Yaso Saijou

西條八十

Yaso Saijou was a Japanese poet, lyricist and literary scholar. He wrote many romantic poems for several poetry magazines and edited some himself. He subsequently wrote poems for children and words for popular songs. His oldest daughter, Mitsui Futabako, was also a poet. Saijou published many children’s lyrics in the magazine Akai Tori (Red Bird), including “Canary” (set to music by Narita Tamezo), which is one of the most famous songs from that time period. Along with Hakushu Kitahara, Saijou was one of the leading figures in children’s lyrics in the Taisho era. He was even the first to dis…