Haruka Sawamura

is a fictional character in Sega's action-adventure game series Yakuza. She is introduced in the first Yakuza game as a young child searching for her missing mother, while being mysteriously pursued by multiple yakuza clans, including the Tojo Clan. Kazuma Kiryu, the main playable character throughout most of the series, protects and assists her during her search for her mother and Haruka is later adopted by him at the end of the first game. Over the course of the series, Haruka grows up alongside her adoptive father, debuting as a playable character in Yakuza 5 working as an idol and eventually starting a family of her own in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Haruka is voiced by Rie Kugimiya in Japanese and by Debi Derryberry in the English version of the first game. Haruka was created by Sega writer Toshihiro Nagoshi as an alternative protagonist to Kiryu due to her growth in her debut. Although initially absent from Yakuza 6, Nagoshi wrote the narrative to mark the appearance of her son Haruto as the center of Haruka's past once again. Critical reception to Haruka has been positive based on her relationship with Kiryu and her growth in Yakuza 5. Creation and development Although Kazuma Kiryu is the player character for Yakuza, writer Toshihiro Nagoshi refrained from calling him the protagonist, as the narrative was focused on the character Haruka Sawamura, who has a more significant character arc over the course of the game. The same strategy was used for Yakuza 2 where the narrative focuses more on the new character Kaoru Sayama rather than Kiryu. Nagoshi said that Kiryu and Haruka are trying to live a "more 'human' life" throughout Yakuza 3. When Haruka was confirmed playable in Yakuza 5, Nagoshi refrained from revealing her gameplay, but still noted it would be different the other members from the cast. Sega claims that thanks to Haruka's characterization Sega was able to introduce new types of gameplay in Yakuza 5. When asked about the character in the context of her debut as a playable protagonist, Nagoshi said "this is the first time we've included a female protagonist, Haruka Sawamura. The game's overall theme is dreams, and the game follows the lives of those people who are pursuing their dreams."