Ohkubo Sakujiro was born in Osaka and studied in the Western-style painting division of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. In 1923 he traveled to France where he stayed until his return to Tokyo in 1927. Ohkubo was very active in professional circles in Tokyo. He exhibited his work in government sponsored exhibitions beginning in 1916, and in later years with the Nitten. He was a founding member of the Shinseiki Bijutsu Kyokai, and in 1959 he won the Japan Art Academy Prize.