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USAGI YOJIMBO LETTERS COLUMN
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to: Usagi Yojimbo ~ Letters Column c/o Dark Horse Comics
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STORY NOTES Most of the research this time around came from Everyday Life in Imperial Japan by Charles Dunn, reprinted as Everyday Life in Traditional Japan. It has a detailed section on Edo's (present-day Tokyo) judiciary system, including the setup of the police system and the capturing of criminals, their sentencing, and execution. Crimes for which the death sentence was invoked included murder, robber, and adultery. Arsonists, who were much feared by people living in wood and paper homes, were burned alive. Degrees of banishment were also a punishment, from exile to a distant island down to exclusion from a particular neighborhood. House arrest and restrictions of liberties were also handed down as sentences, as was shaving off a criminal's hair. Imprisonment was not a punishment, merely a place to wait while guilt or innocence was decided. So great was the respect/fear of authority that, whenever a fire broke out in or near the jail, all the prisoners were immediately paroled on their own recognizance with the expectation that they would turn themselves in once the emergency was over. The shirasu (literally "white sand") was an area where prisoners were taken after a confession. There witnesses knelt before the magistrate and gave evidence and prisoners heard their sentences. Executioners were selected from the Eta class, the lowest social order (more on them in some other story). The executioner was given the clothes of the criminal so care was taken that they not be ruined during the procedure. Japan Day by Day by Edward Morse is always a valuable resource. It gives two accounts of executions, though by beheading, and contains illustrations of several gravestones. I gave Noodles a Buddhist gravestone as opposed to a Shinto one, which is more "organic" as it shows the natural shape of the rock as it was quarried. |
Hi folks!
I just wanted to say that I am very pleased with the move back to black-and-white. Will this be a permanent change? Gosh durn, I hope so! Will there be a letters page? No matter, just wanted to drop a line. I also noticed that the logo is a mite bit less space-age shiny. I still think you should take it back to the old school though. I'll bet that Space Usagi is really the real Usagi time-warped, or maybe it just has become tradition to give Usagi's descendants the same scar in his honor, eh? Well, keep things a-movin' and keep the quality products a-comin'. Bye now.
Eric Basinger
Albuquerque, NM
Space Usagi is indeed the descendant of the 17th-century Usagi. In fact, the two met in a back-up story in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #47 (May 1992) [and also Space Usagi Book 1].
Space Usagi received his scar in a duel with a traitor to his clan in the first miniseries, "Death and Honor", from Mirage.
Dear Stan & Jamie,
I'd like to start by thanking Dark Horse for publishing Usagi Yojimbo. Usagi is one of the few books I buy that I actually look forward to between issues. So far, Space Usagi is no different. There is something continually refreshing about a hero that is noble and honorable but also appears to be a nice guy. The stories always have a feel of high adventure and courage. What I really like about Stan's work is that he knows how to end an issue, even if it's to be continued, in a way that the story feels complete. Finally, as an insect physiologist, it was really cool to see insects as big players in the story. Keep up the good work.
Jay Hosler
Jay.S.Hosler.1@nd.edu
Dear Mr. Sakai,
I wanted to write to let you know that I am greatly enjoying the current Space Usagi miniseries and looking forward to the Usagi Yojimbo miniseries scheduled to follow.
This miniseries is my first exposure to Usagi. The owner of Xanadu Comics, where I buy all of my comics, recently recommended it to me. I have enjoyed other books he has recommended, so I gave it a try, and I have to say that I really liked the first two issues. The shop owner was kind enough to spend 30 minutes filling me in on the past history of the characters in Usagi, and that certainly made it less confusing.
I am also currently reading Book One of the collected Usagi Yojimbo comics from the mid-‘80s, which is filling me in on some of the previous storylines.
Some of the things I like best about Usagi are the ways you use facial expressions, panels with no words, and your very expressive lettering style to tell your story. The last page of Space Usagi #2 is a perfect example of this. Usagi's last word balloon is nothing but the outline of a large question mark over the outline of a large exclamation point. This communicates Usagi's shock and confusion better than any dozen words could. And the facial expression in the same panel serves to complement and enhance that message. That is part of why I think the lettering in Usagi is more than just lettering, it is actually an integral part of the artwork, and thus of the story.
I have very much enjoyed my first few Usagi stories, both in the collected Book One and in the Space Usagi miniseries, and plan to be a regular reader for the foreseeable future.
Ivan A Martin
Urbandale, IA
Usagi Yojimbo Book Seven should be out by the time you're reading this. It collects the last of the original series, including "Gen's Story." Fantagraphics Books has been keeping all the trade paperback collections in print. They can be ordered through any bookstore or directly from Fantagraphics, who has a toll-free number: 1 (800) 657-1100.
Dear Dark Horse,
Thanks for printing your Internet address, it's so much easier replying this way.
I was glad to see Dark Horse pick up Usagi's adventures, but with the trepidation that always accompanies a change in publishers. So far, however, I'm very satisfied with the production of the book, which in my opinion deserves the best and definitely deserves more promotion than it's received in the past.
In all fairness, I should confess up front that I have enjoyed the space stories somewhat less than the "regular" ones set in feudal Japan. The bits of culture and language sprinkled throughout have always fascinated me, not to mention the exotic characters Usagi encountered on his journeys. That being said, I'm enjoying the current story very much. The first issue was good, but the second really kicked into high gear. The inhabitants, terrain, and culture of the Bugg planet are wonderful ("Slimy, yet satisfying" indeed), and Usagi is pursuing his mission of honor in typical heroic fashion. My only complaint is that he seems slightly dense in failing to recognize the possibilities of subterfuge available to shape-shifting life-forms. His (apparently) fatal attack on Rhogen at the end of #2 was too impulsive for one of his experience.
I'm looking forward to the conclusion next month, and thank you again for supporting such great entertainment.
Rocky Parsons
73112.512@compuserve.com
Dear Stan and Dark Horse,
Just caught the latest installment of Space Usagi. Great! An excellent follow-up to #1. Entertaining, inventive, but best of all, it was actually on time. That didn't happen too often with Fantagraphics or Mirage, unfortunately. I also like the fact that it's monthly, and I hope that Usagi Yojimbo, vol. III, will follow suit. Overall, I think Dark Horse is good news. Any chance of staying there?
In other news, I was cruising the World Wide Web the other day when I discovered a soon-to-be Usagi Yojimbo home page at //www.cs.wisc.edu/~jenner/usagi.html. Is this legit? I was also checking out Dark Horse Comics' page. That three-page Usagi Yojimbo preview was awesome! Now I'm counting the days till the original long-eared one makes his reappearance. I mean it, the artwork looked extremely cool.
Oh, well, gotta bail…
Todd Bustillo
Cypress, CA
tbustill@engr.csulb.edu
[I checked out Mr. Jenner's Usagi site, and though not sanctioned, I wouldn't be so bold as to say it's not legit. The construction seems to have just begun, but if you get a chance to log on, give Jenner some encouragement. Us fans of the rabbit need to stick together. – Jamie, Boy Editor]
I'll be making a few convention appearances this summer; however, the only one I'm confirmed with at this time is the San Diego Comic-Con (July 4-7). If you're there, please stop by my table to say hello.
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"Usagi Yojimbo", including all prominent characters featured in the stories and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Stan Sakai and Usagi Studios. Usagi Yojimbo is a registered trademark of Stan Sakai. Names, characters, places, and incidents featured in this publication either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events, institutions, or locales, without satiric content, is coincidental.