Emiko Sato

"She showed me what it means to be human."

―Hayao, recounting Emiko.

Emiko Sato
Data
Type	Ally
Gender	Female
Family	Professor Sato (husband) Ken Sato (son)
First Appearance	Ultraman: Rising
Portrayed by	Tamlyn Tomita (English dub) Ayumi Tsunematsu (Japanese dub)

Emiko Sato is a supporting character in Ultraman: Rising. She is Ken Sato's mother.

Conception

Design

Emiko’s character design was created by character designer Keiko Murayama. Because the film covers events across different time periods, multiple versions of Emiko were developed, including her younger appearance before she went missing.

Color and material adjustments for the elderly version were handled by Nacho Molina. The team initially considered giving her short hair, but due to production costs, the design was changed to long gray hair tied in a bun.

History

Pre-Ultraman: Rising

Twenty years before the events of the film, Emiko Sato worked as a kaiju researcher and co-founded the KDF with Dr. Onda. She was aware that her husband, Hayao Sato, was secretly Ultraman. The family lived in an apartment in Odaiba, Tokyo. Emiko was a baseball fan, particularly of the Hanshin Tigers, and supported her son Ken’s passion for the sport.

A Gigantron attack dramatically altered the family’s lives. Following a series of kaiju incidents in Japan, Emiko and Hayao decided to live separately, and she moved with Ken to Los Angeles. As Ken grew up, Emiko maintained contact with Hayao, sending him Ken’s trophies and game recordings. When she learned that Hayao had been injured and could no longer serve as Ultraman, she encouraged Ken to take on the role to protect Japan. Despite their family tensions, she hoped Ken could reconnect with his father and embrace his responsibilities.

Emiko later disappeared in an unexplained accident, leaving no trace. Ken sought help from Mina to locate her final GPS signal, but the search failed. Hayao also continued looking for her in Japan without success.

Ultraman: Rising

Emiko does not physically appear in the film, but she is seen in flashbacks and archived video footage. A digital recreation of her younger self exists in Ken’s Ultrabase system. Hayao later names the kaiju infant "Emi" in her memory. In a voicemail left for Ken, Emiko asked him to forgive his father:

""Whether you believe it or not, he loves you with all his heart. I hope you can understand us and remember that everything we did was to prepare you for what lies ahead.""

―Emiko

She urged Ken to keep those memories alive as a reminder of their love. The message is heard during Ken’s interview with Ami Wakita.

In the film’s closing sequence, Ken receives another message from Emiko at midnight. The scene implies that she may be contacting him from "Nebula M78," asking for help to return to Earth.

Gallery

Ultraman: Rising

Concept Art

Concept art by Keiko Murayama

Concept art by Sunmin Inn

Miscellaneous

Trivia

• Emiko's voice recording is believed to have become the voice model for Mina.
• In Shannon Tindle's responses to questions during the AMA, it was confirmed that Emiko is the founder of KDF. The purpose of establishing the organization is to study and understand kaiju.