Sadako Sawamura
Sawamura was born in the Asakusa district of Tokyo. After dropping out of Japan Women's University, she was active in left-wing theatre groups and was twice arrested for her political beliefs, spending over a year in prison with much of it in solitary confinement. She started acting in films in 1934, first at the Nikkatsu studio, later at Toho. She appeared in many supporting roles after the war, often working with director Mikio Naruse. Sawamura also acted in films by directors including Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujirō Ozu, Keisuke Kinoshita and Kaneto Shindō.
Her brothers were the actors Daisuke Katō and Kunitarō Sawamura. Her autobiography Watashi no Asakusa has been translated into English as My Asakusa. She was married three times: to actor Shigeo Imamura (1931-33), actor Kamatari Fujiwara (1936-46) and subsequently to film magazine editor and critic Yasuhiko Ohashi (1968-96, though domestic partners from 1946 onward).
Filmography (246 Appearances)
The Foster Mother
365日の献立日記
When Winter Comes
Daikazoku
Hikarugake
Japan Beauty Story: A Woman Among Women
おれの義姉さん
The Street Car Game
Waga koi waga uta
My Brother, My Love
Rose Buds in the Rainbow
The Young Eagles of the Kamikaze
Nunnery Confidential
Thoroughbred Women Gamblers
The Rickshaw Man’s Son
Swift Current
Flower Cards Chivalry
Sayonara ressha
Once a Rainy Day
The Kii River
A Sky Full of Tears
Bad Reputation: Cherry Blossoms
Night Bitch
The Passionate Spinster
Snow Country
Love on the Rainbow
That Cute Girl
Salaryman's Medal
Nami kage
A Fugitive from the Past
Eddy Currents of Life
Whirlpool of Flesh
Sweet Sweat
Taiyou wo Daku Onna
I'm a Bodyguard
A Story from Echigo
Youth Season Continued
Night Scandal in Japan
Mr. Giant's Victory Flag
Miren
At the Side of the Bridge 4
Double Wedding
Tale of Army Brutality
The Life of Rikisha-Man
Dokuritsu bijin-tai
Crazy Operation: First Move
Police Precinct: Backing Investigation
At the Side of the Bridge 3
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Chinese Restaurant
Naite waratta hanayome
Born in Sin
Curry Rice
Chûshingura
Zoku aizen katsura
Youth Season
At the Side of the Bridge 2
Ganko Oyaji to Edokko Shain
Kyūjin ryokō
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Onsen
Glory on the Summit
Star of Hong Kong
Four Sisters
At the Side of the Bridge
Pig and Goldfish
Ottamage ningyo monogatari
Flower in a Storm
Lady Sen and Hideyori
Our Marriage
湖愁
The Prickly Mouthed Geisha and the Girl of Osaka
In Search of Mother
South Pacific Waves Are High
A Roaring Trade
Nippon no obaachan
Wakai yatsura no kaidan
The Catch
Boss Takes to the Road
Girls of the Night
Toilet Manager
Awamori-kun uridasu
The Estuary
Hikkoshi yatsure
Door of Flowers
Triangle Moods
Romance Express
Zero Focus
Women of Tokyo
Mahiru no wana
Late Autumn
Ponkotsu
Towering Waves
Dare yori mo kimi o aisu
Jiyūgaoka fujin
Hero of the Red Light District
Youth in Fury
New Third Class Executive: Husband Education
The Dangerous Kiss
Salaryman Sampei Meijiro: A Wife's Virginal Face
Police Precinct Part 13
Salaryman Idea Book: Concern for Success
Storm on the Silvery Peaks
Salaryman Idea Book: Man of Worrisome Episodes
Hito mo arukeba
Beyond the Hills
The Wandering Princess
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Pineapple Butai
The Terrible Game
The Human Wall
Young Lovers
Ripe and Marriageable
Someday I'll Know
Koko ni otoko ari
Vagabond Lovers
The Cast-Off
Good Morning
Souls in the Moonlight III
Whistling in the morning
Police Precinct: The Woman Without A Face
Echo Mountain
People Waiting for Spring
One Step to Happiness
The Naked General
Bright Young Maidens
Beyond the Seasonal Wind
Little Peach
Fearless Opposition
Romance Freestyle
Souls in the Moonlight II
Firefly Light
直八子供旅
Hibi no haishin
Shinkon nanatsu no tanoshimi
No Advice Taken
The Adorable Trio
Zokuzoku Ôban: Dotô hen
The Blue Sky Maiden
The Beauty Expert
Zoku Ôban: Fûun hen
When It Rains, It Pours
Untamed Woman
The Betrothed
Morning Whistling
Ôban
Young Lovers
The Rose on His Arm
Love on Rainbow Island
Bridge of Japan
Cascading White Threads
Gendai no yokubô
Midori naru hito: kōhen ai no honryū
Midori naru hito: zenpen wakare no yogisha
The Lady Was Pawn
A Wife's Heart
Three Youngmen and a Dream Girl
Avalanche
The President Talks Bank
Street of Shame
Young Tree
The President's Boss
Iroha Elegy
So Young, So Bright
Ejima and Ikushima
The Romance of Yushima
Santōshain to onna hisho
Next Door to Happiness
Mother's Ambition
Beautiful Days
Salaryman Mejiro Sanpei
Ofukuro
The Big Ambition
Frame of Snow
Here Is a Spring
Policeman's Diary
お月様には悪いけど
The Cock Crows Twice
The Surf
The Days of Youth are Days of Sadness
The Valley Between Love and Death
Geisha Hidekoma
乾杯!女学生
Late Chrysanthemums
All of Myself
Itsuko to sono haha
Love Letter
The Lovers
Princess Finds Her Prince
Tokyo Profile
Dreaming People
The Blue Revolution
Sisters
The End of the Night
Miniature
One Thousand Ryo Ship in the Wind and Clouds
Oka wa hanazakari
The Woman Who Touched the Legs
Adolescence
Shanghai Rose
Four Asakusa Sisters
Tokyo Sweetheart
Forbidden Path
Mother
Third Class Executives
Kin no tamago: Golden Girl
The Life of Oharu
Mr. Lucky
Wedding March
Dancing Girl
The White Orchid
Elegy
A Man from Akagi
Jiruba no Tetsu
Beyond the Hills
Guntō nanban-sen
Spring Snow
Onna no ryūkō
First Love Questions and Answers
Broken Drum
The Flower That Crossed the Mountain
Ishimatsu of the Forest
Flame of My Love
Goblin Courier
Kōfuku no genkai
Ghosts Die at Dawn
Twenty-One Fingerprints
Victory Song
Miyamoto Musashi - Battle at Han'nya Hill
Mother Never Dies
Onna keizu
Green Earth
Sky of Hope
A Man's Flower Road of Triumph
Dancers of Awa
Horse
Kodakara fūfu
Bellflower
Wedding Day
Toyuki
Hideko the Cheerleader
Shinpen Tange Sazen: Sekigan no maki
Osanaki mono no hata
Ichiyo Higuchi
The New Tange Sazen: The Chapter of the Two-Armed Swordsman
A Pebble by the Wayside
Sōbō
Passionate Poet Ishikawa Takuboku - Hometown
