The Ogami family had maintained their dojo for over three centuries. They lived close to nature and had an old-fashioned life style. Sakura was the only daughter born into her clan in her generation, and so was compelled to become even stronger than her male family members in order to prove her worth. As a child, Sakura trained at her family's dojo every day with her father. She fought champions of many disciplines until slowly overtime she was able to defeat everyone she fought. She was strong despite her slim and fair build. She surpassed her own father at the age of 14 after beating him in a grappling match, never losing to him again after that day. Her goal was to become the Strongest Human Alive. Sakura's first love and lifelong rival was a man named Kenshiro, a street fighter that she could not defeat, and the then-current Strongest Human Alive. While Sakura considered such feelings extremely embarrassing for a fighter like her and didn't want anyone to know about them, Kenshiro supported her by stating that she doesn't have to be "manly" nor a man to become the strongest person in the world. However, Kenshiro then developed a terminal illness with a prognosis of only six months to live. Sakura visited him soon after his diagnosis, and his condition had deteriorated quickly, becoming emaciated. Kenshiro gave Sakura his title of Strongest Human Alive, but she vowed she would earn the title herself by fighting him again after he had defeated his disease. This inspired her to begin building up her physical strength even further.
Sakura attended Shiranui High School (alongside upperclassman Peko Pekoyama) and was later scouted by Hope's Peak Academy as part of Class 78th. Sakura never had friends before, as people found her appearance frightening and she was too dedicated for her training to have free time. She also had a poor understanding of modern popular culture due to her upbringing. On the Internet, people called her cruel names such as "Ogre" and "missing link", and there were rumors that she is an extremely violent person who must be avoided at all costs. However, she became very close friends with her classmates in Hope's Peak Academy, and she even told them her big secret of being in love with Kenshiro.
