BOOK REVIEW
Sword-wielding bunny carves niche in comic world

By Jolie Jean Cotton

Stan Sakai's character Usagi Yojimbo is featured in a series of comic novels and has branched out into calendars. "Usagi Yojimbo, Book One" by Stan Sakai, Fantagraphics Books, paperback $14.95 Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser Meet author Stan Sakai 3 p.m. today, Hawai'i Kai Public Library 10 a.m. Tuesday, Princeville Public Library, Kaua'i 3 p.m. Tuesday Lihu'e Public Library, Kaua'i

Cartoonist Stan Sakai is a sansei who grew up in Kaimuki and, although he lives in Pasadena, Calif., now, he drew on his upbringing in creating the sword-wielding bunny that is the hero of a series of books popular with tweens and early teens.

"The Kapahulu Theatre would show chambara (sword-fighting or samurai) movies on Saturdays, and I would be there every weekend. Later, I wanted to do a comic book series based on 17th-century samurai Miyamoto Musashi. That series eventually became 'Usagi Yojimbo," said Sakai, who is in Hawai'i this week for a series of library appearances.

Gecko Books in Kaimuki reports that "Usagi Yojimbo" is consistently one of its best-selling series for 8-14 year olds.

Europeans have embraced Sakai's books, too: "Usagi Yojimbo" has been translated into a number of languages, including Polish and Croatian. Sakai's artwork is featured in an exhibit titled "Samurai: Reality and Fantasy" at The Japan Tower, an historic landmark in Brussels.

"The saga of Usagi Yojimbo (Rabbit Bodyguard) takes place in turn of the 17th-century Japan. The age of civil wars has barely ended, and the Shogun has just established power. The samurai is the ruling class throughout the land, following a warrior's code of honor known as Bushido. It is a time of unrest and political intrigue.

"Wandering across this country is a masterless samurai named Miyamoto Usagi."

Thus begins the series of graphic novels about a samurai rabbit living in feudal Japan.

While kids enjoy their adventure, mystery and humor, adults like that Sakai's books are based on Japanese history, culture and traditions. Woven into these tales are facts about sword-making, festivals, the Gempei Wars, the creation myths and pottery making.

Being a samurai, Usagi also encounters his share of violence.

"The turn of the 17th century (in) Japan was a very turbulent period," Sakai said. "The age of civil wars had just ended with the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate, foreign trade was being introduced, the warrior class was becoming obsolete, and the merchant class was on the rise. It was a violent time."

"However," Sakai added, "the violence in 'Usagi' is kept to a minimum, and it is never gratuitous."

Marcia Ikuta, young-adult librarian for the McCully-Mo'ili'ili branch library, agreed, noting, " 'Usagi Yojimbo' is one of the best series out there, proving that you don't need tights and X-ray vision to be a hero."

Although the series is set in Japan, Sakai says attracting readers in that country hasn't been easy.

"Japan is a very difficult market to break into," Sakai said. "I don't think there has been any U.S. comic series that has made any substantial impact on the Japanese manga market." (Manga are Japanese comic novels.)

Still, Sakai's work has won three Will Eisner Awards (the most prestigious of the American comics awards), two Haxtur Awards from Spain, an American Library Association award, an Inkpot and Parent's Choice Award.

"Lorraine Kawahara, who just retired from Kaimuki High School, had a huge impact in my desire to go into the art," Sakai said. "She was actually my first art teacher, and we still keep in contact. Lorraine was very encouraging and had entered my work in a lot of shows. I dedicated my eleventh book, 'Usagi Yojimbo: Seasons,' to her."

Sakai is wrapping up nearly a dozen visits to libraries on O'ahu and Kaua'i. He was invited by state library system to celebrate its 2002 Young Adult Summer Reading Program called "Heroes @ Your Library."

When The Advertiser talked to him before his trip, he was looking forward to seeing his family, eating local food and seeing some of his fans at the libraries.