The new name 'Saiho (西芳)' was selected from the kanji used in two phrases related to early Zen monk Bodhidharma: 'Soshi seirai (祖師西来)' (Bodhidharma came from the West) and 'Goyo rempo (五葉聯芳)' (Bodhidharma's teachings shall spread and come to bear fruit like a five-petaled flower).
「西芳」は「祖師西来」「五葉聯芳」という、禅宗の初祖達磨に関する句に由来するという。