This list of Usagi Yojimbo characters features characters from the Usagi Yojimbo comic book.
Major characters Miyamoto Usagi – Miyamoto Usagi is the titular character (inspired by Miyamoto Musashi) and an anthropomorphic rabbit (Usagi is Japanese for rabbit) and a rōnin now walking the musha shugyō (the warrior's journey). Chizu – A member of the Neko Ninja and the sister of Shingen.Usagi Yojimbo Vol.1 #17: "The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy, Part 5" Upon her brother's death she briefly succeeded him as the clan's leader,Usagi Yojimbo Vol.2 #1-3: "Shades of Green, Parts 1-3" but internal power struggles eventually drove her into exile;Usagi Yojimbo Vol.3 #48: "Escape!" ever since that time she is actively seeking to counter Hikiji's schemes.Usagi Yojimbo Vol.3 #115: "The Fortress"Usagi Yojimbo Vol.3 #145-147: "The Thief and the Kunoichi, Parts 1-3"Usagi Yojimbo Vol.4 #8-9: "Tatami, Parts 1-2" She has met Usagi several times and even has developed a crush on him, but their respective senses of duty prevent them from traveling together.Chizu appears in the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series' episode "The Real World, Part I" as the leader of the Neko Ninja, voiced by Caren Manuel. Lord Hebi – A snake and ruthless daimyō loyal to Lord Hikiji, who often directs and acts as his middle man for Hikiji's plots.Lord Hebi appeared in the 2003 TMNT series, in the episodes "The Real World, Part 1" and "Samurai Tourist", voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas, who, throughout the whole show, also voiced Leonardo. Lord Hikiji – Lord Hikiji is a power hungry daimyo and the main antagonist of the series. Unlike the other characters in the series, he is depicted as a human. He is often mentioned but rarely appears, preferring to stay in the shadows and letting Hebi act in his name. He acts as a background nemesis to Usagi, as he personally killed both his lord and his father, and struck Usagi with the arched scar above his left brow during the fateful battle on Adachi Plain.Usagi Yojimbo Vol.3 #10: "Return to Adachi Plain" Inspector Ishida - Inspector Ishida is a police detective in a large city whose government was corrupted by at least two villains. Ishida, however, is a steadfastly honest officer with a deep commitment to the cause of justice, regardless of who the criminals and their victims are, and sometimes even seeing justice done if there is no legal way of achieving it. He is quiet, but highly observant and astute in his reasoning; those faculties are invaluable in difficult cases like murder, in a culture where intensive examinations of dead bodies, like an autopsy, are taboo. In addition, when force is called for, he demonstrates formidable fighting skills using his standard police weapon, the jutte, although he is allowed to also carry a katana. In the seven-part miniseries The Hidden, he is revealed to be a secret Christian.Usagi Yojimbo: The Hidden #7 (October 2018)Ishida first appeared in "The Hairpin Murders".Usagi Yojimbo Vol.3 #26-27 Although the character was intended only as a one-shot in this story, he soon proved unexpectedly popular and series creator Stan Sakai has used him in numerous other stories.Ishida is based on real-life Honolulu policeman Chang Apana, who was also the model for the fictional detective Charlie Chan. As Max Allan Collins points out in the introduction to "Book #13: Grey Shadows", Inspector Ishida is, like the real Chang Apana, a more hardboiled character than the mild-mannered Charlie Chan from the novels by Earl Derr Biggers and the subsequent film adaptations. Jei – A tall anthropomorphic wolf with a black-bladed yari, Jei is known as Jei-san, The Blade of the Gods, The Black Soul, The Demon Spearman, and a number of other dark nicknames. Although Lord Hikiji is considered the main villain of the series, Jei is the closest thing to a true nemesis of Miyamoto Usagi. Jei, formerly a priest named Jizonobu who fell under the sway of sinister entities,Usagi Yojimbo Vol.3 #103-104: "The Darkness and the Soul, Parts 1 & 2" believes that he was chosen by the gods as an emissary, to smite evil and execute sinners. However, in his delusions, Jei perceives everyone to be a sinner and has the tendency of killing anyone who draws his attention. Whether or not he still has his mental faculties, Jei does possess some supernatural power. The most obvious of Jei's abilities is his immortality; despite being "killed" numerous times, Jei has always returned in some form or another.Jei is based on the fictional serial killer Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th horror movie series; the name "Jei-san" is, in fact, a pun on "Jason".Stan [Sakai] leavens these dark tales with impish humor. Jei's name is a pun: when the standard Japanese honorific san is appended, it becomes "Jei-san" - or "Jason," the villain from the Friday the 13th horror movies. And like Jason, Jei will be back. Solomon, Charles: Introduction to "Return of the Black Soul". The Usagi Yojimbo Saga Book 6 (Dark Horse, 2016), pg. 186. .Jei appears in two Usagi Yojimbo/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover stories in 2017, including a comic story by IDW Publishing and a three-episode story arch in the 2012 animation series."Yojimbo", "Osoroshi no Tabi" and "Kagayake! Kintaro" (season 5, episodes 7-9) Tomoe Ame – Tomoe Ame is an anthropomorphic cat who is loosely based on the famous female samurai, Tomoe Gozen. (Tomoe Ame is also a brand of Japanese candy that Stan Sakai particularly liked.) Tomoe is a samurai of the Geishu clan and serves as Lord Noriyuki's personal bodyguard and closest adviser since she single-handedly saved his life from an attack by the Neko Ninja.Usagi Yojimbo Color Special #1: "Tomoe's Story" She also happens to be a very close friend of Miyamoto Usagi, whom she and Lord Noriyuki first met as they were being pursued by assassins that Lord Hikiji hired to kill the young lord.Usagi Yojimbo: "Lone Rabbit And Child" Usagi was able to help protect Lord Noriyuki, and as a result Tomoe has become very grateful to Usagi, and the two have helped each other out many times since. As time passes, Usagi and Tomoe develop deep feelings for each other that go beyond mere friendship. However, recently, Lord Noriyuki is preparing to form an arranged marriage between her with another lord.An animated version of Tomoe Ame appears in an episode of the 2003 TMNT animated series "The Real World - Part 1" and is voiced by Rachael Lillis. Murakami Gennosuke – Murakami Gennosuke (or Gen) is an anthropomorphic Indian rhinoceros who makes a living as a rather disreputable bounty hunter. Originally, he was the son of an important samurai of a prominent lady until her husband was assassinated by a villainous subordinate. The lady took her entire entourage, including Gen's family, on a quest for vengeance, only to gradually slide into utter poverty. His mother was forced to prostitute herself for her family to survive; eventually she died, and as Gen matured, his father trained him in the ways of the sword. Upon reaching adulthood, Gen abandoned his father, wanting nothing to do with his vendetta (although he eventually became embroiled in its resolution), and became a professional bounty hunter who disdains bushido in favor of a cynical mercenary attitude never to be poor again.Usagi Yojimbo Vol.1 #34-36: "Gen, Parts 1-3"Gen appears in the 2003 TMNT series along with Usagi. In the episode "Samurai Tourist", Gen, puts on human clothing that makes him look almost identical to Rocksteady, the mutant rhinoceros from the 1987 TMNT cartoon series. Also in that episode, Gen is chased by Kojima, an assassin who happens to be a humanoid warthog (a homage to Rocksteady's partner Bebop). Kitsune – Kitsune is an anthropomorphic fox (kitsune, きつね, is Japanese for "fox", 狐), and a street performer and master thief. Originally the daughter of a failing fabric broker, she was sold to an inn by her new stepmother, who despised her. When she was to be resold to a brothel, she fled and took up stealing in order to survive;Usagi Yojimbo Vol.3 #52: "Kitsune's Tale" hence her life's motto: "A girl has to do what she can to get by". Her street performance is based on manipulating tops with objects such as fans or chopsticks. While she is self-serving, she is willing to sacrifice herself for close friends if need be. Usagi disapproves of her thieving ways (especially since she occasionally ends up picking his pocket as well), but he knows she is not malicious, and often ends up helping her in getting out of a tight spot in her schemes. After meeting Gennosuke, she and the bounty hunter have apparently developed a romantic relationship with each other.Usagi Yojimbo Vol.1 #37: "The Return of Kitsune" Aside from Usagi and Gen, Kitsune only has three other important friends: Sachiko, her surrogate sister and mentor who was killed by a samurai she robbed by invoking his right of kiri-sute gomen; Noodles, a child-minded strongman who was executed by a corrupt police officer as a scapegoat;Usagi Yojimbo Vol.3 #1–2: "Noodles, Part 1 & 2" and Kiyoko, a young girl and Kitsune's apprentice in the ways of thievery.Usagi Yojimbo Vol.3 #92: "The Thief and the Lotus Scroll" Yamamoto Yukichi - Usagi's cousin by his father's sister. He first met Usagi as a student of the Itsuki sword school, which Usagi intended to visit, but rudely dismissed him, unaware of their family bonds. It was years later, after his master's death and his own rise as his school's head instructor, that he would meet Usagi again and learn of their common connection. After fulfilling a final obligation to his sensei, he joins Usagi in his wanderings.
Other characters Buichi Kubo - A samurai appearing in the miniseries Senso as Tomoe Ame's husband upon Lord Horikawa's conspirational arrangements. While married purely for political status, and with no love lost between them, Buichi and Tomoe still respect each other. While sent to Edo to inform the Shogun about the alien invasions, Buichi teams up with the Komori Ninja to destroy another alien landing ship at the cost of their own lives. Gunichi – A samurai in service of Lord Mifune who was a skilled swordsman with masterful control of the blade. He first meet Usagi when he was a little boy returning a wakizashi to a dead soldier on the battlefield and did not think much of him. That opinion changed when he confronted the rabbit after his training was completed and challenged him to a duel as a test. When that duel was interrupted by rival swordsmen lying in ambush, they fought them off together and Gunichi was impressed enough with Usagi's skill to call a draw to their fight and recommend him for his Lord's service. The two enjoyed a close comradeship that ended at the Battle of Adachi Plain when Gunichi deserted his lord in battle over Usagi's objections. Much later, Gunichi and Usagi faced each other for the last time, and Usagi slew him for his betrayal. Lord Horikawa – An advisor to Lord Noriyuki. While he publicly appears as a merely arrogant, sycophantic individual condescending to anyone beneath him, he is secretly a conniving, scheming individual who desires to be Noriyuki's principal advisor. To this end, he intends to remove Tomoe Ame from the young lord's side (though drawing the line at outright murder, lest this would expose him), and has influenced Noriyuki into marrying Tomoe off "for her own good".Usagi Yojimbo Vol.3 #84: "The Treasure of the Mother of All Mountains"Usagi Yojimbo Vol.3 #91: "The Ghost in the Well, Part 2" One of Horikawa's ancestors was already a traitor who attempted to deliver the Geishu clan to one of its enemies during a critical battle.Usagi Yojimbo Vol.3 #81: "Into the Mist"