The first of these stories, “The Goblin” (if you were to guess it was a story about Usagi Yojimbo facing a goblin, you’d be entirely correct), takes place in the aftermath of the Battle of Adachigahara, which creator Stan Sakai uses as a proxy for the Siege of Osaka, while the Japanese fairy tale, The Goblin of Adachigahara works as this tale’s basis. However, while these are short stories, rather than telling an overarching narrative, they do start the story in earnest. What results is a collection of short stories about the Ronin Rabbit. The Ronin doesn’t collect any issues from the core Usagi Yojimbo series the collection predates this with stories that appeared in Albedo, Critters and Usagi Yojimbo Summer Special. the stories that sit outside of the regular continuity. In some ways, it may have been worthwhile reading Usagi Yojimbo, Book 1: The Ronin as part of my first article, where I focused on diversions, i.e. Starting Usagi Yojimbo in earnest just days after finishing the documentary is beautifully serendipitous. While Usagi Yojimbo is a fictionalised account that is loosely based on Musashi, as the story opens, it is under the spectre of its version of the Siege of Osaka, and Japan’s unification. Usagi’s inspiration, Miyamoto Musashi, does not feature in Age of Samurai, but he is believed to have fought for Hideyori during the Siege of Osaka. If not, it is a captivating glimpse at sixty-five years of Japanese history.

It’s a grizzly series which reenacts the violence in visceral detail, so be warned, if you’re squeamish, it could be a bit much. One of these elders, Tokugawa Ieyasu, took control, leading to the Siege of Osaka, which eventually resulted in Hideyori’s death and ushered in Japan’s Edo period.Īge of Samurai is a wonderful six-part documentary series exploring a period beset by civil war, and the various daimyos’ battles for control of their opponents’ clans as they sought increased power as they attempted to unify Japan under their rule. Following Hideyoshi’s death, he designated succession to his son Toyotomi Hideyori, under the tutelage of a council of five elders, chosen by himself.

While Oda fell short of complete control, following his death and civil war throughout Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi seized control and completed the country’s unification. Age of Samurai starts with the rise of daimyo (or warlord) Oda Nobunaga, who waged war against many other daimyos in a bid to unify Japan, a polite term for placing the entire country under his control.

Usagi yojimbo 2022