At 18 years,
Usagi Yojimbo is older than many of the fans who attend the fandom conventions
attended by the series' creator, Stan Sakai. Making a rare trip to Iowa,
Sakai found a room full of people who enjoy his tales of the samurai rabbit,
regardless of their age. Usagi Yojimbo has generated worldwide respect
and Sakai has received many awards for his work, but the honor he enjoyed
the most was a parents' choice award from the American Library Association.
"That means a lot to me because it's a mainstream award," Sakai said at
a Saturday AnimeIowa panel. One of the reasons that Sakai's work got the
award was because his fictional stories are born from fact and 16th-century
Japanese history. "I try to do as much research as I can within reason,"
said Sakai. "There was a scene where I drew sandals on Usagi that weren't
accurate because he has such stubby feet."
The research
begins with the name of the series and the lead character. "Miyamoto Musaki"
was the name of a historical figure in 16th century Japan, which Sakai
transformed into "Miyamoto Usagi" for his books. "Usagi," of course, is
one of the Japanese words for rabbit, and the series' main character is
a rabbit. But much of the series comes from Sakai's sense of parody. One
character is based on a female samurai who was a noted fighter in the 16th
century, but the character is named after a brand of candy he enjoyed as
a child. Sakai also turned Sato Ichi, an actor best known for his roles
as a blind swordsman with a great sense of hearing, into Sato Ino, blind
swords-pig with a great sense of smell. And when Sakai learned of ninja
clans that were known as "bats" and "cats," he created ninja characters
in Usagi Yojimbo that look like those animals.
Sakai was
born in Japan and raised in Hawaii, but his experience comes from the world
of American comics and cartoons, mostly through his friendship with Sergio
"Groo" Aragones. Taking advantage of the privilege of having a noted artist
in their midst, fans asked Sakai how he creates his stories. The short
answer is "I don't know," but the longer answer might be "from everywhere."
The series started when Sakai happened to make what he called a "throwaway
sketch" of a samurai rabbit, then later liked the drawing and turned it
into a series. Sakai's favorite story arc came from a sketch he made of
Usagi flying a kite, and a book about Japanese kite flying. His imagination
turned those elements into a tale of a kite flying contest and ruthless
gamblers which ended with Usagi using a kite to escape from the gamblers.
But Sakai's biggest artistic lesson is: don't mess with the fans' favorite
dinosaurs.
At 18 years,
Usagi Yojimbo is older than many of the fans who attend the fandom conventions
attended by the series' creator, Stan Sakai. Making a rare trip to Iowa,
Sakai found a room full of people who enjoy his tales of the samurai rabbit,
regardless of their age. Usagi Yojimbo has generated worldwide respect
and Sakai has received many awards for his work, but the honor he enjoyed
the most was a parents' choice award from the American Library Association.
"That means a lot to me because it's a mainstream award," Sakai said at
a Saturday AnimeIowa panel. One of the reasons that Sakai's work got the
award was because his fictional stories are born from fact and 16th-century
Japanese history. "I try to do as much research as I can within reason,"
said Sakai. "There was a scene where I drew sandals on Usagi that weren't
accurate because he has such stubby feet."
The research
begins with the name of the series and the lead character. "Miyamoto Musaki"
was the name of a historical figure in 16th century Japan, which Sakai
transformed into "Miyamoto Usagi" for his books. "Usagi," of course, is
one of the Japanese words for rabbit, and the series' main character is
a rabbit. But much of the series comes from Sakai's sense of parody. One
character is based on a female samurai who was a noted fighter in the 16th
century, but the character is named after a brand of candy he enjoyed as
a child. Sakai also turned Sato Ichi, an actor best known for his roles
as a blind swordsman with a great sense of hearing, into Sato Ino, blind
swords-pig with a great sense of smell. And when Sakai learned of ninja
clans that were known as "bats" and "cats," he created ninja characters
in Usagi Yojimbo that look like those animals.
Sakai was
born in Japan and raised in Hawaii, but his experience comes from the world
of American comics and cartoons, mostly through his friendship with Sergio
"Groo" Aragones. Taking advantage of the privilege of having a noted artist
in their midst, fans asked Sakai how he creates his stories. The short
answer is "I don't know," but the longer answer might be "from everywhere."
The series started when Sakai happened to make what he called a "throwaway
sketch" of a samurai rabbit, then later liked the drawing and turned it
into a series. Sakai's favorite story arc came from a sketch he made of
Usagi flying a kite, and a book about Japanese kite flying. His imagination
turned those elements into a tale of a kite flying contest and ruthless
gamblers which ended with Usagi using a kite to escape from the gamblers.
But Sakai's biggest artistic lesson is: don't mess with the fans' favorite
dinosaurs.
