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Interviews

Stan Sakai

(b. 1953) Cartoonist
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Styles and influences

My style is more derived from the Western comics, I think. But I am influenced a great deal by the manga that I read as a child. I continue to point out Tezuka’s work, Osamu, Dr. Tezuka’s work, and that was a big influence on me. Especially the old Astro Boys, or just watching them on TV. I remember watching Astro Boy and Princess Night and Gigantor and Speed Racer on Hawaiian TV.

comics graphic novels manga

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)

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