Born in Kyoto, Japan. Entered Japanese film as an assistant camera for ONE WONDERFUL SUNDAY in 1947. He became a director of photography in 1962 and was the cinematographer for nine of Akira Kurosawa's films: SANJURO (1962), HEAVEN AND HELL (1963), RED BEARD (1965), DODES'KA-DEN (1970), KAGEMUSHA (THE SHADOW WARRIOR) (1980), RAN (1985), AKIRA KUROSAWA'S DREAMS (1990), RHAPSODY IN AUGUST (1991) and NOT YET (1993). Saitô's last film as cinematographer was Zenzo Matsuyama's RAINBOW BRIDGE (1993); however, he did consult on the photography for Takashi Koizumi's WHEN THE RAIN LIFTS (1999).  Nominated for Cinematography 1985: RAN (w. Masaharu Ueda & Asakazu Nakai) 1 nomination