Sakuya Haibara

This page contains spoilers for Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse.

Template:FF4MajorGhostSakuya Haibara is the main antagonist in Fatal Frame IV. She appears as an Vessel with a blurred face in the broken memories of the main characters.

Past

Sakuya was born on Rogetsu Isle. She had a strong sixth sense, like her mother. When Sakuya was young, her mother began to suffer from Moonlight Syndrome and committed suicide rather than live without her memories. Sakuya's father, Shigeto Haibara, the director of Haibara Infirmary, threw himself into his work seeking a cure for Getsuyuu Syndrome. Sakuya's brother You harboured a "twisted love" for her, and it is hinted that Ayako was their child.

In the Rogetsu Kagura of 1960, Sakuya performed as Vessel, and this possibly triggered her Moonlight Syndrome. She was eventually hospitalised in Rogetsu Hall, in a special ward prepared for her.

During her time at Rogetsu Hall, she used dolls to maintain her sense of self, believing that she could preserve pieces of herself inside them. As her condition deteriorated, she began to have a negative influence on others. She was isolated in a special ward on the fourth floor, but the nurse charged with her care was strongly affected, and eventually killed herself in front of Sakuya.

It was in this room she befriended Misaki Asou, a little girl who also had a strong sixth sense. The two became close, and Sakuya eventually gave the girl a doll which represented both of them, so that they could always be together even though Misaki was forbidden from meeting Sakuya any more.

Shigeto Haibara's research into Getsuyuu Syndrome had led him to uncover information about the Rite of Descent, the ancient precursor to the Rogetsu Kagura. He, his son You, and a master mask-maker, Soya Yomotsuki, decided to resurrect the ritual with Sakuya as the Vessel, the dancer who wore the Mask of the Lunar Eclipse and became a channel for the souls of the dead. Five young girls, including Misaki, were kidnapped to participate as Kanade. Sakuya fulfilled her role in the Kiraigou at the same time as the annual tourist Kagura was performed, in a secret chamber underground.

During the performance Sakuya began to panic, and the mask broke into pieces. This reaction caused the participants in the tourist Kagura above to collapse and die instantly. Sakuya and her five Kanade also collapsed, although they did not die: the girls lost all their memories, and Sakuya fell into a coma.

After the ritual, Sakuya was kept in the basement of Rogetsu Hall, between life and death. Even in this state, she had a disturbing effect on others, and Shie Sonosaki, the nurse guarding her room, suffered from the persistent fear that Sakuya's eyes would open and that she would come through the door. The artist Yuko Magaki, a patient at Rogetsu Hall, had a vision of a woman in red visiting destruction upon the island, and his paintings of the scene gave You hope that Sakuya would one day wake up.

Two years later, on the anniversary of the festival, Sakuya woke and escaped from the Shrine of Mourning. Blooming, she began to wander the island, infecting the other patients, nurses and doctors, and later the islanders in the tunnels and on the shore, until the whole population of the island was wiped out.

Fatal Frame IV

Ten years later, Misaki Asou is haunted by the apparition of a mysterious girl in black, who turns out to be an embodiment of Miya, the doll that contained pieces of both Misaki and Sakuya's souls. Sakuya's spirit still wanders the island, and as the lunar eclipse draws near, she ascends the Tsukuyomi Peninsula Lighthouse to be closer to the moon.

Before her Resonance can spread the Blooming outside the boundary of the island, she is vanquished by Ruka Minazuki. The newly-repaired Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is returned to her by Choshiro Kirishima, and contains the forces that were released ten years prior at her failed ritual. As was intended to happen during the Kiraigou, Sakuya serves as the medium guiding the souls of the dead to the afterlife, before finally crossing over herself.

Misc. Info

• Sakuya was first shown in one of six promotional stills when Tecmo announced the game on January 31st, 2008.
• Sakuya's name means "night of the new moon". "Saku", written with different characters, is also the verb meaning "to bloom" (咲く).
• Sakuya's room is #412 - 氷月 (Hyougetsu; "ice moon").
• Sakuya appears in two forms in the game: the first, her "Shadow" form, is seen in every appearance before the final fight. Her second form, the "Lunar Eclipse" form, is seen only during the final battle. Both of these forms attack the player simultaneously in one of the game's missions.
• Unlike the other main antagonists of the series, Sakuya is fought before the final battle of the game; however, in both of these encounters she is significantly weaker than the actual boss fight.

See Also

• For other members of the Haibara Family, see Haibara Family.
• For more information on the Getsuyuu Syndrome, see Moonlight Syndrome.
• For other shrine maidens, see Shrine Maiden.
• For other rituals in Fatal Frame IV, see Fatal Frame IV Rituals.
• For other antagonist ghosts in the Fatal Frame Series, see Antagonist Ghosts.
• For other uses of masks in the Fatal Frame Series, see Mask(disambig).
• For images related to Sakuya, see Images of Sakuya Haibara.