Born in Kyoto, Japan and growing up in Hawaii, Sakai moved to his current home of Pasedena to attend the Art Center College of Design.
His comic career started with lettering comic books, including Groo the Wanderer. From there he created the Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy, which were published in the first issue of Albedo Anthropomorphics.
However, it was the second of issue of Albedo which would earn Sakai his place in comic history. He introduced a supporting character named Usagi Yojimbo, and this samurai rabbit would go on to star in his own series in 1987. Sakai has continued to write and draw Usagi stories up until the present day, and even created a spin-off series called Space Usagi. The 25th Anniversary of Usagi Yojimbo was one of the main themes at the 2009 San Diego ComicCon.
Recently he also wrote and drew a Samurai Hulk story for the Marvel mini series StrangeTales.
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