Page "Kirigakure Saizō" Paragraph 1

As in the case of Sasuke, Saizō might be a fictional creation of the Meiji era popular literature, probably based on Kirigakure Shikaemon, although some argue for his factual existence.

According to the historian Stephen Turnbull and non-fiction writer Joel Levy, there is a historical record of a failed assassination attempt by a ninja called Kirigakure Saizō, sent by the warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu to kill his rival Toyotomi Hideyoshi ( Tokichiro Kinoshita ).

According to another version of this incident, presented by the martial artist and researcher Donn F. Draeger, the " careless ninja " Saizō was captured while only spying on Hideyoshi, which actually saved the life of the warlord because he was about to be killed by a double agent, Yusuke Takiguchi ; Saizō's life was then spared on the condition of declaring loyalty to the Toyotomi clan.