Lord Sabame is a secondary antagonist in the 2019 anime adaptation of Dororo, appearing as the landlord of a secluded mountain village during the episodes centered on the Spider Mountain arc. His background is rooted in the crumbling social order of the Sengoku period, where local lords and village leaders faced constant threats of famine, banditry, and demonic influence. To maintain peace and prosperity for his domain, Sabame entered into a secret pact with a moth yokai named Maimai-onba. In exchange for sacrificing travelers and outsiders to the creature, his village was left untouched by the demon and its offspring. This arrangement reflects a pragmatic but deeply corrupt form of leadership, where the safety of the community is bought through the suffering of strangers.

Sabame presents himself as a rare, polite, and gentlemanly samurai. He is affable, hospitable, and quick to offer food and shelter to wandering strangers, which is how he first encounters Hyakkimaru and Dororo. He speaks with a calm and regretful tone when telling the fabricated story of a burnt temple and a vengeful ghost, effectively manipulating the perception of his guests. Beneath this refined exterior, however, Sabame is coldly pragmatic and entirely willing to deceive and condemn others to preserve his arrangement. His primary motivation is the survival and stability of his village, which he prioritizes over all moral considerations. He views the sacrifice of outsiders as a necessary evil, a stance that mirrors the larger ethical conflicts of the series.

In the story, Sabame serves as a localized reflection of Daigo Kagemitsu, the lord who sacrificed his own son for power. Where Daigo made a grand pact with twelve demons to rule an entire region, Sabame struck a smaller but similarly inhuman deal to protect a single village. His role is to lure Hyakkimaru and Dororo into a trap under the guise of hospitality, intending to feed them to Maimai-onba and her offspring. He actively works to maintain the deception, covering up the true nature of the burned temple and the demonic presence in the area. When Hyakkimaru uncovers the truth, Sabame attempts to eliminate him to preserve his secret.

Sabame's key relationship is with Maimai-onba, the moth yokai who has hypnotized him into believing she is his wife. This manipulation blurs the line between willing collaboration and victimhood, though Sabame appears to retain enough awareness to act on his own judgment. He treats his villagers as dependents who must be kept ignorant of the pact, and he views wandering travelers as expendable resources. His interactions with Hyakkimaru and Dororo are initially marked by deceptive warmth, but they quickly shift to hostility when his scheme is exposed.

The character undergoes limited development over the two-episode arc. He begins as a seemingly benevolent lord, transitions into a calculating conspirator, and ends as a figure of ruin. After Hyakkimaru defeats Maimai-onba and the demonic offspring are destroyed, Sabame's village is burned down. He awakens from his hypnosis or shock to find his domain in chaos, and he is caught up in the violence that follows, ultimately being killed during the confusion. His arc serves as a cautionary example of how the pursuit of security through immoral means can lead to total collapse.

Sabame's notable abilities are tied more to his social cunning than to martial prowess. He is a skilled manipulator, capable of crafting convincing lies and maintaining a gracious demeanor under pressure. He uses his authority as a landlord to control information and movement within his territory. He does not display supernatural powers, but his alliance with a yokai grants him indirect demonic protection. His hypnosis under Maimai-onba also suggests a susceptibility to spiritual influence, which complicates the degree of his personal responsibility. Ultimately, Sabame is a figure of tragic hypocrisy: a leader who sacrificed his humanity to preserve his community, only to lose both.