Kiyoshi Sato (佐藤 清, Satō Kiyoshi), known later in life as Okudera (奥寺), is a character featured in the Hunter and Killer Side Story of Yakuza 5. He is a hunter who rescues Taiga Saejima from freezing to death, later acting as his mentor.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Sato is an old man with semi-white hair and beard. He has noticeable scars on his face, likely as a result of many encounters with Yama-Oroshi.
Attire[]
Sato wears winter clothing in both his hut and while hunting.
Personality[]
Sato was a serious man with a caring attitude as he helped those who were in need of help. He often gave wise advice to people and hunters specially Saejima and would teach him the ways of hunting. He was a firm believer that hunting was a way of life, and one that only made sense as a way of surviving. He would call any other sort of hunting as senseless slaughter.
The one and only thing that can break his composure is the Yama-Oroshi, as he was initially more than willing to kill the beast purely to murder it, and often acted recklessly when it come to the bear as it would flare him up constantly.
Eventually he would come to terms with his own crimes and with its long term enemy, deciding not to kill the beast as it would be meaningless slaughter that would turn him back to the murderer he was, showing his self control, maturity and self-forgiveness.
Background[]
Kiyoshi Sato was a murderer from a yakuza family, sentenced to live imprisonment in Abashiri Penitentiary. However, in 2003, he escaped the facility under orders from his family to assassinate a man named Okudera, who was expelled from his own family. Not knowing the land, Sato became lost in the dense forests outside Abarashi prison, and would have frozen to death if Okudera had not rescued him.
As he spent more time with Okudera, who was teaching him the basics of hunting, Sato began to see him as a friend, rather than a target he needed to murder. One day, Okudera left to hunt down Yama-Oroshi, so Sato tailed after him, intending to murder him and make the death appear as if the massive bear had killed Okudera. Once he caught up to Okudera, he aimed a gun at his back. Okudera calmly told Sato to "Shoot anytime"; Okudera had been aware of Sato's intentions from the very beginning, yet still helped him. This caused Sato to hesitate, before finally coming to the conclusion that he just couldn't murder Okudera, even if that meant he himself would also be marked for death.
As soon as Sato came to this conclusion, Yama-Oroshi suddenly appeared and attacked the two. Sato blacked out, and when he awoke, he was lying next to Okudera, and they were surrounded with bloody snow. With his dying breath, Okudera told Sato to inherit his name, and to atone for his regrets in life. Realizing that Okudera saw himself in him, Sato complied with his final wish and he went by the name of Okudera from that day forward.
Later, several hunters including those from the Mountain Village started a massive hunting campaign as per request of several outside customers, as the Bill for the Hunting Law that prohibited poaching and hunting for sport had yet to be approved. The excessive hunting caused a shift on the ecosystem, prompting several animals including the Yama-Oroshi to resort to human-hunting for sustenance. The Yama-Oroshi ravaged the village, leaving all the villagers alive but destroying their huts and destroying their food provisions leaving them to the brink of starvation. In retaliation, Okudera confronted the beast and saved the village by making the villagers remember the principles of hunting for survival rather than for slaughter. The villagers, knowing he was a criminal, decided to keep themselves distanced from him in order to know as little as possible about him, making it impossible for any of them to call the police and effectively protecting him. Okudera would spend several years trying to hunt the giant bear for revenge alone. Unknown to him the villagers would secretly keep watch on him from afar whenever he went hunting, while he believed they were shunning him out of punishment.
Involvement[]
Yakuza 5: 2012[]
Nine years later, he finds Saejima after his confrontation with Yama-Oroshi nursing him back to health and teaching him the ways of hunting. Saejima and him would encounter the Yama-Oroshi while trying to find Shigeki Baba with Okudera distracting the beast while Saejima ran with Baba back to the village. Okudera managed to survive and return safely. Okudera would reveal that unlike any hunting that was done for survival, Yama-Oroshi was different and he wanted the bear dead.
They witness newcomer hunter Narumi entering the village, also hunting down the Yama-Oroshi. Saejima would discuss Narumi's philosophy of hunting being a one-sided slaughter with Okudera who professed for a more civilized hunting. Okudera would agree that hunting was a one-sided slaughter but that the same principle would not apply with Yama-Oroshi as the beast was far too powerful and one needed to be ready to "kill or be killed" while challenging it. Eventually the two would face the bear once more during a training session where he would get himself injured and in need of rest for some time to recover.
Once he was almost fully recovered, the two would track Yama-Oroshi's den after Saejima had placed a special bullet from with a tracking device on its underbelly. The two were able to trace Yama-Oroshi's den to the far end of the mountain beyond a broken bridge. The two returned to the village with Saejima puzzled about his calm composure. Okudera would send Saejima to the village while he made supper but as he comes back, it is revealed he left the village likely on pursue of Yama-Oroshi. Sakurai and Nishina give Saejima a snowmobile for him to chase after Okudera as by the time he left, it would be impossible to follow him on foot. Saejima would find an injured Okudera as he failed to defeat the bear.
Eventually Okudera would call the police to get himself arrested for his past crimes. He goes to the mountain to find Saejima, Sakurai and Nishina with an unconscious Yama-Oroshi being beaten down by Saejima in a brawl and would overhear the reason behind the villager's attitude to shun him. Okudera would reveal the truth of his past with the real Okudera and revealed he wanted to turn himself to the police to serve the rest of his sentence. Nishina encourages Okudera to kill the beast and end his long-time struggle with the giant bear, but Okudera decides against it as he learned that killing for any other reason than survival would be slaughter, and if he did so he would return to the way he was 10 years ago. Respecting his decision, the group leaves Yama-Oroshi, who retreats to not be seen again. Now back in the village, Nishina would mislead the police, successfully protecting Okudera who remains in the village, this time openly accepted by the rest.
Trivia[]
- After Yama-Oroshi is defeated, Okudera expresses a desire to return to prison to serve out the rest of his sentence. Despite this, Nishina misdirects the police and they leave the village, leaving no explanation as to why Okudera changed his mind about returning to prison.
Gallery[]
.jpg "Kiyoshi Sato (Okudera).jpg (30 KB)")