The Florist of Sai (サイの花屋, Sai no Hanaya)[note 2] is a recurring character in the Yakuza series introduced in Yakuza. He is an informant who can provide almost any information at a certain price.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
The Florist has a large and stocky build, and is rather overweight.
Attire[]
The Florist wears a pair of red trousers, slippers, and nothing but a blue and gold dress robe on top. He has thin hair on top and a thick mustache and is often seen smoking a cigar. In 2006, he wears a police uniform while he is working for the police in the Millennium Tower.
Personality[]
The Florist is a shrewd businessman and a strong believer in the idea of favors and back-scratching. He always wants a price or a favor for any kind of service he offers to people, though he is usually laidback and flexible on this front. He is very keen to keep up an image of having a strong will and not compromising on anything, even when it comes to his own son, whom he pretends is not related to him when the two meet. Although he has quite an extrovert personality, the fact that he is only ever seen wearing pajamas suggests that he doesn't often go outside.
Despite his hatred for yakuza, he does not mind that his son has eloped with the daughter of a yakuza. The Florist is also particularly kind to Kiryu and anyone associated with him, putting their favors on a tab rather than actively seeking payment.
Background[]
The Florist was a corrupt police officer and a family man. He and his wife had a passion for gardening, and they also had a son during their time together. The Florist's wife abandoned him, taking their son in her custody while he was too young to remember anything.
As a corrupt officer, the Florist leaked police info for money. He earned his moniker "The Florist of Sai," as he provided his information through flower bouquets. Eventually, he was busted by fellow officer Makoto Date. At an unknown point, The Florist positioned himself as the proprietor of Purgatory.
Involvement[]
Yakuza/Yakuza Kiwami: 2005[]
The Florist is based in Purgatory, a secret underground facility in the middle of West Park in Kamurocho which hosts a nightlife facility and a district-wide surveillance system which consists of a district-wide CCTV network and a good number of homeless people whom he hired as informants. Kazuma Kiryu seeks him out in an effort to find out more about the Tojo Clan situation, but The Florist, knowing he cannot pay his fee, instead tasks him with defeating three of his best Coliseum fighters, including the champion Gary Buster Holmes. After Kiryu wins, The Florist tells him that the Third Chairman, Masaru Sera, was killed by Akira Nishikiyama after the Clan's 10 billion yen went missing. A mysterious woman, whom he suspects is Yumi or Mizuki, also showed up one day asking if The Florist knew where Haruka was. He then sees that Date, who is injured, has returned to Purgatory to find Kiryu and sends him back outside to help him.
His son, Takashi, is involved with a girl named Kyoka Atobe, who happens to be the daughter of the head of the Atobe Family. Having been shown where he is currently, Kiryu decides to help him, and The Florist indirectly allows Takashi to elope with Kyoka, with Atobe present in the room with him as they see one of his men reading his letter to her.
After Kiryu returns from Shibaura Wharf, The Florist warns him of the Dojima Family remnants that have gathered at the old hideout.
Yakuza 2/Yakuza Kiwami 2: 2006[]
The Florist moved to Millennium Tower's 50th floor due to him being subcontracted by the police and delegated Purgatory's management to Goro Majima.
Kiryu and Kaoru Sayama meet with him to verify the footage that got Date prosecuted as the fake Kazuki's killer. The Florist admits to having a spy problem due to that footage being released without his knowledge, and before he can reveal any information on Daigo Dojima's true whereabouts, the power goes out. He sends the two to bring power back from the basement level, and when the power is back on and the hacker is thwarted, they find Daigo at Shangri-La.
Some time later, Kiryu speaks with The Florist again, mentioning that Takashi would like to verify what was happening between Kyoka and the man she keeps visiting. After asking that he strictly meet him professionally, Kiryu brings him in, and The Florist shows Takashi week-old footage of Kyoka, who was actually meeting with her father to beg for money. After Takashi vows to make amends, he thanks Kiryu and The Florist and also tries to find out more about his father, but The Florist stops him before he can get any more information and requests that he resolve this relationship first.
Later on, he meets Daigo and Kiryu about the bombs planted by the Go-Ryu Clan. When they lament that the police would not help, Majima arrives and reopens the underground facility to get The Florist back up and running to track down each bomb.
Yakuza 3: 2009[]
The Florist borrows West Park from Majima, who now owns the area to build Kamurocho Hills.
Yakuza 4: 2010[]
When Taiga Saejima meets with The Florist in order to get information on the location of his former patriarch, Hideki Sasai, The Florist requests Saejima to win a match at the Coliseum and in return will give him the information. After Saejima refuses to kill his opponent, The Florist states that Saejima has passed the test and then gives him the information he needs.
During Masayoshi Tanimura's search for Isao Katsuragi, a mysterious informant (implied to be the Florist, as he gives Tanimura a bouquet of flowers with a note inside) contacts Tanimura and challenges him to a test before he is directed to Katsuragi.
At some point, Takashi requests that The Florist tells him who his real father is, and The Florist decides to give him tasks to show how he has grown as a person, using Tanimura, Akiyama, and Saejima to help him. After he is done with the tasks, The Florist sends Kiryu a bouquet to give to Takashi. Inside the bouquet is info telling Takashi that his father is dead; Takashi, however, recognizes the flowers and makes the connection.
Yakuza 5: 2012[]
The Florist tests Masato Aizawa to see if he is worthy of knowing Yu Morinaga's whereabouts. Aizawa fails for almost killing Ivan Ibrahimovic, but a battle between him and Saejima makes the Florist reconsider. He lets Aizawa know that Morinaga is dead.
Other Media[]
Yakuza: Dead Souls[]
The Florist helps Kiryu find DD and Nikaido hiding at the top of Millennium Tower, in exchange for help getting rid of the zombies trying to break into Purgatory, of which turned into a refuge for civilians from the outside zombies.
Kurohyou: Ryu Ga Gotoku Shinsho[]
After glimpsing Naoki Toda somehow still alive, Tatsuya Ukyo seeks out the Florist for information, but is unable to pay his exorbitant fees. The Florist takes pity on him and explains the history of Dragon Heat and the internal feud between the Kuki and Nioka families, advising Tatsuya not to try winning ten consecutive matches if he wants to live.
When Tatsuya returns, he gives him a photo of Chiaki Hyuga, telling him she has more information about the Kuki Family.
Trivia[]
- His name, "Sai no Hanaya", is taken from "Sai no Kawara" (the Japanese name for Purgatory) and "Hanaya", the Japanese word for florist, a title earned from his way of providing information using cards attached to flower bouquets.
- The Florist's likeness was featured in Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight as a DLC costume for Futaba Sakura.
- The flower bouquets The Florist uses to distribute his information is the same type of flower his wife favored the most.
Notes[]
- ↑ The given height of 165 cm (5′ 5″) is based on the character model's scaling factor within Yakuza Kiwami 2's data.[1] For Dragon Engine games, this method is believed to be very accurate (±2 cm). However, this is intended as an estimate, not a substitute for an official statistic.
- ↑ In the original western releases of Yakuza through Yakuza 5, he is known as Kage the Florist. This change was made simply because the localization team wanted to give him a proper name.[2]
References[]
- ↑ Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, “character_model_model_data” (.BIN file), Yakuza Kiwami 2 (2017; Tokyo: SEGAWP, 2018), PlayStation 4/Windows/Xbox One/Amazon Luna.
- ↑ “We work for SEGA on Yakuza Kiwami. Ask Us Anything!,” Reddit, Advance Publications, Inc, September 8, 2017, https://www.reddit.com/r/PS4/comments/6ywfum/we_work_for_sega_on_yakuza_kiwami_ask_us_anything/dmqva3g/?context=3.— Scott Strichart, We work for SEGA on Yakuza Kiwami. Ask Us Anything!
The names are a given [...] 'Kage' was just throw[sic] in to give the man a name.