Saitō Chikudō (斉藤 竹堂) was a Japanese Confucian scholar, historian, and poet. His real name was Kaoru (馨). His pen name was Chikudō (竹堂) or Bōyōshi (茫洋子).

Life

Chikudō was born in Mutsukoku-Tōdagun-Numabemura (now Tajiri in Tōda District, Miyagi prefecture). He studied under Ōtsuki Heisen and Masujima Ran-en. Chikudō entered Yushima Seidō. where he studied and taught Chinese poetry, and served as the house master in Yushima Seidō. He associated with celebrities, including Ōtsuki Bankei, Hagura Kandō, Saitō Totsudō and Shinozaki Shōchiku. Rai Mikisaburō was Chikudō's junior in Yushima Seidō and a friend of his.

Works

Chikudō wrote most of his poems and prose in Classical Chinese. His interests were very wide: he knew the history of Western countries and used Noah, the history of Babylonia, Alexander the Great, Aristotle, Napoleon and George Washington as poem themes.