Kayako Saeki

Kayako Saeki
Ju-on character
Kayako from the video game
First appearance	Katasumi (1998)
Last appearance	Sadako vs. Kayako (2016)
Created by	Takashi Shimizu
Portrayed by	Takako Fuji (Katasumi, Ju-on: The Curse, Ju-on: The Curse 2, Ju-on: The Grudge, Ju-on: The Grudge 2, The Grudge, The Grudge 2) Misaki Saisho (Ju-on: Beginning of the End, Ju-on: The Final Curse) Kyoka Takizawa (The Grudge 2) Aiko Horiuchi (The Grudge 3) Anna Moon (Tales from the Grudge) Tomoko Sato (Scary Movie 4) Runa Endo (Sadako vs. Kayako)
Information
Full name	Kayako Saeki
Aliases	Kayako Kawamata (maiden name)
Species	Onryō
Gender	Female
Occupation	Housewife
Family	Nakagawa Kawamata (mother; American version only) Naoko Kawamata (sister; American version only)
Spouse(s)	Takeo Saeki (husband)
Children	Toshio Saeki (son)
Nationality	Japanese

Kayako Saeki (佐伯伽椰子, Saeki Kayako^?), née Kawamata (川又, Kawamata^?), is the main antagonist in the Ju-on horror franchise. In all films up to The Grudge 2, she is portrayed by actress Takako Fuji. Fuji retired the role after the film and was replaced by Aiko Horiuchi in The Grudge 3, while Anna Moon took the role in the web series Tales from the Grudge. Actress Misaki Saisho played Kayako in Ju-on: Beginning of the End and its sequel Ju-on: The Final Curse, while Runa Endo played Kayako in Sadako vs. Kayako.

She was created by director Takashi Shimizu. She represents a popular antagonist in Japanese culture, the vengeful ghost (Onryō). She is typically characterized by long dark hair covering her pale face, unsettling wide eyes, twisted movements with crunching neck bones, and a haunting death rattle. She first appeared in Shimizu's short movie Katasumi and spends the majority of the Ju-on series haunting a house in Nerima, Japan. She is one of the fulfillers of the Ju-on curse, which states that when someone dies in a state of intense rage, those feelings remain at the death site and kill whoever it touches.