[1] After finishing Tokyo Imperial University[2] in 1901,[3][4] after teaching at Tetsugaku-kan, Onoe professed at the early days of Ochanomizu Women's College (then Tokyo Women's Higher Normal School (東京女子高等師範学校),[5][6][7][8][9] and Waseda University at its Department of Education (then Waseda University Higher Normal School (早稲田大学高等師範部),{{Efn|The Official Gazette records in 1918 (Taisho 7th) that Onoe was transferred.

He also founded the Shazensō-sha ("Plantain Society") in 1905, which stressed clarity, simplicity, and capturing ordinary experiences in poetry.

[15] This was in reaction to the style of the tanka poets associated with Myōjō magazine (such as Yosano Akiko) which emphasized the passionate side of human nature.

Members of the Shazensō-sha included the noted Naturalist tanka poets Wakayama Bokusui and Maeda Yūgure, a pupil of Onoe Saishū.

Onoe was a collector of historical calligraphic works, including: Received the Second Order of the Sacred Treasure on April 23, 1939 (Shōwa 14).