Usagi Yojimbo (Volume 41) – Ten Thousand Plums

by Kevin Wolf

I never thought I’d be reviewing an Usagi Yojimbo volume for www.graphicmedicine.org. This long running series (1984 to present; Issues 1 – 284+; 41+ graphic novel collections; in Japanese the title of the series means “rabbit bodyguard”) tells the story of an anthropomorphic samurai rabbit named Miyamoto Usagi who wanders the countryside of medieval Japan during the Edo period (early 17^th century) on a musho shugyō (warrior’s pilgrimage). Some supernatural Japanese mythologies, samurai stories, romance, and spoofs often accompany Usagi in his wanderings. I’ve been reading Usagi’s story since at least the 1990s and have collected most of his volumes. His stories carry a strong morality code (support the oppressed, fight bullies, admit mistakes, remain independent, support your friends, be friendly until badly provoked, accept differences, and laugh along the way, and I’m sure many more). There are two complete story arcs in Volume 41; first, “Ten Thousand Plums” (Issues 280 – 284 of the series), and second, is a story written just for this Volume, entitled “Tabo.” Both stories have some medical content. You need not read any of the other books in the series to understand Ten Thousand Plums. When I write about the two story arcs, I’ll use quote marks (e.g., “Ten Thousand Plums” and “Tabo”) for their titles to distinguish them from the entire book volume carrying the same title (i.e., Ten Thousand Plums) as the first story arc.

“Ten Thousand Plums” is a tale about a village whose plum trees are being burned by a person or persons or unknown force. Some artistic license is being taken with these “plum trees” being the source of umeboshi (not accurately translated as “pickled plums”), which have medicinal benefits. However, as stated in the Story Notes (see the end of this review for more information about these notes) by Zack Davisson, “they are neither pickles nor plums. Ume are a tart fruit most closely related to apricots. Highly astringent, they are never eaten raw [133].” Ume could be made into a wine, jam or “salt-cured” into umeboshi (literally “ume [fruit] dried”). Umeboshi’s medicinal affects are “aid in digestion, prevent nausea, and even cure hangovers. During the Muromachi Period (1336 – 1573), Samaria carried umeboshi … as a quick energy boost … Japan’s oldest surviving medical text, the tenth-century Ishinpō lists several ailments for which umeboshi are the cure. Modern science backs this up. Umeboshi are known to have properties that fight harmful bacteria and viruses. Their natural citric acids balance pH levels and help the body absorb minerals [133].”

Usagi Yojimbo stories have three types of characters. Animals who remain in normal non-human forms, anthropomorphic humans who walk upright and look somewhat like the animals they represent (e.g., Usagi as rabbit; see cover image with Usagi on the left and his cousin, Yukichi, on the right), and finally there are Yōkai. Yōkai are animals who can change into or back from a walking upright anthropomorphic “human” or monster form. There’s a lot of Japanese myths and folklore about yokai’s supernatural characteristics. Some might be mischievous, peaceful (nigi-mitama) but many are violent (ara-mitama) who bring “illness and natural disaster” often appearing in morality tales.

I enjoy Sakai’s drawing style which is fluid, action packed, showing characters with emotional facial expressions (happy, sad, mad, angry), and with natural scenes like those of Katsushika Hokusai. I feel like I’m there watching the events unfold.

Usagi and Yukichi (Usagi’s cousin) are walking the countryside with Gennosuke (“Gen,” anthropomorphic rhino samurai). These three are the protagonists in Ten Thousand Plums.

In “Ten Thousand Plums,” a mother and daughter yōkai foxes (kitsune) take refuge in a shed. The daughter is burning up with fever. The mother tells her daughter, “You will be comfortable here for a while … but I’ve got to get you some medicine [11].” The mother leaves the shed, changes into a clothed anthropomorphic fox woman, and makes her way to the village which is famous for their umeboshi. She’s turned away wherever she goes. At one home Ichiro, the father, calls her “a filthy beggar woman [16]” and Ichiro’s (unnamed) wife says, “Send her away! We have nothing for the likes of her [16]!” The kitsune daughter dies because she never receives the curative umeboshi, and the daughter’s mother seeks revenge on Ichiro, his family and the entire village all because they weren’t willing to share some of their umeboshi.

Japan’s primary religion is Buddhism. “Tabo” is a story about people in a small (< 1% of the Japanese population) religious sect (Kirishitan) that secretly go on a pilgrimage to seek the tears that infrequently appear on a statue of their God’s mother Kannon. Those tears are supposed to provide miraculous curative properties. With his brother, Tabo seeks those tears because Tabo is dying. Tabo says “Mother Kannon will heal me! [98]” and his brother tells Usagi, “Tabo may be mentally slow and he has a kind heart … but he is dying [98].” There are many on this pilgrimage, including a child who walks with difficulty requiring a crutch. That crutch is accidentally thrown over a ledge when the child falls while struggling the steep climb to the statue. Tabo carries the child from then on.

According to Usagi “Kirishitan is an outlawed religion that worships a criminal that was crucified on a cross [94].” If you haven’t figured it out, he’s talking about Christianity. The Kirishitan followers were persecuted, and some crucified as examples to try to control the Japanese population. Usagi helps the Kirishitan pilgrims get past a group of bandits demanding money to continue their passage. The gentle Tabo sacrifices his own miracle on behalf of the child.

“Tabo” was written by Stan as a tribute to his brother, Kenneth. Stan writes (quoted at some length) in “Remembering Kenneth” (129 – 130),

… “Tabo” was written about a month after the death of my younger brother, Kenneth. He was born … very prematurely, weighing only one pound, six ounces … As a result, he was mentally challenged but still led a very fulfilling life. The title of the story comes from his middle name, Tadashi, which has the Japanese nickname Tabo.

… Kenneth worked at a classy national chain [restaurant] and always bragged about it to us. Kenneth loved that job and was an excellent worker. He even won an Employee of the Year award. He worked there for forty-five years and loved every minute of it. Oftentimes, he would come home on the bus with gifts from regular customers … He was devasted when the COVID-19 shutdown prevented him from working, but [they] kept his position open for him to return two years later.

…

He always had a smile and was completely genuine, with no guile or deceit. He may have been picked on a lot, but he was innocent, friendly, and kind. Like his older brothers, Kenneth had an artistic bent … For Christmas one year, he thoughtfully gave me the book How to Draw Cartoons, which is still on my studio bookshelf.

…

Kenneth had an innocent yet strong faith in Christ, and the night before he passed, he told one of his nurses, “I’m going to go see him.” When he was found, he was kneeling at the side of his bed, with his arms outstretched as if in prayer.

My dad used to tell us, his sons, “Ed is the most successful, Stan is the most famous, but Kenneth is the most accomplished, as he went far beyond what all the experts said he was capable of.”

Zack Davisson’s Story Notes about “Ten Thousand Plums” and “Tabo” include background information about Umeboshi (previously cited), Kitsune, The Flowers of Edo (“The greatest fear of old Japan was not earthquake nor tsunami nor invading army; it was what was known colloquially as the Flowers of Edo—fire [136],” Kakure Kirishitan: Hidden Christians, and Kannon Pilgrimages.

I hope you pick up and read Ten Thousand Plums, or, frankly, any other books in the Usagi Yojimbo universe, (I believe) you’ll be glad you did.