Born in Kyoto in 1900, Sato majored in art history at the University of Tokyo and was initially involved in the study of Buddhist art after graduation. After being baptized into the Shirakaba school of art, he eventually came to sympathize with the folk art movement of Yanagi Muneyoshi, and ran the Sukiyabashi folk art store Minato-ya. He was particularly attracted to Karatsu and other Kyushu ceramics, and devoted himself to excavating and presenting the kiln sites of these ceramics. He was also active in the promotion of modern ceramics. His major publications include “The Complete Collection of Ceramics,” “Karatsu Ware in Hizen,” “Hagi, Ueno, Takatori, Satsuma,” and “Old Karatsu.
