In ancient Japan, the saotome (“early maiden” 早乙女) were unmarried girls tasked with planting rice in paddies for Ta-no-Kami.
Saotome is also a Japanese family name. It may refer to:
People Mitsugi Saotome, aikido master instructor Taichi Saotome, traditional Japanese stage actor , Japanese actor
Fictional characters Ako Saotome from Aikatsu Stars! Alto Saotome from Macross Frontier Genma, Nodoka, and Ranma Saotome from Ranma ½ Haruna Saotome from Negima! Magister Negi Magi Jin Saotome from Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness Junko Saotome, a supporting character from the manga series NANA Makoto Saotome from Kannazuki no Miko Mary Saotome from Kakegurui Mondonosuke Saotome a.k.a. Bored Hatamoto from the series of movies starring Utaemon Ichikawa and later his son Kin'ya Kitaōji Otome Saotome from Shimoneta Rei Saotome from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Yae Saotome from Saotome Senshu, Hitakakusu Yoichi Saotome from Seraph of the End
See also Saotomea, a genus of sea snails São Tomé (disambiguation)