Sadako Sawamura
Acting · Writing
Born November 11, 1908, Asakusa, Taito, Tokyo, Japan
Sadako Sawamura (沢村貞子, Sawamura Sadako; 11 November 1908 – 16 August 1996) was a Japanese stage and film actress and essayist who appeared in more than 350 films between 1935 and 1976. 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
- 365日の献立日記 — 献立
- 1985When Winter Comes
- Daikazoku
- Otei-chan — Writer
- Hikarugake
- 1975Japan Beauty Story: A Woman Among Women
- おれの義姉さん
- 1969The Song from My Heart
- 1969The Street Car Game — Deguchi Ume
- 1968A Comedy in Front of the Station: Fortune — Sada Banno
- 1968Lemon in the Rainbow — Setsuko Sasaki
- 1968My Brother, My Love — Kayo Kitagawa
- 1968Nunnery Confidential
- 1968The Young Eagles of the Kamikaze
- 1968Volcano of Station Front Plaza
- 1967Flower Cards Chivalry
- 1967Swift Current
- 1967The Rickshaw Man’s Son — Taki
- 1967Thoroughbred Women Gamblers
- 1966A Sky Full of Tears — Kikue Sugisaki
- 1966Bad Reputation: Cherry Blossoms
- 1966Night Bitch — Matsu Komazaki
- 1966Once a Rainy Day
- 1966Sayonara ressha
- 1966The Kii River — Ichi, housekeeper
- 1965A Fugitive from the Past — Motojima's Wife
- 1965Finances in Front of the Train Station
- 1965Hospital in Front of the Train Station
- 1965Love on the Rainbow — Masako Yamashita
- 1965Nami kage
- 1965Salaryman's Medal
- 1965Snow Country — Dance teacher
- 1965That Cute Girl
- 1965The Passionate Spinster — Riki Tonobe
- 1964A Story from Echigo
- 1964Eddy Currents of Life — Teacher Ikegami
- 1964Heavenly Gods in Front of the Train Station
- 1964I'm a Bodyguard
- 1964Mr. Giant's Victory Flag
- 1964Mumu Dance
- 1964My Lover — Sugiko's aunt
- 1964Night Scandal in Japan — Tetsu Kawabe
- 1964Sweet Sweat — Matsuko
- 1964Taiyou wo Daku Onna
- 1964Whirlpool of Flesh — Tomiko Sekiguchi
- 1964Youth Season Continued — Sawamura Sawako (Restaurant "Sawamura" proprietress and Keiko's older sister)
- 1963A Salaryman's Reckless Family
- 1963At the Side of the Bridge 3
- 1963At the Side of the Bridge 4
- 1963Crazy Operation: First Move
- 1963Dokuritsu bijin-tai
- 1963Double Wedding — Shigeko
- 1963Miren — Hostess at 'Mitsuda'
- 1963Police Precinct: Backing Investigation
- 1963Tale of Army Brutality — Toki, Yahichi's mother
- 1963The Life of Rikisha-Man
- 1963Wakai yatsu
- 1962A Comedy in Front of the Station: Chinese Restaurant
- 1962A Comedy in Front of the Station: Onsen
- 1962A Roaring Trade
- 1962At the Side of the Bridge
- 1962At the Side of the Bridge 2
- 1962Born in Sin
- 1962Chûshingura
- 1962Curry Rice
- 1962Flower in a Storm
- 1962Four Sisters — Makiko
- 1962Ganko Oyaji to Edokko Shain
- 1962Glory on the Summit
- 1962In Search of Mother — Otora
- 1962Koshū
- 1962Kyūjin ryokō
- 1962Lady Sen and Hideyori — Yodogimi
- 1962Naite waratta hanayome
- 1962Nippon no obaachan
- 1962Ottamage ningyo monogatari
- 1962Our Marriage — Mother
- 1962Pig and Goldfish
- 1962South Pacific Waves Are High
- 1962Star of Hong Kong — Sugimoto Natsuko
- 1962The Prickly Mouthed Geisha and the Girl of Osaka — Otake
- 1962Youth Season
- 1962Zoku aizen katsura
- 1961Awamori-kun uridasu
- 1961Boss Takes to the Road — Kimie Morikawa
- 1961Door of Flowers
- 1961Girls of the Night — Kitamura
- 1961Hikkoshi yatsure
- 1961Onna no hashi
- 1961Romance Express
- 1961Sanctuary
- 1961The Catch — Katsu
- 1961The Estuary
- 1961Toilet Manager
- 1961Triangle Moods — Kame
- 1961Wakai yatsura no kaidan
- 1961Women of Tokyo — Yuki Takeuchi
- 1961Zero Focus — Mrs. Sotaro Uhara
- 1960Beyond the Hills — Oiku Wada
- 1960Dare yori mo kimi o aisu
- 1960Glory to the President of the Henpecked Political Party
- 1960Hero of the Red Light District
- 1960Hito mo arukeba — Kin Narikin
- 1960Jiyūgaoka fujin
- 1960Late Autumn — Fumiko
- 1960Mahiru no wana — Kikuyo
- 1960New Third Class Executive: Husband Education — Kaneko Tsujikura
- 1960Police Precinct Part 13 — Madam next to Hikariso
- 1960Ponkotsu
- 1960Salaryman Idea Book: Concern for Success — Okane
- 1960Salaryman Idea Book: Man of Worrisome Episodes — Okane
- 1960Salaryman Sampei Meijiro: A Wife's Virginal Face
- 1960Storm on the Silvery Peaks — Kiyo
- 1960The Dangerous Kiss
- 1960The Wandering Princess — Kazuko Sugawara
- 1960Towering Waves — Mrs. Tazawa
- 1960When a Woman Ascends the Stairs — Toshiko
- 1960Youth in Fury — Aki Katsura
- 1959Echo Mountain — Takako Hirasawa
- 1959Good Morning — Kayoko Fukui
- 1959Koko ni otoko ari
- 1959People Waiting for Spring — Chiyo Tsukagoshi
- 1959Pineapple Butai — Omine
- 1959Police Precinct: The Woman Without A Face
- 1959Ripe and Marriageable — Mrs. Nakazato
- 1959Someday I'll Know — Fusako Kaneko
- 1959Souls in the Moonlight III
- 1959The Bell of Love
- 1959The Cast-Off — Fumiko
- 1959The Human Wall
- 1959The Terrible Game — Yabuki Toyo
- 1959Vagabond Lovers
- 1959Whistling in the Morning
- 1959Work Hard, Happy Girls!
- 1959Young Lovers — Ayako Nozaki
- 1958Beyond the Seasonal Wind
- 1958Bright Young Maidens — Chie Shibata, Sumiko's Mother
- 1958Fearless Opposition
- 1958Firefly Light
- 1958Hanayome no teikō — Seiko Maekawa
- 1958Hibi no haishin
- 1958Little Peach
- 1958No Advice Taken
- 1958One Step to Happiness
- 1958Romance Freestyle
- 1958Shinkon nanatsu no tanoshimi
- 1958Souls in the Moonlight II — Otsuno
- 1958The Naked General
- 1958直八子供旅
- 1957A Tale of Dung and Urine
- 1957Faraway Man
- 1957Haha to ko no mado
- 1957Morning Whistling
- 1957Story of a Detective's Assistant — Mine
- 1957Story of a Detective's Assistant Sequel
- 1957The Adorable Trio — Sadako Kamiya
- 1957The Beauty Expert
- 1957The Betrothed
- 1957The Blue Sky Maiden — Tatsuko Ono
- 1957Untamed Woman — Oshima's aunt
- 1957When It Rains, It Pours — Tane Abe
- 1957Young Lovers
- 1957Zoku Ôban: Fûun hen — Tane
- 1957Zokuzoku Ôban: Dotô hen — Tane
- 1957Ôban — Tane, Ushinosuke's Mother
- 1956A Wife's Heart
- 1956Avalanche
- 1956Bridge of Japan
- 1956Cascading White Threads
- 1956Everyone's Sweetheart
- 1956Gendai no yokubô
- 1956I Love You
- 1956Love on Rainbow Island — Omatsu Hayashi
- 1956Midori naru hito: kōhen ai no honryū
- 1956Midori naru hito: zenpen wakare no yogisha
- 1956Street of Shame — Tatsuko Taya
- 1956The Lady Was Pawn
- 1956The President Talks Bank
- 1956The President's Boss
- 1956The Rose on His Arm — Akiyama's mother
- 1956The Three Musketeers Reunite
- 1956Three Youngmen and a Dream Girl — Taniyama’s Mother
- 1956Young Tree — Kuniko's mother (uncredited)
- 1955Beautiful Days — Imanishi's Mother
- 1955Detour to Love — Koto, mother
- 1955Ejima and Ikushima — 玉椿
- 1955Frame of Snow — Satoko (Ishiyama’s wife)
- 1955Here Is a Spring
- 1955I Was Tokichiro
- 1955Iroha Elegy
- 1955Mother's Ambition
- 1955Next Door to Happiness
- 1955Ofukuro
- 1955Policeman's Diary
- 1955Salaryman Mejiro Sanpei
- 1955Santōshain to onna hisho
- 1955So Young, So Bright — Oine
- 1955The Big Ambition — Sumie Shida
- 1955The Romance of Yushima
- 1955The Tears of Geisha Konatsu
- 1955Youth
- 1954All of Myself — Kazama’s Aunt
- 1954Geisha Hidekoma
- 1954Geisha Konatsu — Kimiso's madame
- 1954Husband on the Run
- 1954Itsuko to sono haha — Fusako Tashiro
- 1954Late Chrysanthemums — Nobu
- 1954Mama's Diary
- 1954My Six Favorite Men — Speedy Men
- 1954One Night of Love — Ohama
- 1954The Cock Crows Twice
- 1954The Days of Youth are Days of Sadness
- 1954The Surf — Tomi, Shinji's Mother
- 1954The Valley Between Love and Death
- 1954Yearning
- 1954お月様には悪いけど — 鶴田はと子
- 1954乾杯!女学生
- 1953Dreaming People
- 1953Love Letter — Bookstor's owner
- 1953Miniature
- 1953Princess Finds Her Prince
- 1953Shinkon noroke bushi
- 1953Sisters
- 1953The Blue Revolution
- 1953The End of the Night
- 1953The Lovers — Mrs. Ushiyama
- 1953Tokyo Profile — Kiyoko
- 1952Adolescence — Natsu, Mayumi's mother
- 1952Forbidden Path
- 1952Four Asakusa Sisters
- 1952Kin no tamago: Golden Girl
- 1952Mother — Osei
- 1952Mr. Lucky
- 1952Oka wa hanazakari
- 1952One Thousand Ryo Ship in the Wind and Clouds
- 1952Shanghai Rose — Miss Shen
- 1952The Life of Oharu — Sasaya's wife Owasa
- 1952The Woman Who Touched the Legs
- 1952Third Class Executives — Mrs. Kuwabara
- 1952Tokyo Sweetheart — Jewelry shop proprietress
- 1952Zoku santō jūyaku
- 1951Aizenbashi
- 1951Dancing Girl — Mitsue
- 1951Dorei no machi
- 1951Elegy
- 1951The Love Letter Trial
- 1951The White Orchid
- 1951Wedding March — Kumako
- 1950A Man from Akagi
- 1950Beyond the Hills
- 1950Duel in Senjo Mountain
- 1950First Love Questions and Answers
- 1950Guntō nanban-sen
- 1950Jiruba no Tetsu
- 1950Onna no ryūkō
- 1950Spring Snow
- 1949Broken Drum — Yasuko
- 1949Flame of My Love
- 1949Goblin Courier
- 1949Haha koiboshi
- 1949Ishimatsu of the Forest
- 1949My Name Is Mistress
- 1949Onna goroshi abura jigoku
- 1949The Flower That Crossed the Mountain
- 1949Three Pearls
- 1948Ghosts Die at Dawn — Takeko
- 1948Kōfuku no genkai
- 1948Nerawareta onna
- 1948Sen-hime goten
- 1948The Fifth Witness
- 1948Twenty-One Fingerprints
- 1948Yakyukyō jidai
- 1945Victory Song — Captain's mother
- 1944Monpe-san
- 1943Miyamoto Musashi - Battle at Han'nya Hill — Osaki
- 1942Green Earth
- 1942Mother Never Dies
- 1942Onna keizu
- 1942Sky of Hope — Kiyo
- 1941A Man's Flower Road of Triumph
- 1941Dancers of Awa
- 1941Horse — Kikuko Yamashita
- 1941Kodakara fūfu
- 1941The Night Before the Meiji Restoration
- 1940Bellflower — Mother
- 1940Hideko the Cheerleader — Tomoko, Hideko's mother
- 1940Travels to the East — Apprentice Geisha
- 1940Wedding Day
- 1939Ichiyo Higuchi
- 1939Osanaki mono no hata — Mother
- 1939Shinpen Tange Sazen: Sekigan no maki — Otomi
- 1939The New Tange Sazen: The Chapter of the Two-Armed Swordsman
- 1938A Pebble by the Wayside — Sumie
- 1937Sōbō
- 1936Passionate Poet Ishikawa Takuboku - Hometown
- The Foster Mother — Otsuna