The charismatic leader of the "Five Leaves." A mysterious person, he dislikes telling about his own past and lives in a local brothel, protecting and flirting with the women working in there. Distinguishable by his light colored hair and his tanned skin, he is often seen smoking a pipe. At the beginning of the series he is calm and carefree, seemingly living life to the fullest and intent on living in only the present, as he says to Masanosuke. He even does him a favor by recruiting Masanosuke into the Five Leaves gang at the point where he is at his weakest socially (because he is very shy) and financially. His reasons for befriending the samurai at first was because he was so naive, but over the course of the series Yaichi has a sort of falling out with him because Masanosuke was "annoying". Yaichi eventually becomes the subject of Masanosuke's personal investigation of his past, something Yaichi has long repressed.   ~!It is revealed through flashbacks that Yaichi was actually born as "Seinoshin", a young child who was adopted into a prominent Japanese family, but was rejected by his adoptive parents. As a result he became quiet and withdrawn, with a family servant named Yaichi and Yagi, another heir from another family, as his only friends. He was kidnapped by a bandit named Jin, and believed that Yaichi will protect him but was told that Yaichi was the one who arranged his kidnapping, which traumatizes Seinoshin. When he grew older Seinoshin worked under the moniker of "Sei", a bandit and a merciless killer who during this time (under implication) killed his old servant Yaichi, dumping him in a well for betraying him. But then for reasons unknown Sei betrayed his old gang by selling them out, and fled to Edo where he became "Ichi", forming the Five Leaves gang with a woman named Otake, a woman he paid out of bondage from a brothel.  It is later revealed that the original Yaichi did not betray him, forcing Ichi to come to terms with his past. !~

Masterless samurai Akitsu Masanosuke is a skilled and loyal swordsman, but his naïve, diffident nature has more than once caused him to be let go by the lords who employ him. Hungry and desperate, he agrees to become a bodyguard for Yaichi, the charismatic leader of a group calling itself “Five Leaves.” Although disturbed by the gang’s sinister activities, Masa begins to suspect that Yaichi’s motivations are not what they seem. And despite his misgivings, the deeper he’s drawn into the world of the Five Leaves, the more he finds himself fascinated by these devious, mysterious outlaws.
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(Source: Viz Media)

__Height:__ 177 cm (5'9.75")

On October 26, 2022, it was reported that Sakurai had been engaging in an extramarital affair with a writer of his *P.S. Genki Desu. Takahiro* radio program. A month prior, it was publicly disclosed that he had been married to a former voice actress for nearly 20 years, although the writer had allegedly not been aware of his marriage as they had been in a relationship for 10 years and intending to marry. His previously announced roles as [Haruaki Karuma](https://anilist.co/character/290233) in [AYAKA](https://anilist.co/anime/155982/AYAKA/) and [Kusuriuri](https://anilist.co/character/2865) in [Mononoke (Movie)](https://anilist.co/anime/151117/Mononoke-Movie/) had been recast as a result.

On March 31, 2023, it was jointly announced with his talent agency "Intention" that they are ending their contract, as Sakurai requested to leave as a way of taking sole responsibility of his actions and for self-reflection.

Non-Anime Roles:
-Passenger in "Arknights" (VG/Mobile) (Japanese)
-Su in "Honkai Impact 3rd" (VG) (Japanese)
-Cloud Strife in "FINAL FANTASY 7 REMAKE" (Japanese)