Background
Ote was born on November 3, 1887 in Tokyo, Japan. He was a grandson of Mampei who discovered the Isobe mineral spring.
Ote was born on November 3, 1887 in Tokyo, Japan. He was a grandson of Mampei who discovered the Isobe mineral spring.
Ote joined the Advertising Section of the Lion Dentifrice Company in 1916. "The Blue Toad" which he contributed to the Zamboa, a poetry magazine edited by Hakushii Kitahara, established him as an extraordinary poet.
He wrote in colloquial Japanese in a style reminiscent of Charles Baudelaire and Albert Samaiu. Ote was acclaimed as a leading poet and as famous as Saisei Muro and Sakutaro Hagiwara. His poems often treated platonic love and were featured by grotesque imagery.