Interviews

1. Inspirations

2. Making it happen

3. Richard Sakai

4. Works of Stan Sakai

5. His method

6. Influence as a youth

7. Manga vs. Comics

8. Reading all sorts of comics

9. Family’s acceptance

10. Styles and influences

11. Culture as a child

12. Cultural influences

Sakai,Stan

(b. 1953) Cartoonist

Influence as a youth

Well, I’m third generation Japanese American; I’m a Sansei. I grew up in Hawaii, where there’s a strong Japanese culture there. So I not only read American comics, but I also read Japanese comics, manga. So alongside Spiderman, or Fantastic Four or Superman, I was also reading the works of Osamu Tezuka. Or, my mother was reading them for me because I didn’t really know Japanese at that time. So I grew up with both the Japanese and American comics.

comics generations graphic novels Hawaii identity manga Sansei United States

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)