| This theme of a traveling monk gazing up at Mount Fuji is called "Saigyo Viewing Mount Fuji." Saigyo was a highly trusted northern warrior of Emperor Toba, highly educated, knowledgeable in archery and military tactics, and skilled in waka poetry. He had no desire for personal advancement, leaving the secular world to enter the Buddhist priesthood in 1140, taking the Buddhist name Saigyo. Traveling around the country with only a single straw hat and a walking stick as his companions, he loved landscapes, scenery, and the moon and mountains, and composed a waka poem: "Fuji, swaying in the wind, vanishes into the smoky sky. My thoughts, unaware of their destination, are lost." The metal artisan Motoharu [元春] was a member of the Taizan clan. He lived in Mito, Hitachi Province, during the late Edo period. He was a disciple of the second Motozane/Genpu [元孚]. This kozuka is rich in composition, carving, and the use of color. It has passed the Hozon Toogu shinsa in 2010. |
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