Sadako Yamamura
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

, also known as Park Eun-suh () and Samara Morgan, is the main
antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, ri ...
of Koji Suzuki's ''Ring'' novel series and the film franchise of the same name. Sadako's fictional history alternates between continuities, but all depict her as the vengeful ghost of a psychic who was murdered and thrown into a well. As a ghost, she uses , her most distinctive power and weapon, to create a cursed video tape. Whomever watches the tape will die exactly one week later unless the tape is copied and shown to another person, who then must repeat the same process. Sadako Yamamura has been played by a number of actresses in films, including
Rie Inō is a Japanese film actress who portrayed Sadako Yamamura in ''Ring'' & ''Ring 2 is a 1999 Japanese supernatural horror film, directed by Hideo Nakata and serves as a sequel to '' Ring''. ''Ring'' was originally a novel written by Koji Suzuk ...
in '' Ring'' and '' Ring 2'',
Hinako Saeki is a Japanese actress who was born on February 16, 1977 in Nara, Japan. Probably her best-known role was as Sadako Yamamura in '' Rasen'', the 1998 sequel to the horror film ''Ring''. She has also appeared in a handful of other popular Japanese ...
in '' Rasen'', Yukie Nakama in '' Ring 0: Birthday'', Ayane Miura in '' Ring: Kanzenban'', Tae Kimura in '' Ring: The Final Chapter'' and '' Rasen'', and
Ai Hashimoto is a Japanese actress, fashion model and singer. Life Hashimoto was born in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, the second of three daughters.星原克也「女優魂 橋本愛 14歳飛躍の幕開け」,『熊本日日新聞』(Kumamoto Nichinich ...
in '' Sadako 3D''. Foreign adaptations renamed the character, with
Bae Doona Bae Doona (; born October 11, 1979; also credited as Doona Bae), is a South Korean actress and photographer. She became known outside Korea for her roles as a political activist in Park Chan-wook's ''Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance'' (2002), archer ...
portraying Park Eun-suh in the
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
n film '' The Ring Virus'', and Daveigh Chase portraying Samara Morgan in the American films '' The Ring'' and '' The Ring Two'';
Bonnie Morgan Bonnie Patricia Morgan is a female contortionist and actress. Early life Morgan was born to actor Gary Morgan and grew up in a family of circus performers. She has a sister, Molly, who is also an actress. She is a professional body manipulato ...
would later take over the role in '' Rings''. The character also appears in Kōji Shiraishi's 2016 crossover film ''
Sadako vs. Kayako is a 2016 Japanese supernatural horror film directed by Kōji Shiraishi. It is a crossover of the '' Ju-on'' and the ''Ring'' series. The film was first teased as an April Fools' joke on April 1, 2015, but was later confirmed on December 10 to ...
'' portrayed by Elly Nanami, alongside '' Ju-On'' and ''
The Grudge ''The Grudge'' is a 2004 supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen Susco, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Takashige Ichise. A remake of Shimizu's 2002 Japanese horror film '' Ju-On: The Grudge'', i ...
'' antagonist
Kayako Saeki is the main antagonist of the '' Ju-On'' horror franchise. History and characteristics Japanese timeline In the ''Ju-on'' timeline, as revealed in the official novel written by Kei Ohishi, both of her parents were present albeit highly negle ...
.


Novel series

Sadako was born in 1947 to Shizuko Yamamura and Dr. Heihachiro Ikuma in Oshima Island. The year before, Shizuko gained psychic powers after retrieving an ancient statuette of En no Ozuno from the ocean. Shizuko also gave birth to a baby boy but he died four months later due to an illness. Planning to move to
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
with Ikuma, she entrusted her mother to take care of baby Sadako. At Ikuma's encouragement, Shizuko displayed her psychic powers during a publicized demonstration. However, Shizuko bowed out of the demonstration due to migraines brought on by her powers. The press denounced Shizuko as a fraud because of this. Depressed, Shizuko eventually returned to Oshima Island and committed suicide by jumping into Mount Mihara. Meanwhile, Ikuma attempted to unlock psychic powers of his own by meditating beneath a waterfall, which ended up causing him to contract
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...
, requiring him to recuperate in a sanatorium in the
Izu Peninsula The is a large mountainous peninsula with a deeply indented coastline to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific coast of the island of Honshu, Japan. Formerly known as Izu Province, Izu peninsula is now a part of Shizuoka Prefecture. The penins ...
, leaving Sadako to be raised by Shizuko's relatives. Like her mother, Sadako was a powerful psychic; whereas Shizuko could only burn images onto
paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distribu ...
, Sadako could also project images into electronic media, such as TV. At the age of nineteen, Sadako joins a
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
-based acting troupe. As revealed in the short story ''Lemon Heart'', she falls in love with the sound operator, Hiroshi Toyama. He learns of her powers but accepts them, but an early form of the curse is created in the form of a sound recording that kills four people, including the troupe's director, resulting in a heartbroken Sadako leaving Toyama. Eventually, Sadako visits Ikuma in the Izu sanatorium, only to be raped by a doctor named Jotaro Nagao, who is unknowingly infected with
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
. During the assault, he discovers that Sadako has
testicular feminization syndrome Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) is a difference in sex development involving hormonal resistance due to androgen receptor dysfunction. It affects 1 in 20,000 to 64,000 XY ( karyotypically male) births. The condition results in the partial o ...
, and has the genitalia of both sexes. Sadako bites him on the shoulder, causing her to be infected by the smallpox virus that Nagao contracted. Finally, Nagao throws her down a nearby well and seals her within. Foreseeing herself being reborn years later, Sadako vows revenge on the world before she dies. Her psychic powers mutate the smallpox virus into a new strain of virus, called the "ring virus", one that causes anyone who contracts it to die, seemingly of fright, within a week. By ''Ring'', in 1991, the Izu sanatorium, including the well that Sadako was thrown into, has been rebuilt into a mountain resort. The well is located right below a TV screen of one of the resort's cabins. When a vacationing family forgets to bring home their videotape after one night, Sadako projects the new virus onto the TV screen, taking the form of a video, and the VCR records it into the tape. The next visitor at the cabin, 17-year-old Tomoko Oishi, inadvertently discovers and watches the tape, leading Sadako to kill her. Tomoko's uncle, journalist Kazuyuki Asakawa, begins investigating her death and watches the tape, leading to him being cursed by Sadako. He learns about Sadako's origin and writes a journal detailing his investigation. As revealed in ''Spiral'', the ring virus originally had an escape clause that allowed it to propagate itself, but Tomoko and her friends, not believing any of it, mischievously overwrote the part where the tape gave the solution as a prank. As a result, the virus had no means to inform its viewers on how to multiply itself, so it mutated when the next viewer of the tape, Kazuyuki, watched it and copied it for his friend, Ryuji Takayama. Two strains then emerged: a ring-shaped one, which would invariably kill its viewers within a week, and a
spermatozoon A spermatozoon (; also spelled spermatozoön; ; ) is a motile sperm cell, or moving form of the haploid cell that is the male gamete. A spermatozoon joins an ovum to form a zygote. (A zygote is a single cell, with a complete set of chromosom ...
-shaped one, which would lay dormant within the viewers unless they were ovulating women, whose
ovum The egg cell, or ovum (plural ova), is the female reproductive cell, or gamete, in most anisogamous organisms (organisms that reproduce sexually with a larger, female gamete and a smaller, male one). The term is used when the female gamete i ...
would be infected by the virus and transformed into a Sadako clone. This was because Sadako wanted to be reborn, something she could not biologically do because she was
intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical b ...
. Finally, though the original tape and its copies had been disposed of by the events of ''Spiral'', the virus found its way into a new media: Kazuyuki's journal, which his brother published after his death in a car accident. Kazuyuki's survival was actually not because he copied the tape for Ryuji, but rather because he unwittingly helped the virus propagate. This was why Kazuyuki survived where his wife and daughter, who also copied the tape per his instruction, did not. The dormant virus infects the ovulating Mai Takano when she watches the tape, causing her to give birth to a Sadako clone who assumes the name Masako. She is described as a "complete hermaphrodite" as she has fully functional male and female reproductive organs. After her identity is revealed, Sadako tells Mitsuo Ando that she made a deal with Ryuji: in exchange for his resurrection, he would help her be reborn, something he did when he attracted Ando into the case. She then blackmails Ando: in exchange for not activating the dormant ring virus that he contracted when he read Kazuyuki's journal, he would refrain from stopping it from being published. As an incentive, Sadako, who has the ability to clone a person by implanting their genes into her, will birth his deceased son, Takanori, back to life. Realizing that Sadako would win no matter what he does, Ando reluctantly cooperates. In the third novel, ''Loop'', which revealed that the events of the previous two books were set in a
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), edu ...
called LOOP, it is stated that the ring virus unwittingly escapes into the real world after its creators clone Ryuji, who is dying from the virus. The virus separates from Ryuji and mutates with a bacterium, creating a highly dangerous cancer called the Metastatic Human Cancer (MHC), which threatens all life. The cloned Ryuji, who is raised as Kaoru Futami and has no memories of his life in LOOP, eventually has to reenter the virtual reality to get the cure for both the ring virus and the MHC. In the short story "Happy Birthday", Kaoru finds a cure that neutralizes all clones in the virtual reality, causing both himself and the Sadako clones to rapidly age and die within a matter of years. The fifth novel, ''S'', reveals that Masako was impregnated by Ryuji and gave birth to a girl named Akane Maruyama. Akane, unlike the Sadako clones, does not inherit the defective genes that had imperiled the clones, including Masako, who dies a few years after she is born. Meanwhile, Ryuji tries to stop the ring virus from propagating through Kazuyuki's journal but relents to allow four Sadako clones to continue existing, thinking that they have short lives and therefore pose no threat. However, the clones are killed off one by one by Ryuji's student Hiroyuki Niimura, who feels it is his duty to destroy Sadako once and for all.


Manga series

In ''Sadako-san and Sadako-chan'', set after the 2019 film ''Sadako'', Sadako seeks to move on from their tragic past and spread their curse via
videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videoca ...
by navigating the modern era of
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
and
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...
with a young girl known as "Little Sadako", a reincarnation of herself. Little Sadako, a young child and fledging YouTuber who spends all day in a small closet on her mother's request, befriends Sadako after she arrives seven days after watching her tape and not being afraid of her, creating a joint
YouTube channel YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most vis ...
with her dubbed "Twodako". In the
post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...
-set ''Sadako at the End of the World'', Sadako is summoned after two young girls watch her videotape to find an apocalypse to have occurred since she was last summoned, and that the two girls are apparently the last humans alive. Conflicted over what to do when the girls' seven-day period is up, Sadako assists the pair in searching the world for more victims for her under the guise of friends, as the trio's growing bond widens the possibility of Sadako herself finding peace and her curse being broken. Ultimately, after killing the last hairdresser on the planet after letting them do their hair and meeting with Okiku, Sadako elects to reluctantly take both girls' lives on the seventh day, ending her own curse and reuniting with them in the afterlife.


Film series

Her past is portrayed differently in the film series. In this continuity, Sadako is not the biological child of Dr. Ikuma and Shizuko but is implied to be the result of sexual intercourse between Shizuko and an enigmatic sea demon after Shizuko spent hours staring at and talking to the ocean. Shizuko's brother Takashi later learns of her psychic prediction of Mount Mihara's eruption and tells everyone about it, making her an instant celebrity. Dr. Ikuma, eager to prove the existence of
ESP ESP most commonly refers to: * Extrasensory perception, a paranormal ability ESP may also refer to: Arts, entertainment Music * ESP Guitars, a manufacturer of electric guitars * E.S. Posthumus, an independent music group formed in 2000, ...
, encouraged her to participate in a demonstration at
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
. During the demonstration, Shizuko was successfully able to prove her psychic abilities but a spiteful journalist, Miyaji, accused Shizuko of being a fraud, inciting other journalists to join in the slanderous uproar. Sadako, who watched from backstage, snapped and killed Miyaji, to stand up for her mother. Sadako eventually split into identical twins, one good and innocent, and the other wrathful and destructive. After Shizuko committed suicide, Ikuma moved to
Izu Izu may refer to: Places *Izu Province, a part of modern-day Shizuoka prefecture in Japan **Izu, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka prefecture **Izu Peninsula, near Tokyo **Izu Islands, located off the Izu Peninsula People with the surname

*, Japane ...
with the twins. The good Sadako grew into an adult and became an actress, while the evil twin was locked up by Ikuma and drugged to stunt her growth. Akiko Miyaji, the fiancé of the journalist whom Sadako killed, leads an angry mob to kill the evil Sadako, only for the twins to merge into one and slaughter her tormentors. Ikuma then wounded and threw Sadako down the well behind his house. Sadako survived within for 30 years, dying shortly before the events of ''Ring'', creating the cursed videotape. At the end of the ''
Sadako 3D 2 is a 2013 Japanese supernatural horror film directed by Tsutomu Hanabusa and the sequel to 2012's '' Sadako 3D'' and the final installment in the ''Rasen'' timeline. Plot Takanori Andō (Kōji Seto) is waiting while Akane Ayukawa is giving bir ...
'', it is revealed that Sadako has a daughter, who is briefly described as "the seed of despair, growing, and ready to bloom". Sadako appears in the crossover film ''
Sadako vs. Kayako is a 2016 Japanese supernatural horror film directed by Kōji Shiraishi. It is a crossover of the '' Ju-on'' and the ''Ring'' series. The film was first teased as an April Fools' joke on April 1, 2015, but was later confirmed on December 10 to ...
'', encountering
Kayako Saeki is the main antagonist of the '' Ju-On'' horror franchise. History and characteristics Japanese timeline In the ''Ju-on'' timeline, as revealed in the official novel written by Kei Ohishi, both of her parents were present albeit highly negle ...
, the antagonist of the '' Ju-On'' films. Sadako's cursed videotape, in this version, is reduced to a two-day deadline instead of the traditional seven days. She is also shown to be much stronger and more violent this time, forcing people who try to hinder her curse or escape to kill themselves in brutal ways. The two ghosts battle each other to kill two women who are under both of their respective curses, they are lured to an old well with the help of psychics Keizo Tokiwa and Tamao in an attempt to destroy them both. However, it ends up causing the two ghosts to fuse into a huge, monstrous entity called Sadakaya. Furthermore, prior to the battle and subsequent fusion, Sadako's curse is inadvertently transferred from the cursed videotape to the Internet, potentially unleashing it upon the entire world.


Appearance

Sadako appears as a young woman whose face is hidden under her long black hair, and she wears a white dress that has water stains on it that is also frayed at the end. This appearance is typical of ''
yūrei are figures in Japanese folklore analogous to the Western model of ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, (''yū''), meaning "faint" or "dim" and (''rei''), meaning "soul" or "spirit". Alternative names include , meaning ruined or depart ...
''. Specifically, Sadako is a type of ''yūrei'' known as an ''
onryō In Japanese traditional beliefs and literature, are a type of ghost () believed to be capable of causing harm in the world of the living, injuring or killing enemies, or even causing natural disasters to exact vengeance to "redress" the wron ...
'', bound by a desire for vengeance. In '' Sadako 3D'', Sadako appears as her human self while still displaying traits of an ''onryō'', in addition to the standard yūrei appearance. ''Ring: Kanzenban'' was the only rendition that differs from a traditional ''yūrei'' appearance. She is shown similarly as a young woman, yet her hair barely covers her face, and is frequently portrayed nude as opposed to a white garment. Sadako is also an amalgamation of two famous Japanese ghosts, Oiwa and Okiku. From Oiwa, Sadako takes the single, misshapen eye. From Okiku, the style of murder, of being thrown down a well and then having the ghost rise from the well to seek vengeance. The success of the 1998 film '' Ring'' brought the image of the ''yūrei'' to western
popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
for the first time, although the image has existed in Japan for centuries. This image is often used in
J-Horror Japanese horror is horror fiction derived from popular culture in Japan, generally noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre differing from the traditional Western representation of horror. Japanese horror tends ...
films, such as '' Ju-on'' (and its remake ''
The Grudge ''The Grudge'' is a 2004 supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen Susco, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Takashige Ichise. A remake of Shimizu's 2002 Japanese horror film '' Ju-On: The Grudge'', i ...
''), ''
One Missed Call One Missed Call may refer to: * ''One Missed Call'' (2003 film), a Japanese horror film, followed by two sequels * ''One Missed Call'' (2008 film), an American remake of the Japanese film * ''One Missed Call'' (TV series), a Japanese television ...
'' and ''
Dark Water Dark Water may refer to: Books * '' Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil'', 1920 book by American philosopher W.E.B. Du Bois * ''Dark Water'' (book) (仄暗い水の底から; ''Honogurai mizu no soko kara''; literally ''In the Depths of Dark ...
''. In the original Japanese films, Sadako's face is never seen aside from her one-eyed glare, employing the
fear of the unknown Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...
. Western remakes buck this tradition and show Samara Morgan's face briefly—she appears as a woman with shriveled skin covered with incisions. Sadako is also based on the life of early-20th century
psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...
Sadako Takahashi, an apparent practitioner of ''
nensha Thoughtography, also called projected thermography, psychic photography, nengraphy, and ''nensha'' , is the claimed ability to "burn" images from one's mind onto surfaces such as photographic film by parapsychic means. While the term "thoughtogra ...
'', the art of projecting images onto film by thought alone. In 1931 Takahashi was studied by psychologist Tomokichi Fukurai for his book, ''Clairvoyance and Thoughtography''. Fukurai also worked with psychic
Chizuko Mifune Chizuko Mifune (御船 千鶴子, ''Mifune Chizuko'', 17 July 1886 – 19 January 1911) was a self-proclaimed clairvoyant during the late Meiji period in Japan. Early years Born in Kumamoto Prefecture, Mifune was married in 1908. It has been s ...
, who inspired the backstory of Sadako and her mother Shizuko. In 2022, she appears as a playable character in ''
Dead by Daylight ''Dead by Daylight'' is an asymmetric multiplayer survival horror online game developed by Canadian studio Behaviour Interactive. It is a one-versus-four game in which one player takes on the role of a savage Killer and the other four play as Su ...
'', and cameoed in '' Erma'' (a
webtoon Webtoons (), are a type of digital comic that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones. While webtoons were mostly unknown outside of Korea during their inception, there has been a surge in popularity internationally ...
loosely inspired by '' Ju-On'' and ''The Ring'').


Powers

Sadako has a variety of psychic powers throughout all the ''Ring cycle'' books and films. The most famous is her ability to create the "cursed" video tape.


Videotape

In the films her method of killing with the video curse is not explained, but when someone is killed by it she is seen climbing out of a nearby surface, often a television screen, and approaching them. The corpses are discovered with looks of unearthly
anguish Anguish (from the Latin ''angustia'' "distress") is "extreme unhappiness caused by physical or mental suffering." The feeling of anguish is typically preceded by a tragedy or event that has a profound meaning to the being in question. Anguish can ...
on their faces. In ''Spiral'', the curse is explained in detail and is discovered to be a
virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...
. When someone watches the cursed tape (or something else carrying the curse) some of their DNA is changed to become that of the Ring Virus (a hybrid of Sadako's DNA and that of the
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
virus). This travels throughout their body and in most cases causes a
sarcoma A sarcoma is a malignant tumor, a type of cancer that arises from transformed cells of mesenchymal (connective tissue) origin. Connective tissue is a broad term that includes bone, cartilage, fat, vascular, or hematopoietic tissues, and sarcom ...
to form on one of the
arteries An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pu ...
of their heart. If the curse has not been appeased within seven days, the sarcoma detaches from the artery and clogs it, causing
heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
. Eventually, however, the virus is able to infect people through means other than videotapes, such as a report detailing the events of ''Ring'' written by Kazuyuki Asakawa in which the virus had entered from Asakawa's body, a novel version of the report was published by Asakawa's brother, a movie based on the novel (which Sadako was cast as herself in), and finally the Metastatic Human Cancer virus that appears in the third novel, ''Loop''. Each version of the video tape contains disturbing imagery. The novel version features messages at the start and end of the tape, though the method to removing the curse was recorded over. Most of the footage is from Sadako's perspective, including being sexually assaulted by Nagao Jotaro. The films' incarnation has more abstract imagery, and features an enigmatic figure whose face is obscured by a towel, pointing out to something off-screen. He is collectively referred to as the "Towel Man", and is speculated to symbolize Sadako's unknown, possibly otherworldly biological father. He appears in ''Ring'', directing Reiko to Yoichi watching the tape, and later points out the copy she made of the tape, implying he may actually be Ryuji Takayama following his death. The final shot of the tape is of the well, which extends with each viewing, until the deadline of the curse where Sadako emerges from the well and then crawls out of the nearest reflective surface to kill her victim. An alternate version of the tape was featured in '' Ring: The Final Chapter'', portrayed as being recorded during pop singer Nao Matsuzaki's music video, and the deadline for the curse was extended to thirteen days. The American film incarnation is probably the longest, and mostly consists of abstract imagery or exaggerated visions that Samara Morgan has seen, but still adapts a lot from the Japanese version including the infamous final sequence where Samara emerges from television to kill her victims.


Other versions


Park Eun-Suh

Sadako was the source for the character Park Eun-Suh in
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
n remake film '' The Ring Virus'' (1999), portrayed by
Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...
actress
Bae Doona Bae Doona (; born October 11, 1979; also credited as Doona Bae), is a South Korean actress and photographer. She became known outside Korea for her roles as a political activist in Park Chan-wook's ''Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance'' (2002), archer ...
. Park Eun-Suh more closely resembles the Sadako from the novels. She appears to be about the same age as Sadako, though her age is never confirmed; she is only said to have disappeared after high school. She and her mother both had supernatural powers (similar to Sadako and Shizuko) and were rumored to be witches. After Eun-Suh's mother throws herself off a cliff into the sea, Eun-Suh's powers mysteriously disappear. As she grows older, she works at a nightclub under the name "Sunny Park". Her powers return. She is able to turn on an unplugged TV and murders a man with her abilities after she catches him peeping on her showering. Eun-Suh is raped by her half-brother shortly before her death, during which he discovers that she is a
hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...
. She is ashamed and telepathically threatens him. Horrified, he chokes her unconscious and drops her in a nearby well at the Sanitarium he was staying at for smallpox.


Samara Morgan

Sadako was the main influence on Samara Morgan from the 2002 American remake, '' The Ring'' and its sequels, '' The Ring Two'' and '' Rings''. She was played by Daveigh Chase,
Kelly Stables Kelly Stables is an American actress who has appeared on stage, as well as in film and television. She is known for her television roles, such as Melissa on ''Two and a Half Men'', Eden Konkler on ''The Exes'', and Kelly on '' Superstore''. Pers ...
and
Bonnie Morgan Bonnie Patricia Morgan is a female contortionist and actress. Early life Morgan was born to actor Gary Morgan and grew up in a family of circus performers. She has a sister, Molly, who is also an actress. She is a professional body manipulato ...
, respectively. Samara Morgan is depicted as an otherworldly little girl, responsible for the creation of the cursed videotape from the American version of the ''Ring'' story. Her usual appearance is of a girl with long, dark hair covering her face and wearing a white dress. Samara possesses the power of
nensha Thoughtography, also called projected thermography, psychic photography, nengraphy, and ''nensha'' , is the claimed ability to "burn" images from one's mind onto surfaces such as photographic film by parapsychic means. While the term "thoughtogra ...
like Sadako, capable of burning images onto surfaces and into the minds of others. Unlike Sadako, Samara psychically disfigures her victims' faces before they finally die of a heart attack. Samara's history is covered through the American films. ''The Ring'' states that Anna and Richard Morgan ( Shannon Cochran and Brian Cox), who own a horse ranch on Moesko Island,
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, claimed to have adopted Samara from unknown parents on the mainland after numerous unsuccessful attempts to have a child on their own. As Samara grows older, her powers burn horrible images into Anna's mind, nearly driving her insane. Richard banishes Samara to live in the ranch's barn, but she uses her powers to drive Anna's beloved horses to suicide after they "kept her up at night". At some point, Samara is taken to a psychiatric hospital but the doctors are unable to explain her powers. During a family vacation on Shelter Mountain, Anna attacks Samara as she stands before an old well, suffocating her with a garbage bag and then dropping her down the well. Anna then commits suicide by jumping off a cliff. However, Samara clings to life for seven days alone in the well before dying from a combination of starvation and
hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe h ...
. Eventually, a set of rental cabins are built near the well, one on top of it. This allows Samara to project her visions into a VCR tape, creating the seven-day curse. Samara's curse kills Katie (
Amber Tamblyn Amber Rose Tamblyn (born May 14, 1983) is an American actress and writer. She first came to national attention in her role on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' as Emily Quartermaine at the age of 11. She followed with a starring role on the pr ...
), the niece of journalist Rachel Keller (
Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama '' For Love Alone'' (1986) and then appeared in three television series, '' Hey Dad..!'' (1990), '' ...
), who investigates the tape's origins. Rachel, her ex-boyfriend Noah Clay (
Martin Henderson Martin Henderson (born 8 October 1974) is a New Zealand actor. He is known for his roles on the American medical drama series '' Off the Map'' as Dr. Ben Keeton (2011), the medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' as Dr. Nathan Riggs (2015–20 ...
) and their son Aidan (
David Dorfman David Dorfman (born February 7, 1993) is an American attorney and former actor. He portrayed Aidan Keller in the 2002 horror film remake '' The Ring'', and its 2005 sequel ''The Ring Two''. His other film roles include Sammy in ''Panic'', Joey ...
) all watch the video. Rachel meets Richard, who warns her to stay away and then kills himself via electrocution. Rachel and Noah eventually find Samara's corpse in the well and bury it. This however does nothing to appease Samara as hoped by Rachel and Noah and she kills Noah as per the rules of the curse. Rachel destroys the original videocassette in a fit of rage but uses a copied version of the video to continue the curse in order to save Aidan. ''The Ring Two'' expands upon Samara's backstory: her mother, a woman named Evelyn (portrayed by
Mary Elizabeth Winstead Mary Elizabeth Winstead (born November 28, 1984) is an American actress and singer. Her first significant role was that of Jessica Bennett (Passions), Jessica Bennett on the NBC soap opera ''Passions'' (1999–2000). She went on to appear in se ...
in her youth and by
Sissy Spacek Mary Elizabeth Spacek (; born December 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for four Briti ...
as an older woman), believed that her daughter had a demon inside her and tried to drown the girl, but she was prevented by nuns. Evelyn is sent to an insane asylum, while Samara was put up for adoption. In the film's present timeline, Samara deliberately manipulates the tape to get back to Rachel, having decided to make Rachel her new mother. After Rachel burns the tape, Samara possesses Aidan. Rachel drugs Samara and then nearly drowns Aidan to exorcise her. Samara retreats into a television set, and Rachel allows herself to be pulled into Samara's visionary world and down the well. Rachel climbs out of the well with Samara pursuing her, but Rachel covers the seal on the well just in time. In ''Rings'', the film expands further back on Evelyn's backstory. Evelyn (Kayli Carter) was kidnapped by a local priest, Galen Burke (
Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leonar ...
), who raped and impregnated her, which led to Samara's conception during Evelyn's captivity. Years after his daughter's death, Burke sealed Samara's remains in a wall of his house at some point after the events of the first film, knowing her spirit would still plague those who have encountered her. He also blinded himself so Samara could not kill him. Samara has been looking for a compassionate host in order to be reborn, which she finds in a teenage girl named Julia (
Matilda Lutz Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz (born 28 January 1991 in Milan, Italy) is an Italian model and actress. She starred in the 2017 horror film ''Rings'' and action thriller film '' Revenge''. She also appeared in the Netflix series '' Medici - The Magni ...
). Burke tries to kill Julia, but Samara rises out of Julia's iPhone, restores Burke's sight, and kills him. After the cremation of her remains, Samara's spirit now resides in Julia. In the film's closing scenes, Samara's video begins spreading online and goes viral.


Portrayals

A number of actresses have portrayed Sadako in the numerous films and television adaptations of the novels, as well as in foreign adaptations.


Sadako Yamamura

* Ayane Miura – '' Ring: Kanzenban'' *
Rie Inō is a Japanese film actress who portrayed Sadako Yamamura in ''Ring'' & ''Ring 2 is a 1999 Japanese supernatural horror film, directed by Hideo Nakata and serves as a sequel to '' Ring''. ''Ring'' was originally a novel written by Koji Suzuk ...
– '' Ring'', '' Ring 2'' *
Hinako Saeki is a Japanese actress who was born on February 16, 1977 in Nara, Japan. Probably her best-known role was as Sadako Yamamura in '' Rasen'', the 1998 sequel to the horror film ''Ring''. She has also appeared in a handful of other popular Japanese ...
– '' Rasen'' (1998) * Tae Kimura – '' Ring: The Final Chapter'', '' Rasen'' (1999) * Yukie Nakama – '' Ring 0: Birthday'' *
Ai Hashimoto is a Japanese actress, fashion model and singer. Life Hashimoto was born in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, the second of three daughters.星原克也「女優魂 橋本愛 14歳飛躍の幕開け」,『熊本日日新聞』(Kumamoto Nichinich ...
– '' Sadako 3D'' * Elly Nanami – ''
Sadako vs. Kayako is a 2016 Japanese supernatural horror film directed by Kōji Shiraishi. It is a crossover of the '' Ju-on'' and the ''Ring'' series. The film was first teased as an April Fools' joke on April 1, 2015, but was later confirmed on December 10 to ...
'' * Ayaka Minami - ''
Sadako Sadako is a Japanese name, commonly used for women. Sadako is also a film. The same name can be written with a variety of kanji, and the meanings of the name differ accordingly: *, "chaste child"; the same characters can also be read as a Korean fe ...
''


Park Eun-Suh

*
Bae Doona Bae Doona (; born October 11, 1979; also credited as Doona Bae), is a South Korean actress and photographer. She became known outside Korea for her roles as a political activist in Park Chan-wook's ''Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance'' (2002), archer ...
– '' The Ring Virus''


Samara Morgan

* Daveigh Chase – '' The Ring'' ('' The Ring Two'' & '' Rings'' (2017) (archival footage)) *
Kelly Stables Kelly Stables is an American actress who has appeared on stage, as well as in film and television. She is known for her television roles, such as Melissa on ''Two and a Half Men'', Eden Konkler on ''The Exes'', and Kelly on '' Superstore''. Pers ...
– '' The Ring'' (stunts), '' The Ring Two'' and ''
Rings Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
'' (2005) *
Bonnie Morgan Bonnie Patricia Morgan is a female contortionist and actress. Early life Morgan was born to actor Gary Morgan and grew up in a family of circus performers. She has a sister, Molly, who is also an actress. She is a professional body manipulato ...
– '' The Ring Two'' (stunts) and '' Rings'' (2017)


Reception

The characters of Sadako Yamamura and Samara Morgan have been well received by audiences and film critics alike. ''The Movie Book'' describes Sadako as influencing the whole Japanese horror genre, making the mythological image of the yurei popular in film. British film critic
Mark Kermode Mark James Patrick Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for ''The Observer'', contributes to the magazine ''Sight & Sound'', prese ...
lists Sadako's iconic crawl out of a television set as his seventh scariest moment from the horror film genre. The scene also came sixth in
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's '' 100 Greatest Scary Moments''. On August 10, 2002, Sadako was given a public funeral at the
Laforet is a department store, residence, and museum complex located in the Harajuku commercial and entertainment district of the Shibuya neighborhood, in Tokyo, Japan. Constructed over part of the old Tokyo Central Church, a newer church located behind ...
Museum in
Harajuku is a district in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Harajuku is the common name given to a geographic area spreading from Harajuku Station to Omotesando, corresponding on official maps of Shibuya ward as Jingūmae 1 chōme to 4 chōme. In popular refer ...
,
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
, to tie-in with the opening of a ''Ring'' exhibit at the museum and the release of ''The Ring'', with Koji Suzuki attending the funeral. ''
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
s Mark Dinning described Samara as one of the film industry's most "unrelenting, unreasonable, plain uncontrollable baddies ever". Daveigh Chase has been praised for her performance as Samara Morgan, and won the
MTV Movie Award for Best Villain This is a following list of the MTV Movie Award winners and nominees for Best Villain. In 2012, the award was renamed Best On-Screen Dirt Bag, though the Best Villain moniker was reinstated the following year. Two of the winners (Denzel Washington a ...
at the 2003 ceremony.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamamura, Sadako Mythopoeia The Ring (franchise) Female horror film villains Female characters in literature Female literary villains Characters in Japanese novels of the 20th century Fictional actors Literary characters introduced in 1991 Fictional characters who can duplicate themselves Fictional characters with accelerated healing Fictional characters with dissociative identity disorder Fictional ghosts Fictional intersex characters Fictional Japanese people Fictional characters with death or rebirth abilities Fictional spiritual mediums Fictional characters with spirit possession or body swapping abilities Fictional telepaths Fictional telekinetics Fictional offspring of rape Fictional LGBT characters in film Fictional patricides Fictional mass murderers Fictional serial killers LGBT characters in anime and manga LGBT villains Fictional victims of sexual assault Fictional murdered people