Book Review: Usagi Yojimbo: Bunraku and Other Stories by Stan Sakai

Usagi Yojimbo: Bunraku and Other Stories writing and art by Stan Sakai, color by Tom Luth

Another collection of adventures with Usagi Yojimbo, the rabbit samurai, this time in color!

1. Bunraku--Usagi wanders into a town where a Bunraku troop is performing. Bunraku is a puppet theater--this one has a blind narrator who does a great job with the voices while the rest of the players do an amazing job making the puppets seem life-like. The performance goes on for several days, so Usagi thinks he will catch the rest of the story at another time. Out of the theater, he runs into Sasuke the Demon-Queller, who has been sent to the village by his master to fight a great evil. Usagi reluctantly teams up as they face a bizarre and fascinating mystery. I really liked the story here, the twists were interesting and satisfying.

2. The Hero--Usagi runs across a woman traveling alone. She is an author and has had many successful books. Her husband is a mid-level samurai but, during the Shogun's peace, he has no chance to raise himself in anyone's esteem. He's jealous of her success. Their marriage is arranged and loveless, so it is a very hard situation. Usagi admires her writing (mostly heroic romances) but sticks to his code. He escorts her to her father's home after the husband has spent a hard night drinking and has been abusive. Things become more tragic from there. The story is very touching and well-written.

3. Adachi--Usagi returns to the battlefield where his lord died, leaving Usagi a ronin (masterless samurai). He remembers the battle, in which one of the generals betrayed the lord, and the aftermath, when Usagi took the head of his lord and buried it in secret. He begs the spirit of his lord to free him from his promise not to serve another lord, then heads off to a small cabin. He meets an old woman who offers him shelter for the night, especially because she knows the area is haunted. The story resolves in a very satisfying way.

4. The Swords of the Higashi--Usagi runs into the bounty hunter Gen and his partner Stray Dog. They have just gotten the titular Swords of Higashi and plan to return them to Lord Higashi for a reward. One of the gang that had the swords survives and runs off. Usagi says not to kill him because the ronin will never see him again. The runaway comes back with another gang of thugs who get trounced. The runaway escapes again and then comes back again with a third gang. How many cycles of this routine can the ronin survive? The story is a nice bit of comedy and ends very well.

This collection is a lot of fun. I borrowed it on Hoopla, which is available from many public libraries.