ITO SACHIO

(1864–1913)

   Ito Sachio, given name Kojiro, was a tanka poet, literary critic, and novelist from Chiba Prefecture. He attended Meiji University but dropped out to become a disciple of the poet Masaoka Shiki, and in 1908 established Araragi (The Yew), a literary journal devoted to tanka that remained in circulation until 1997. His most famous work, Nogiku no haka (1906; tr. Nogiku no Haka, 1979), was published in the literary magazine Hototogisu and was later remade as a film three times. Poet Saito Mokichi was one of Sachio’s students. He died of a brain hemorrhage.