Satoru Sato was a Japanese literary author born on February 13, 1928, in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. He died of heart failure on February 9, 2017, at the age of 88. He is recognized as a leading figure in Japanese children's literature, and his work has been adapted into anime.

Sato is best known as the original creator of the Korobokkuru series. The first book in this series, Dare mo Shiranai Chiisana Kuni, was published in 1959. This work served as the basis for the 1973 anime television series Bōken Korobokkuru, for which he received credit as the original author. The Korobokkuru series eventually comprised six volumes.

Throughout his career, Sato received numerous honors for his contributions to children's literature, including the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award, the Minister of Health and Welfare Child Welfare Culture Award, the Noma Children's Literature Award, the Iwaya Sazanami Literature Award, the ExxonMobil Children's Culture Award, and the Red Bird Literature Prize. In addition to the Korobokkuru series, his published works include the twelve-volume Satoru Sato Complete Works, the picture book Ookina Ki ga Hoshii (published in 1971), as well as Obāsan no Hikōki and Honchō Kidan Tengu Dōji.