In ancient Japan, the saotome (“young maiden” 早乙女) were unmarried girls tasked with planting rice in paddies.
Saotome is also a Japanese family name. The name can refer to the following people:
- Mitsugi Saotome aikido master instructor
- Taichi Saotome traditional Japanese stage actor
The name can refer to the following fictional characters:
- Genma Saotome and Ranma Saotome from Ranma ½
- Mondonosuke Saotome a.k.a. Bored Hatamoto from the series of movies starring Utaemon Ichikawa