He quickly made Torajirou a one of the top players and achieved the Honinbou Title. It is said that Torajirou was already a fine Go player, and after seeing Sai's genius, Kuwabara became a medium and let Sai play Go in his place. Hundreds years later, as the ghost, he met Kuwabara Torajirou, after Sai was released from the board. Unable to find peace, his soul was trapped within a Goban. Filled with despair, he committed suicide by drowning himself in a nearby river two days later after he left. After both instructors were told to continue on by the Emperor himself, Sai lost due to not playing with a clear mind after being accused and the other player having the advantage, and therefore was banished from the capital with his reputation tarnished. Sai was nearly about to point out the cheating but the other player pushed the same claim on Sai, who now was being wrongly accused of cheating. Both players were evenly matched, and in the midst of playing, Sai noticed that his opponent had cheated by placing an extra stone in his captured pile. Nearing the end of his short life, the other instructor decided there should only be one teacher, challenging Sai to a game which decided who would keep their position.

Though little is known about his childhood, it is inferred that Sai was a prodigy at Go and eventually obtained the seat in the Royal Court, being one of two Go Instructors to the Emperor at that time. He was born at some time during the Heian Period (794 AD through 1185 AD) in Japan. His feelings towards Go are nothing short of obsessive. While being first-rate in skill, he doesn't treat others badly as if they were beneath him, even when they can not hear his praise towards them. There are some times, though, when he can be quite cheerful when it is not a serious game. While playing a game, Sai's behavior changes completely as he controls himself and his emotions to play to the best of his ability.

Sai is an extremely emotional person, who often acts childish and has great mood swings. The fan he carries seems to be a maiougi (a Japanese dance fan). He wears the equivalent of casual clothes for a courtier from the Japanese Heian period, consisting of a tate-eboshi hat, and a karaginu set, consisting of a red-purple kimono and white over-robe. Sai's spirit is represented as a tall and a very beautiful man with very long, black-purple hair that is tied with a white ribbon, purple eyes and purple lipstick.

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