Actually it looks more like Splinter if he were a Dragon.

Those "logos" aren't just for decoration, you know; they're a symbol of clan affiliation. By copying Usagi's, you've given him an ally; should they ever encounter one another, they will know each other as such by the mark of the late Lord Mifune.

Of course, by giving him the symbol of a dead clan, you've also marked him as a ronin; one wonders what path this character walks to sustain himself with no living lord to serve under.

I default to your knowledge of the subject matter; you clearly understand the nuances better than I, but perhaps you've opened up a level of interest to this character that I couldn't have guessed at otherwise. This guy is definitely an aged dragon so he's probably been around the block long enough to have found his own solution to the ronin situation, perhaps even multiple times. I wonder how the samurai tradition is modified for being whose lifespan extends beyond what normal mortals would be capable of?

If I understand the nuances better than you do, it's only because I've read them out of the "Usagi Yojimbo" books. Mr. Stan Sakai is very good at using his characters and storylines to outline feudal Japanese traditions, lore, etc.

I can say this, though; the primary samurai tradition, known as Bushido, is an extensive code of honor; I don't think the average lifespans of specific species would figure into it.

If this guy's figured out how to survive honorably on his own, it could mean any number of things. Perhaps he took on a similar lifestyle as Usagi, wandering as a nomad and living off the land, with weapon in hand to defend himself, and possibly hiring himself out as a bodyguard.

Or perhaps he settled himself into one spot and built a small farm to sustain himself. Certainly that would better fit with the "sensei" title; a wanderer has little time for students, and little chance to be found by them, but a farmer would be more easily approached.

Of course there are less honorable paths for a ronin, as needs must; the bounty hunter Gennosuke, from the same book series, makes that abundantly clear multiple times. Being the son of a fallen samurai, he knows that honor doesn't fill a man's belly. (However, he does have a bit of a soft spot for innocent hard-luck cases.)