Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/1245/

Reading all sorts of comics

Like I said, I grew up reading American comics and manga when I was a kid in Hawaii but I did not discover European comics until college. And that really opened the doors for me. American comics are pretty much for kids or teens at the most. European comics, everyone reads it. They have Asterix for everyone, they have more adult titles, they have a wide range. So does Japanese manga. But European comics at that time for me was very innovative. The works of Moebius or Herman. When I discovered them, it was like a new window opened up for me.


Date: September 28, 2010

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Lynn Yamasaki, Maria Kwong

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Stan Sakai was born in Kyoto, Japan, and raised in Hawai‘i. Sansei illustrator and writer Stan Sakai is known for his creation of the popular comic book character, “Usagi Yojimbo” in 1984. Since 1987, a series of comic books have detailed the adventures of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai rabbit living in the late 16th and early 17th Century. Sakai is known for his incorporation of actual Japanese history and culture, once winning an award for “skillful weaving of facts and legends into his work.” An exhibition of his work was organized by the Museum in 2011. (August 2012)