Usagi

Usagi is a Japanese word meaning rabbit or hare. It is written with the kanji 兎 or 兔 and is pronounced usagi. In everyday Japanese, the term appears in language and folklore, and it is also used as a given name or nickname in fiction. Rabbits have a recurring presence in Japanese culture, including the Moon rabbit motif in folklore and art.

In popular culture, Usagi is best known as Usagi Tsukino, the protagonist of the Sailor Moon manga series by Naoko Takeuchi. First serialized in 1991 and adapted into an anime that began airing in 1992, she is a cheerful schoolgirl who transforms into Sailor Moon to fight evil. The character became a global icon and played a major role in popularizing the magical girl genre.

Another prominent bearer of the name is Miyamoto Usagi, the titular character of Usagi Yojimbo, a comic series created by Stan Sakai in 1984. Miyamoto Usagi is an anthropomorphic rabbit who serves as a ronin in a stylized version of Edo-period Japan, blending samurai action with humor and storytelling influenced by classic cinema.

Beyond these, Usagi appears as a given name for various other fictional characters in manga, anime, and video games, where the name is chosen to evoke qualities associated with rabbits, such as gentleness or playfulness. In Japanese, Usagi remains a common and recognizable term for rabbit, while its use in media has made it a familiar proper name for audiences worldwide.