Description
Seated at the lower left of the tsuba is the 12th-century monk Saigyô. Saigyô was a palace guard who became a Buddhist monk at the age of twenty three when the Emperor Toba abdicated and became a monk. Saigyô wandered the country until he died in Kyoto at the age of seventy three. Here he is shown gazing at Mt. Fuji, which is shown on the upper left of the tsuba. Saigyô's traveling hat rests beside him. The reverse of the tsuba shows pine trees and birds. The holes for the utility knife and hair pick are indicated in the background, but do not appear to have actually been cut through the tsuba.
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