Saito Yoshishige was born on May 4, 1904 in Tokyo. While a junior high school student he met the artist, Nakashino Toshio and, influenced by his work, Saito began to make oil paintings. An exhibition of Italian Futurist paintings held at this time dazzled the young painter and encouraged him in his artistic pursuits.

In 1930 Saito started to use the materials that have been a key element in his work throughout his career. He built up oil painted images into relief, using wood applied directly to the surface of his paintings. These pictures were not readily accepted by the public as they seemed to be neither painting or sculpture. In the mid 1930's Saito went to an avant garde, western-style painting center at Surugadai, where Koga Harue and Togo Seiji were his teachers.

In 1936 Saito began to exhibit his work frequently and in 1939 he helped to establish the Bijutsu Bunka Kyokai, a cultural art center with which he was affiliated until 1953. In 1954 he moved to Urayasu in Chiba Prefecture. He won an award for a work entitled Oni, a painting which was strongly influenced by his new home, at the Fourth International Art Exhibition in 1957. The same year Work no. 1, shown in an exhibit entitled, "New Artists of Today", established Saito as a recognized abstract artist. In 1960 he received a Guggenheim award. Saito taught at the Tama Art School from 1964-1973.

In 1961 the painting offered here entitled Work no. 10, won the International painting award at the Sao Paulo Biennale.