Yaso Saijō

was a Japanese poet, lyricist, and literary scholar. Saijō, Hakushū Kitahara, and Ujō Noguchi are considered to be the three great poets and children's songwriters in Japan.

Biography Saijō was born in Tokyo. He graduated from the Waseda University Department of English Literature. During his studies, he published works in publications such as and became a member of the literary group. He was influenced by Irish literature.

In 1918, Saijō co-founded the children's literary magazine and published the children's song . He continued writing children's songs, becoming one of the leading children's poets of the Taishō era. His first poetry collection, titled , was released in 1919. It was followed by a collection of translated poems, , in 1920. Saijō studied at the Sorbonne University. After returning to Japan, he became an assistant professor in the French Department at Waseda University. Eventually, he was appointed a professor.

Following the Second World War, Saijō left Waseda University and devoted himself to studying Arthur Rimbaud. He became the first chairman of the . He also served as a chairman of the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers. In 1968, he was awarded Order of the Sacred Treasure (3rd class).