Born into the Matsuoka family in Tsujikawa village, Hyōgo (Fukusaki).
He moved to his brother's home at Fukawa in Ibaraki, where he witnessed rural poverty.
Graduating from Tokyo Imperial University, he joined the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce and was adopted into the Yanagita family the next year.
He published a record of hunting lore from the mountain village of Shiiba in Kyushu.
He published Tōno Monogatari (The Legends of Tōno), a collection of tales from Tōno in Iwate.
He worked in Geneva, Switzerland, as a member of a League of Nations commission.
He went on to establish in Japan the study of folklore, researching the lives and traditions of ordinary people.
He received the Order of Culture.
He died in Tokyo.
Sakai ToshihikoIzumi KyōkaMinobe TatsukichiSuzuki UmetarōUemura ShōenYoshino SakuzōArishima TakeoNagai Kafū
People of the Taishō period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.