Sakuya

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Sakuya

Sakuya, who is also known as "Tree Sprite Sakuya" is one of the main characters in this game. She is the very beautiful spirit of the Guardian Sapling Cherry Blossoms that are scattered around the countryside of Nippon.

Guardian Saplings

Guardian Saplings blossom life into the surrounding area and protect it from evil, they are are therefore necessary for life. Her main Guardian tree is called Konohana and the smaller Guardian Saplings grow from it's roots. Konohana is 100 years old and was planted by the ancestors of two girls, Camille & Camellia who still come to pray to it everyday. Konohana Blossoms can also be seen floating in the sky in some places. These can be used by Amaterasu to travel through the air.

Her role in the game

Sakuya is the reason why Amaterasu was brought to life. When the Orochi was set free and his evil began to spread across the lands, only Kamiki Village was spared. This is because Sakuya, it's protector, was using all of her power to save it. Using her last ounces of strength she freed Amaterasu from her statue form and entrust her to save the world from the Oriochi's evil. She tasked Issun, a small Poncle that she finds in her kimono, to help. After they have completed their first task of reviving Kamiki Village, Sakuya gets somewhat restored back to power. However in order for her to be fully restored Amaterasu and Issun must use their brush strokes to restore all the Guardian Saplings across the lands. When sufficient saplings are revived Sakuya is restored to full power, however much to Issun's delight her clothing becomes more revealing.

Sakuya is always cheering Amaterasu and Issun in the quest to save the land, for every Guardian Sapling the revive Konohana produces a gift for them, which can be found hanging from her branches. Every time they visit Konohana she will great them and tell them not to loose faith.

However despite this Sakuya is more of a source of information. She plays a big role at the start of the game but further on she is only there to give words of support.

Shakuya

Shakuya

Shakuya is Sakuya 100 years ago. As Konohana is only a little sapling so too is Shakuya a baby. She speaks with a lisp, which is possible why she calls herself Shakuya, and most fans find her to be adorable. When she is Bloomed she will run up to Amaterasu and give her a big hug and if she is headbutted she will scold Amaterasu. Even when she is only a baby she still sees Amaterasu as a god. However despite all this and the fact that Shakuya is almost identical to Sakuya, Issun is completely oblivious to who she really is.

Based on

Sakuya is based on the blossom princess "Konohanasakuya-hime". This is possibly where her name and the name of her tree comes from. Her symbol is the Cherry Blossom which also explains the Sakuya's appearance and those of her trees.

Trivia

• Sakuya was originally meant to have three different outfits. Towards the end of the game she was going to be completely naked except for some carefully placed puffs of mist. This idea was scrapped but drawings of her in this form can still be found in art sets.

• Another place Sakuya's name probably comes is from the Japanese word "Saku", meaning bloom.

Major portions of this page were written by: Disillusioned