Mirage Publishing Usagi Yojimbo #12  Daisho, Part 2 February 1995 (Click on the thumbnails to view full size cover art)

LETTERS FROM OUR READERS

Dear Mr. Sakai:

Just received the latest issue of Usagi Yojimbo in the mail, and wanted to say how much I continue to enjoy your work. The color format really adds drama and impact to your art work, and the strength of the story lines make this comic series one of the best on the market. Thank you for the creativity and high quality you and your staff put into this comic series.

Bruce Mickelson
Campbell, CA

Stan,

I'm really enjoying the current storyline, "Slavers", in #'s 9 and 10. At first it seemed like another "me-too" Usagi adventure, you know the kind: the band of bad-guys, the village in turmoil, Usagi playing hero…but as I got around to the second installment my interest started to peak. The whole story's standard-issue stuff, but I really like the way you're portraying Usagi-san in different situations now than ever before. One can really feel for the character as he's dunked, dragged, tortured, and humiliated in front of people of a lower social status. And yet it doesn't phase him one bit. His inability to be broken by General Fujii showed us a strong warrior's spirit, while his midnight butt-kick through town showed us he's not above skulking in the darkness and taking out his enemies by surprise like an assassin. It's always good to see that you choose not to tone down the death and violence in Usagi Yojimbo despite its growing interest in the kid's market and an overall negativity towards violence in today's society.

Speaking of death, Jei-san is still alive? Jeez, this dude has more lives than…Waitaminute…Jei-san…Jason…Naaaaah, couldn't be. Seriously though, I thought "Nature of the Viper" in #10 was really cool. Jei is a heck of a lot more scarier in Luth-vision, with those yellow teeth & grey dialogue balloons. He's still more like a Friday the 13th-type villain, but with a bit more exploration, Jei has the potential of becoming a very interesting and effective enemy of Usagi's, possibly right up there with the infamous Lord Hikiji. But why doesn't Jei have a bounty on his head? It'd be cool to see what ol' Gennosuké would do about him. And doesn't a confrontation between Jei and Katsuichi, or maybe even Yagi the Lone Goat, look appetizing?

Todd Shogun
Cypress, CA

You're right. Jei's name started off as a pun, though not as obvious as "God Zylla" or "Gon With the Wind."

But who says Jei doesn't have a reward for his head? Both Jei and Gen the bounty hunter will have important roles in the upcoming "Grasscutter" storyline.

Dear Stan:

I loved Usagi Yojimbo #11! I think my most favorite stories are ones where you show the traditions & background involved in the various aspects of the Japanese arts.

Showing the sword-making master, the honing master, and everyone else involved in the making of a samurai's swords is the kind of depth and detail that I just don't find in any comic book, and one of the big reasons for why I still love Usagi so much.

Not only are your stories always well written and drawn, but I many times come away learning something new, this time being one of them.

The sense of history you introduce in the first few pages, and the idea that a samurai must be worthy of his swords, only makes the anger Usagi feels over General Fujii having his swords that much more real. You really get a feel for why those particular swords are so very important to Usagi – they are completely bound to him in every way, representing his honor, his skill, and his essence as a samurai . For a devil like Fujii to get his hands on those swords and (UNDESERVINGLY) use them is a crime. I, for one, will be happy to see the General get the punishment he deserves.

On another note, it was also nice to see Usagi's "madman" persona balanced by the fact that he could also be merciful and healing, as when he helped the village elder. I have a question though; when Usagi comes out of the hut, all the villagers kneel and bow before him, thanking him. I know that the samurai's social status was high in feudal Japan, but exactly how high and what type of rank does Usagi have as a ronin, in comparison to a samurai who still serves a lord? Just curious…

Once again, thanks for another informative, inspiring, and all-around great story.

Janet Kone
Shreveport, LA

Masterless samurai were called ronin, literally "men of the waves", because they were subject to the ebbs and flows of life without a lord to anchor them. They were looked upon with fear and suspicion because many of these ronin were desperate men trying to earn a living any way they could. Also, even after the great "Sword Hunt" of 1587, which had supposedly disarmed everyone outside of the samurai class, there were still criminals who wore the two swords and passed themselves off as samurai. There were also groups such as the Otokodate (Chivalrous Men) who were feudal Japans' equivalent of today's street gangs and who walked about openly in defiance of the laws forbidding anyone outside of the samurai class to wear swords. Usagi, though still technically a ronin, fits more under the category of Kengo (master swordsmen), samurai who voluntarily chose not to serve a lord but instead went on the Musha Shugyo (warrior pilgrimage) to hone their spiritual and martial skills. The Musha Shugyo can range from the lone wanderings of Miyamoto Musashi to the pilgrimage of Tsukahara Bokuden, who took along eighty attendants and had a procession as elaborate as any feudal lord's. And if you like learning about Japanese culture, stick around for issue 14, which takes place during the Tanabata festival, and for issue 15, in which you'll learn more about seaweed farming than you would ever need to know.

A back-cover ad to subscribe to Usagi Yojimbo. (The word "Subscribe" is made to look like a kanji character.)