city, Ehime ken (prefecture), Shikoku, Japan, in the Kamo River delta. A castle town in the 17th century, it served later as a local administrative and commercial centre. The construction of two large power plants was followed rapidly by the establishment of pulp and paper mills and textile factories. The city, one of the core cities of the East Ehime Industrial City Program during the early 1980s, is also a distribution centre for agricultural products.

Saijō is the base for pilgrimages to the Ishizuchi Shrine, which stands on the slopes of Mount Ishizuchi to the south. The mountain lies within Ishizuchi Quasi-national Park and is the highest peak on Shikoku, reaching an elevation of 6,499 feet (1,981 m). Pop. (2005) 113,371.