Sakuya Izayoi (Touhou) — Maid, Time Power & Knives

Overview

Sakuya Izayoi is the chief maid and the only human servant of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, where she oversees a staff of fairy maids. Possessing the official ability to manipulate time, she is a recurring boss and playable character in the Touhou Project series. First introduced as a major antagonist in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, Sakuya has evolved into a frequent protagonist and incident resolver, often operating alongside Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame.

Character Profile and Background

Sakuya is classified as a human but is not native to Gensokyo. According to Hieda no Akyuu in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, nobody had ever seen her before she began working at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, describing her as a mysterious girl working in a house where devils dwell and the only human who lives where normal humans dare not approach.

Her stated age is between 10 and 20 years, though evidence implies she is much older. Akyuu notes that Sakuya claims to be in her late teens but acts with the mannerisms of someone older, and her level of ability suggests a human who has lived for over a hundred years. Akyuu believes Sakuya maintains her teenage appearance by manipulating time.

Sakuya's official occupations listed in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense are maid, youkai exterminator, and incident solver. As the head maid, she manages the mansion's operations. The other maids are fairies who enjoy many perks and rarely leave despite lacking payment or vacations; however, they are described as nearly useless. Sakuya performs the majority of the work alone, utilizing time manipulation to accomplish tasks that would otherwise be impossible.

Her signature music themes include 月時計 ～ ルナ・ダイアル (Lunar Clock ~ Luna Dial) and メイドと血の懐中時計 (Maid and Blood Pocket Watch). In Phantasmagoria of Flower View and Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, her theme is フラワリングナイト (Flowering Night).

Abilities and Mechanics

Sakuya's official ability is manipulating time. In gameplay, this power is demonstrated by scattering an infinite quantity of knives. The mechanic involves stopping time to position the knives assiduously before resuming time, causing them to fly toward targets.

Beyond stopping time, Sakuya can accelerate aging processes. A documented instance occurs in Marisa's A ending of Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, where she causes bamboo flowers to bloom instantly. This is significant because the natural blooming process for bamboo flowers typically requires sixty years. The ability to accelerate aging implies she can also decelerate aging for specific objects, which may explain her preserved youth.

Sakuya herself offers a different explanation for her time stop. She claims the effect is actually her body moving at extreme speeds with no mass, rather than a true halt of time. She also states that she lacks the ability to stop the progression of another person's time. While this explanation could be an attempt to dispel suspicion of kidnappings or encourage Reimu to leave the mansion, there is no way to prove whether this account is accurate or a fabrication.

Personality and Social Dynamics

Sakuya presents a personality that appears perfect and elegant, behaving as a fairly serious maid. However, due to the nature of her mistress Remilia Scarlet, it is often debated whether Sakuya serves as a maid or a babysitter. Beneath her composed image, she occasionally displays a spaced-out, airheaded side and can be surprisingly unreliable.

Her social behavior varies by relationship. She is polite and pleasant toward Remilia and those close to her, such as Patchouli Knowledge, but is less formal with others. Sakuya does not socialize frequently with other humans or youkai and is viewed primarily as a demon's servant. She shops at the Human Village but maintains a cold demeanor toward other humans and has no friends there. Eiki Shiki reprimanded Sakuya for this coldness and indifference to humans.

Despite her aloofness, Sakuya has shown shifts in behavior over time. After Remilia was defeated by the heroine in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, Sakuya began opening herself up more. In Double Dealing Character, when the Miracle Mallet's magic affected one of her knives, she became more open to using her knives offensively. Even after realizing the magic exploited a weakness in her heart, she chose to keep a sword filled with that magic, suggesting a latent bloodthirsty side.

She also participates in incident resolution when it aligns with her mistress's interests. For example, she cooperated with Reimu and Marisa to capture a sake-stealing beast.

Game Appearances and Story Roles

Sakuya has a extensive presence across the series, serving as a boss, midboss, and playable character.

Boss and Midboss Roles In Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, Sakuya serves as the Stage 5 midboss, Stage 5 boss, and Stage 6 midboss. She reprises all three roles in the New Classic remake. In spin-off titles, she is the 7th Day boss of Impossible Spell Card and the 4th Market boss of 100th Black Market. She also appears in the first ending of Fossilized Wonders.

Playable Character Sakuya is a playable character in Perfect Cherry Blossom, Imperishable Night, Double Dealing Character, and Unconnected Marketeers. She is also playable in the fighting games, including Touhou Hisoutensoku and Scarlet Weather Rhapsody. In Phantasmagoria of Flower View, she is both a playable character and a possible opponent.

Story Involvement During Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, Sakuya attempts to prevent the heroine from reaching Remilia but fails. In Perfect Cherry Blossom, she shows more of her true character, motivated to solve the incident because the delayed spring affects her as well.

In Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, Remilia commands Sakuya to find suspects behind strange weather anomalies. When Remilia grows tired of questioning suspects, she orders Sakuya to personally find and deal with the culprit. Sakuya eventually tells Reimu where to find the culprit and later assists in rebuilding the Hakurei Shrine after its destruction.

Spellcard Roster

The following spellcards are attributed to Sakuya Izayoi across official titles.

Here is the short version:

• Embodiment of Scarlet Devil — Conjuring "Misdirection", Conjuring "Illusional Misdirection", Illusion Existence "Clock Corpse", Illusion Image "Luna Clock", Maid Secret Skill "Marionette", Illusion Ghost "Jack the Ludo Bile", Illusion World "The World", Maid Secret Skill "Killing Doll", Strange Art "Eternal Meek"
• Perfect Cherry Blossom — Indiscriminate, Killing doll, Perfect Square, Private Square
• Immaterial and Missing Power — Illusion Sign "Killing Doll", Buriallusion "Phantomic Killer in Night Mist", Time Sign "Private Square", "Sakuya's World", Wound Sign "Inscribe Red Soul", Scarred Soul "Soul Sculpture", Serial Killer Doll, Checkmaid, Close-up Murdering Demon
• Phantasmagoria of Flower View — "Jack the Ripper", "Another Murder", Time Sign "Private Vision", Time Sign "Mysterious Jack"
• Shoot the Bullet — Time Sign "Tunnel Effect", Void "Inflation Square", Silver Sign "Perfect Maid"
• Scarlet Weather Rhapsody — Crossup Magic, Bounce No-Bounce, Magic Star Sword, Vanishing Everything, Propelling Silver, Square Ricochet, Sense of Thrown Edge, Perfect Maid, Buriallusion "Phantasmic Killer", Conjuring "Eternal Meek", Speed Sign "Luminous Ricochet", Time Sign "Sakuya's Special Stopwatch", Silver Sign "Silverbound", Illusion "My knife's Recursions", Time Sign "Silver Acute 360", Parallel Brain, Dancing Star Sword, Misdirection, Time Paradox, Time Sign "Imaginary Vertical Time", Watch "Lunar Dial", Light Speed "C. Ricochet"