Saburo Arasaka
| Saburo Arasaka | |
|---|---|
| |
| Type | Side Character |
| Affiliation | Arasaka |
Saburo Arasaka is the head of the Arasaka corporation and the man widely seen as the founder of its empire. He turned his father's small Japanese company into a global power and the world's largest arms maker. Once a pilot of the Japanese navy, he became a ruthless businessman and is said to bend governments to his will. He is extremely old, kept alive by the best medicine money can buy. His murder by his own son at Konpeki Plaza sets the story in motion.
Biography
The Pilot
Saburo was born into a rich family that traced its line back to the samurai. His father founded the Arasaka company. As a young man Saburo became a fighter pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and he was badly wounded in an air battle. He lost the sight of one eye and was never able to fly again. On the day Japan surrendered, he nearly took his own life, but in that moment he understood his father's vision of a Japan that would rule through business instead of war. From then on he never spoke of the war and devoted himself to the company.
The Empire
When his father died, Saburo took charge of Arasaka. He turned a simple manufacturer into a giant of banking, security and arms, with private armies of its own. He fought a long war against Militech, and the bombing of Arasaka Tower in Night City came during it. In his old age he turned to technology that preserves the mind, and his own engram is kept in Mikoshi, the vault of copied minds. He wants to live forever, and the Relic is part of that plan.
Konpeki Plaza
Saburo comes to Night City to confront Yorinobu about the stolen Relic. He goes to his son's suite at Konpeki Plaza and sends his bodyguard Takemura out of the room. The two argue about the company and the family. Yorinobu strangles his father, and V and Jackie, hidden in the suite, see it all. Yorinobu tells the world that his father was poisoned.
Saburo Arasaka Map
The map shows the places of the story of Saburo Arasaka: Konpeki Plaza and Arasaka Tower.
Saburo Arasaka map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Personality
Saburo is proud, disciplined and ruthless. He sees himself as a samurai lord and expects absolute loyalty, and he rewards it. He loves his children in his own cold way, but he treats them as heirs to be shaped. His hunger for power and for life has no limit.
Relationships
Yorinobu Arasaka is the son who killed him. Hanako Arasaka is the daughter he kept sheltered. Goro Takemura was his loyal bodyguard. Adam Smasher served him. Johnny Silverhand was the enemy whose mind he had copied with Soulkiller.
Jobs
Saburo is only met in The Heist. His death drives the main story, and his plans for life after death shape the Arasaka ending in Totalimmortal.
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
| The Information | Main Job |
| The Heist | Main Job |
| Love Like Fire | Main Job |
| Totalimmortal | Main Job |
Endings
Saburo's engram survives in Mikoshi. In the Arasaka ending, Hanako reveals it to V and brings it before the board to prove Yorinobu's guilt. Afterwards the engram is written over Yorinobu's mind, and Saburo returns to the head of Arasaka in his son's body, undoing every change Yorinobu made.
Notes
Goro Takemura served as Saburo's personal bodyguard, and his loyalty to the old man drives his part of the story.
All Side Characters