Damn, I didn't realize that had been excluded from the big slipcase set. I got rid of my copy. Looks like I'll have to snag one on eBay again.

Usagi specifically says in Shades of Green than he and Leonardo had met three times before.

So either The Crossing is canon, or there is a meeting that remains untold.

"Jizo"
Usagi Yojimbo #1 (March, 1993)
Reprinted in Usagi Yojimbo Book 8: Shades of Death
Colors by Tom Luth



Summary: A woman places a statue of Jizo along a road, as a memorial to her son, who was killed by outlaws on the spot. She places a stone, there to help the soul of her dead son, forced to pile stones in the "Dry River Bed of Souls", hoping that others will also place stones by the statue.

Over the course of the next day, the statue bears witness to the events on the road, including Usagi battling and killing a band of outlaws.

The woman returns the next day to find another stone placed by Jizo. She gives him a coat to keep warm, and thinks his expression has changed to a more at peace on.

Over the days to come, many stones are piled at Jizo's base.

Thoughts: Obviously what's unique about this story is the format. The camera does not move for the entire story. Only time moves. Something like a classic film, with their stage inspiration. I know many comics have used a similar trick, but am unfamiliar with the pioneering antecedents within comics of the format. Perhaps somebody could enlighten me.

What Stan manages to do with the format is impressive. The story is short and simple but with many layers. One layer is the slice of life. By getting glimpses of 24 hours along a road, we see the variety of people passing by and get a glimpse into life at the time. The primary layer is a simple but heartfelt tale about a mother who lost her son, and her prayers for his soul, including the cute but touching ending of the slight smile on the unmoving statue. Within and related is a distilled Usagi adventure, his battle with the outlaws, almost certainly implied to be the outlaws who had killed the woman's son.

Amongst the travelers on the road, we see familiar woodcutters, Lone Goat and Kid, a komuso (a monk with his face covered by a basket, playing a wind instrument, perhaps the same monk we will meet in issue 7 of this series), a palanguin, a man with a really large carrot (??), and of course Usagi and the outlaws.

According to legend, Jizo was a Buddhist monk who did not wish to achieve Nirvana until all hells were emptied, particularly that where children, unable to reach enlightenment resided. He is thus seen as the guardian of dead children, particularly those who died before their parents. Statues of Jizo along roadsides as depicted in this story are quite common. They often have babylike features and may be presented with gifts of stones or perhaps childrens' toys.

"Usagi's Garden"
Usagi Yojimbo #2 (May, 1993)
Reprinted in Usagi Yojimbo Book 8: Shades of Death
Colors by Tom Luth

Summary: A tale of Usagi's training by Katsuichi. Katsuichi gave Usagi seeds to plant his garden as a test. Usagi fails to get anything to grow, and considers stealing some plants from nearby farmers to pretend he got a good garden.

Thoughts: A simple tale with a homily, as many of these young Usagi stories are. It contains a good lesson or two and it's fun to see Usagi from a time before he was the seemingly perfect samurai we know him as.

My one question is about Usagi's plan. He clearly didn't know much about the seeds he had been given, so how did he know what vegetables to steal to properly deceive Katsuichi? I suspect he didn't have a well-thought out plan at all.

Is this the Tengu story? I'll check it out tomorrow, if I get the chance.

"Shi"
Usagi Yojimbo #4-5 (September-December, 1993)
Reprinted in Usagi Yojimbo Book 8: Shades of Death
Colors by Tom Luth



Summary: Miyamoto Usagi is buying vegetables in a town market from an Izumi valley farmer named Moyashi when ruffian samurai come up and attack the cart, knocking it over and assaulting the farmer. As thanks, Moyashi offers to let Usagi spend the night in his hut.

The town magistrate Sueoke advises Usagi to leave town-- the ruffians were secretly working for him in exchange for pardons. He and his brother Juzo had learned of gold in Izumi Valley, and so were trying to clear out the villagers. They had killed Jiro, the farmer who had discovered the gold to keep the secret. Juzo was ready to massacre the entire Izumi village, but Sueoke insisted on more subtletey.

Moyashi's wife is displeased to have a samurai in their home, but his daughter Kimie seems quite pleased by Usagi's presence. After dinner, Kimie and Usagi go for a walk, where she begs him to take her with him. She wants adventure and to see the world. Nobu who had been betrothed as a child to Kimie, sees her flirting with Usagi and gets jealous. While the two argue, Usagi disappears.

Usagi sensed they were being spied upon, and found the three ruffians from earlier hiding in the village. He chases them off, then follows them to Sueoke's residence. The next day he warns the villagers of Sueoke's plans, but they do not believe him. Both Nobu and Moyashi's wife call him out as a con-man, a beggar who fools peasants into thinking they need to buy his protection.

To prove Usagi wrong (and perhaps impress Kimie), Nobu takes the vegetables to market the next day. On the road, he encounters and is badly beaten by the three ruffians. Lying on the ground, he sees a group of four assassins approach. They are called Shi and have been hired by Juzo to deal with Usagi. Each specializes in a different weapon: sword, bow, spear, and sickle and chain.

Secretly, Juzo has also hired Shi to kill his brother once the village is taken care of.

Usagi and Moyashi find Nobu on the road and take him back to Moyashi's hut. Nobu and Moyashi's wife remain unconvinced of Usagi's story. A village meeting is called, and the villagers decide to hide in the valley while Usagi guards the town.

Shi attacks and Usagi kills the first three of them one by one. The swordsman takes Kimie--who had come to watch Usagi fight--as a hostage. Nobu intervenes, providing a distraction for Usagi to kill the swordsman. Nobu then challenges Usagi to a fight, but Usagi scares him into backing down. In fact, Usagi also scares Kimie, who loses interest in him and finally decides to marry Nobu.

Meanwhile, Sukeoka also plans to murder his brother. But Juzo was prepared for him, killing Sukeoka, but then being killed by Sukeoka's guards. The secret of Izumi Valley dies with them.

Thoughts: In a recent review, I expressed concern that the Ninja Turtles crossover made a poor start to a new series, which should introduced new readers to the basics of Usagi. This second arc in the Mirage series does a better job of telling an archetypal Usagi tale: there are peasants in trouble and Usagi helps them.

The opening page makes a great introduction to Usagi. A wanderer with no destination in mind, he lets the gods choose his road. It is followed by a shot of the town market, with a brief glimpse of several distinct individuals going about their business.

This story, more than most we have seen, gets into the complicated relationship between the classes in Japan in that era. Peasants are generally respectful of the samurai class-- because they have to be. Usagi on the whole is very respectful of peasants, often seeming almost egalitarian in his dealings with people. But we see occasional outbursts marking him as a man of his time, who believes in the class system. Here we see several peasants show how little they trust that a samurai would just help them, and cannot be convinced he is not trying to trick them.

Overall, this is a great story. Strong character work concerning all the newly introduced characters. Shi made formidable and intriguing villains. Almost a shame they will not return. In terms of pure action, the different weapons make for fight scenes that are engaging and different from the several swordfights we have seen.

The name Shi has a double-meaning, as explained in the comic. Several Japanese Kanji map to that word as it is pronounced. Merely hearing it out of context, it could be written several ways. The way the group writes it, it means death. It could also be the number four, fitting as Shi consists of four assassins.