry it over shorter distances. My parents have photos of night soil collecting wagons called "honey wagons" as late as the early 1950's. A huge concern was the spread of some diseases, in particular human intestinal worms.
There were also gutters in the street (I've drawn a few), at places covered with boards, used for run-off water.
The Japanese have always been very hygenic, taking baths very regularly. Public baths were common. It was also polite to invite a guest to take a bath in your home. This caused some discomfort when the Europeans came over as their view of bathing was very different than the Japanese.
According to the Book Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa, kimonos were dismantled at the seams and then washed, then resewn after drying... seems I read something similar in another book somewhere else...
Thanks a lot for the tips! By the way, what did they use to make their clothing? Silk seems to be really expensive and reserved for samurai and high-class society. Cotton, maybe?
I've also noticed that whenever Usagi kills someone with his sword, he wipes away the blood on it with some kind of napkin. What is it made of? What's its name? And where the heck does Usagi carry so many of them so he doesn't run out of them?
I have also read the #65 preview at comicon. Man, it looks nice! Can't wait to see what happens!
Thanks again for any info you may give me.
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