Sakura Girl - Television Tropes & Idioms

Sakura Kinomoto posing with a cherry-blossom backdrop...a double whammy!

In Japanese, Sakura means Cherry Blossom, which is a very popular motif in Japan. No wonder they use this name often, especially with young girls. Most of them are as first names, but there are some as family names, such as Mikan Sakura from Gakuen Alice. Say My Name seems to be common when the Sakura Girl gets herself in trouble.

Please note that cherry blossoms are frequently used to represent death in Japanese culture due to the brevity of the flower's bloom. Occasionally this is used for symbolism.

The Other Wiki also has an article

on this. The name is common enough in popular anime that many western geeks may recognise it as a stock Japanese name (watch out for it in fanfiction).

Sakura Girls are often female, though rarely Sakura Guys make appearances as well, though it will result in an Embarrassing First Name.

See also Alice Allusion and Be My Valentine for other common names.

Technicalities: To qualify in this list, the "sakura" part of the name must either be written with the kanji "sakura" (桜 or 櫻), or (more rarely) written entirely in katakana (サクラ) or hiragana (さくら). For example, Asakura Yoh from Shaman King and Asakura Ryoko from Suzumiya Haruhi don't qualify. But see also subversions of this trope that are usually a Meaningful Name. Note that the name Ouka is a less common word for "cherry blossom" which uses the same kanji (桜花), although there are a couple of similar-sounding names which aren't related, such as Ouka from the .hack series.

First Name examples:

Anime and Manga

Sakura Kinomoto from Cardcaptor Sakura (pictured above)
- And her alternate-dimension equivalent (and said alternate dimension equivalent's same named clone) from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.
  - Though her real name is later revealed to be Tsubasa, not Sakura.
Sakura Haruno from Naruto.
Sakura Hazakura from Mai-Otome 0~S.ifr~.
Sakura Matou from Fate/stay night.
- Also in Fate/zero as the local macguffin girl for Kariya.
Sakura Mamiya from RIN-NE.
Sakura in Da Capo, where it's a meaningful name.
Sakura Rokujo from Tokko.
Sakura Haruno (yes, another one) from Wandaba Style.
In Pokémon, Misty's oldest sister Daisy was originally named Sakura. Later on in Johto, she finds sympathy with another Sakura sister — the youngest Kimono Girl (the English versions of GSC have her name as Sayo, though the anime dub keeps her name as is).
Sakura Tomoe from Weiss Kreuz.
Subverted in Get Backers, where Sakura Kakei's name is written with the kanji for "silk" and "first day of the month." Fanfic writers don't realize this unless they looked up the final DVD extras, though.
School Nurse and Shinto priestess Sakura from Urusei Yatsura.
A one-episode character from Kino's Journey. Also implied to be Kino's real name.
Sakura Sugiyama from W Juliet.
Sakura Miyashita from Onii-chan to Issho (official English title: Me & My Brothers)
Sakura Hanazono from Kaichou wa Maid-sama!
Sakurako (Youya) Saiki from Sakura Gari. How very apt.
Sakurako Amamiya from Psyren.
Sakurako Shiina and Asakura Kazumi from Mahou Sensei Negima!.
Sakurako Mutsu from Ame Nochi Hare.
Sakura Kaede from Kämpfer.

Film

In Suicide Club, Detective Kuroda's daughter is named Sakura.

Literature

Female Student #4 Sakura Ogawa. Also features in the movie and manga adaptations.
In My Sister Jodie by Jacqueline Wilson, one of the children Pearl takes care of is named Sakura.

Fanfic

Sakura Tsuitei from Pretty Cure Full Color and Sakura Cobain from Pretty Cure Heavy Metal.
Many a Mary Sue in fan fiction.
- Sakura-Rose Sunblossom Orange Juice Annie-Marie McFate.
Sakura is the most common fan name for Japan's Gender Flipped self in the Japanese Hetalia: Axis Powers fandom, and Himaruya actually listed it as a suggested/potential name for her. The Western fandom also uses it to an extent, albeit not as often as they use Ki ku instead.

Live-Action TV

Sakura Nishihori of Go Go Sentai Boukenger.
Sakurako Sawatari from Kamen Rider Kuuga.
In the Japanese drama series Sakura Shinjuu, the heroine is named Sakurako and was found abandoned by a sakura tree as a baby.

Video Games

Sakura Kasugano from Street Fighter.
Sakura Shinguji in Sakura Taisen, whose distinctive kimono has a repeated semi-abstract cherry blossom motif.
Sakura Obata from Command & Conquer: Renegade.
Sakura Mizrahi from Xenosaga, who is strongly associated with Death (since she is a terminally Ill Girl and Posthumous Character) and who is Jr.'s first love interest. MOMO, an artificial girl who was created in her image, is given pink hair, perhaps in reference to this trope.
Sakura from DeathSmiles is a subversion; her name is romanized as "Sakura", but not only is her name in Japanese written in katakana, it's written as サキュラ, which is supposed to be romanized as "Sakyura"... or denotes that the name is supposed to be pronounced in the English way, in which case romanising it as Sakura is perfectly ok.
Ouka Nagisa from Super Robot Wars Original Generation 2, whose name is written as 桜花.

Visual Novels

Ouka Furude from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Her sword, the Onigari-no-Ryuuou, also contains the 桜 kanji for the "ou".

Surname examples

Anime and Manga

Mikan Sakura from Gakuen Alice.
Setsuna Sakurazaki from Mahou Sensei Negima!.
- Mei Sakura, from the same series, appears to qualify, but her name is written with different kanji that have nothing to do with cherry blossoms, and she doesn't have any sort of cherry-blossom motif.
Akira Sakura from Naru Taru.
Maruko Sakura from Chibi Maruko Chan.
Seishirou Sakurazuka from X1999. (He's also the Sakurazukamori; the Cherry-Blossom Assassin, an aversion of the normal connotations, since he's, you know, sadistically evil.)
Nina Sakura in Ultra Maniac.
Aoi Sakuraba from Ai Yori Aoshi.
Kaede Sakura in Kämpfer.
Sei Sakuraoka from Gantz.
Milfeulle Sakuraba from Galaxy Angel.
Hanamichi Sakuragi of Slam Dunk fame.
Ryoko Sakurai in Great Teacher Onizuka
Suzume Sakurajosui from Cyberteam In Akihabara
Tetsu Sakura from Sakuratetsu Taiwahen. Subverted in that his real name should be Ratetsu Saku. But then again... this manga kicks reason to the curb.
Matsuri Sakuragi from Ichigo Mashimaro.
Kyouko Sakura from Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Of note: this is an anime where girls have Two First Names.
Haruto Sakuraba from Eyeshield 21.
Haruna Sakurada from Sailor Moon.

Live-Action TV

Jun Sakurakoji from My Boss My Hero, always called "Sakura-something" (Sakura-nantoka) by the absentminded Maki.
Yuuto Sakurai from Kamen Rider Den-O
Kamen Rider OOO had guest characters Yumi and Rei Sakura

Video Games

Neku Sakuraba from The World Ends With You Like his partner Shiki this was probably an early hint to the nature of Reaper's Game.
Chouta Sakuradamon, better known as Kinniku-Banchou, from Tokimeki Memorial 2
Mayu Sakurai , and her little sister Mami, from Yarudora series vol. 2: Kisetsu o Dakishimete. Also a Meaningful Name for both, what's with Mayu having reincarnated as the Spirit of the Cherry Trees after her death, and Mami having her soul fused with Mayu's to fend off the curse of the "Hirenzakura" cherry tree long enough for the protagonist to save her, after she had a traffic accident and fell into coma.

Both name examples

Anime and Manga

Code: Breaker: Sakura Sakurakouji. Also her real mother, Sakurako Sakurakouji.

Sakura Guy (Males with Sakura as their given name) examples:

Anime and Manga

Gambling Emperor Legend Zero reveals that the comic relief idiot Yakuza is another guy Sakura.
Sakura Kusakabe in Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan.
Sakura Suzuki in The Law of Ueki.
Sakutaro from Umineko no Naku Koro ni, who was originally supposed to be named just plain "Sakura", but got -taro tacked onto the end so that it wouldn't be too feminine a name.
Yoshiyuki Sakurai in Da Capo II, where it's a Meaningful Name that he got from Sakura based on her own full name, Sakura Yoshino when she wished for family.
Eye Shield 21 has the wide-receiver for the Ojou White Knights, Sakura...ba. Sakuraba. Close enough.
Gantz has Hiroto Sakurai, who uses Cherry/Sakura as an online handle. Played with once when Gantz says he's "no longer a Cherry".

Sakura Other (A none of the above category for leftovers!) examples

Anime and Manga

Bleach Kuchiki Byakuya, his Senbonzakura (zanpakuto/shikai), Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (bankai), Senka (flash step variant), etc...
The item Sakuradite from Code Geass.
In Midori Days, the High School main protagonist Seiji Sawamura attends is named Sakuradamon (桜田門). Its back alley has blooming cherry trees, and this place is a crucial part of the scenario, as it's where his love interest Midori was shyly watching him from afar before she ended up in his hand, and where she finally decides to gather her courage and end up the situation, so they can start a real relationship together.
"Sakura TV," a television network in Death Note.
Sakurami, the city in Mirai Nikki.

Video Games

Sakura Wars.
She's not named "Sakura", but Kaori Yae of Tokimeki Memorial 2 falls dead square in the trope otherwise :
- Her given name, Kaori (花桜梨) has "Sakura" for its second Kanji, just with its Chinese alternate reading "Ô", instead of the Japanese reading "Sakura" ; and her first name, Yae (八重), is the first part of the Japanese name "Yaezakura" (八重桜), a double-flowering cherry tree ;
- Her hair color is similar to a cherry blossom ; her mandatory event revolves around her comparing herself to a late-blooming cherry tree ; her seiyuu, Kazusa Murai, even states in the game's freetalk (unlocked after you complete Kaori's storyline) how she thinks Kaori is similar to cherry trees ; her main Image Song is called "Ouju no Sasayaki" ("Whisper of the Cherry Tree"), and the official Music Clip made around this song shows her in a forest of cherry trees that progressively bloom ; and her symbolic flower is listed as the "Yaezakura" in the official Illustrations Artbook.