Sayoko Uehara

Sayoko Uehara is a character in Persona 4.

Appearances

 * Persona 4 / Golden: Devil Social Link
 * Persona 4 The Animation: Supporting Character; Devil Arcana
 * Persona 4 The Golden Animation: Cameo

Design
Sayoko works as a nurse at the Inaba Municipal Hospital. She has short black hair tied into a ponytail, brown eyes and a mole on the upper left side of her chin. She wears a white nurse outfit with accompanying pink blazer. In the animation, her outfit changes to a light pink.

In Persona 4 The Animation, outside her work uniform, she wears a light purple long sleeved shirt with a dark purple bowtie, a tan skirt, open toe dark brown heels, and a light pink bracelet. During the summer festival, she wears a purple kimono.

Personality
"Life... It's filled with so many things that are dirty, grotesque and painful... There's no way you can stand it alone..."

Sayoko on the surface is mischievous and flirtatious, often making advances on the protagonist. Beneath this, she is lonely and depressed that all patients leave her once they are better, or once they die. She did have a genuine love of helping others in need, which at some point was overshadowed by her own loneliness.

Persona 4
Sayoko Uehara represents the Devil Arcana Social Link, however, she does not create one with the protagonist during their first meeting. As Sayoko is working as a nurse, she can only be interacted with should the protagonist take up the part-time job of working as a janitor in the hospital. Furthermore, the protagonist's "Diligence" stat must be at least Rank 3 (Strong) before being able to take the job, as the job is only available at night.

During the protagonist's first encounter with Sayoko, he witnesses a doctor talking to her about a meeting. Noticing the protagonist, Sayoko attempts to flirt with him and declares that she'll continue the next time he comes for work. Upon his second meeting with her, she openly tries to seduce him and takes a liking to him, saying that she might change her time shift just to meet with him, thus creating the Devil Arcana Social Link.

Through the protagonist's interaction with Sayoko, she reveals that she has lost her goal in life, her motivation of taking care of others. She also reveals that before she was transferred to the hospital in Inaba, she had a relationship with one of the doctors. However, the doctor was already married, and under the circumstances, she was forced to break up with him and transfer to Inaba's hospital. Afterwards, however, the doctor continues to flirt behind his wife's back, which leads to her confronting Sayoko in the hospital.

Later, Sayoko's dilemma grows deeper after hearing of the death of a young patient of hers in her previous hospital that she genuinely cared for. After hearing about the incident, Sayoko becomes a workaholic, constantly demanding others to work harder as well, becoming so fierce that the other nurses grow frightened of her. Under the constant strain, Sayoko eventually collapses.

Sayoko gradually realizes that her sudden change of attitude about her work was actually a way to escape her true feelings, and in reality, she herself was the main reason why she has lost her original motivation. Realizing the protagonist is responsible for this realization, she cheekily remarks that a "teenager with a rag" was the one helping her to recognize her faults, but nonetheless thanks the protagonist from the bottom of her heart.

By the end of the Social Link, Sayoko informs the protagonist that she will be transferring to another hospital soon, and claims that even though she felt that she was just a temporary item to take care of a patient, her original motive of becoming a nurse was because of a simple reason, she cared for others, and so hoped to take a job about caring for people. Thanking the protagonist, Sayoko gives him her Hospital ID as a token of her gratitude, and bids him farewell. Before leaving, Sayoko tells him that one's purpose of existing is hidden inside oneself, and it is up to them to decide their roles.

Completing the Devil Arcana Social Link with Sayoko also bestows the ultimate form of the Devil Arcana, Beelzebub, the Prince of Lies.

In the epilogue, the protagonist learns that Sayoko has joined a volunteer medical organization dedicated to help poorer countries, and has already traveled to Africa. The other nurses remark that Sayoko became their hardest worker, and while they were intrigued by the rumors of the Midnight Channel, Sayoko was studying foreign languages and medical books. However, Sayoko's resolution and determination inspire the other nurses to work harder. One of the nurses remark that Sayoko's determination might have been inspired by her "much younger boyfriend."

Persona 4 The Animation
In the anime on August 18th, Sayoko is seen stringing Yu along somewhere. During the Summer Festival, she was seen with a different man, and she notes that Nanako was cute, after the girl runs past her. During the firework show, she happily greeted Nanako while the child blushed.

Previously, on August 17th, Sayoko explained to Yu that an older woman had been admitted after a thief knocked her down. Disregarding this soon enough, she starts to flirt with Yu, trying to cajole him into taking her out on the town. He refuses her offer, saying he had too much work. He leaves, and she, apparently unfazed by his rejection, playfully calls out it was "too bad."

Sayoko meets Yu again later that day, and drags him to a restaurant. Drunk from excessive drinking, Sayoko complains about men who leer at her, and how her boss is too demanding. She laments the fact patients leave her once they’ve fully recovered, something she resents due to abandonment issues. She gives Yu her phone number, in case he changed his mind and invited her to the Summer festival.

At the summer festival, Sayoko receives a call from Yu, who asks for her advice on how to help Eri Minami, who has been grievously injured. She instructs him to stanch the blood, and says she’ll be there shortly. When she arrives, she is relieved the injured woman is alright. She thanks Yu, and realizes that saving people is a truly wondrous thing; it helps her remember why she became a nurse to begin with, and her passion for helping others is renewed.

During the end credits, Sayoko is last seen in the hospital, escorting an unconscious patient to the emergency room.

Persona 4 The Golden Animation
In the opening intro, Sayoko can be seen shopping at Saki and Naoki's family's store.

Persona 5 / Royal
In the Rank 4 Death Arcana event, Tae Takemi calls a hospital, and speaks to someone named "Uehara-san," while asking for a doctor there.

Etymology

 * The name Sayoko means "small" (小) (sa), "night" (夜) (yo) and "child" (子) (ko).
 * Sayoko's surname Uehara means "above, top, upper" (上) (ue) and "field, plain" (原) (hara).