Michael R. Saso (born December 7, 1930) is a professor emeritus of the Department of Religion at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He is a scholar of the religious practices of Japan and China, with a particular emphasis on Taoism. Saso has translated Japanese and Chinese religious texts and related works and has written several books on Asian religion. His knowledge of Taoism and Buddhism comes from within those communities: he is an initiated Taoist priest of the Zhengyi school as well as an ordained Tendai Buddhist priest.