Space Usagi
Stan Sakai's sci-fi spinoff: a descendant of the rabbit ronin defends a spacefaring clan in a future mirroring feudal Japan—revived in color by Dark Horse.
📖 Mirage Studios (1992-1994), Dark Horse Comics (1996-present) • Started 1992
Space Usagi takes Stan Sakai’s beloved rabbit ronin and launches him into orbit—a space-opera spinoff of Usagi Yojimbo set in a far-future where a descendant of Miyamoto Usagi serves as a samurai among the stars. Perfect for fans of Star Wars, Bucky O’Hare, and space opera with a feudal heart, it’s Sakai’s proof that his storytelling engine runs just as well on starlight as on candlelight.
The Ronin in the Stars
The future in Space Usagi deliberately mirrors the past: a galaxy of warring clans and daiyo rulers where honor is measured in blades and space travel happens in a society that still emulates feudal Japan. The series follows Usagi’s descendant, also named Miyamoto Usagi, a ronin sworn to defend the Shirohoshi clan from scheming rivals—initially the treacherous Kajitori, later a new cast of space pirates and would-be empresses. The spinoff debuted with a preview in Amazing Heroes before its first three-issue miniseries from Mirage Studios in 1992, followed by a second Mirage series and a 1996 Dark Horse miniseries, Warrior—the first Sakai work the publisher ever released.
A Colorful Revival
For the 40th anniversary of Usagi Yojimbo, Dark Horse and Dogu Publishing returned the Space Usagi tales to print in full color, starting with Space Usagi: Death and Honor (2023) and continuing with Space Usagi: White Star Rising (2024), colored by longtime collaborator Emi Fujii and featuring new eight-page Akemi short stories by Stan and Julie Sakai. The revival has been celebrated with variant covers from artists like Peach Momoko, and the complete saga is collected in the trade paperback Space Usagi: White Star Rising.
Similar in spirit to the time-traveling spectacle of Samurai 7 and the all-ages wonder of Bucky O’Hare, Space Usagi is Sakai’s long-running love letter to the idea that a samurai’s code can survive anywhere—even the vacuum of space.
