Actor · Acting

Sadako Sawamura

Born 1908-11-11

Died 1996-08-16

📍 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 239

365日の献立日記

When Winter Comes

Japan Beauty Story: A Woman Among Women

The Street Car Game

The Song from My Heart

My Brother, My Love

as Kayo Kitagawa

Rose Buds in the Rainbow

as Setsuko Sasaki

The Young Eagles of the Kamikaze

Nunnery Confidential

Thoroughbred Women Gamblers

The Rickshaw Man’s Son

Flower Cards Chivalry

Sayonara ressha

as Ichi, housekeeper

A Sky Full of Tears

as Kikue Sugisaki

Bad Reputation: Cherry Blossoms

as Matsu Komazaki

The Passionate Spinster

as Dance teacher

Love on the Rainbow

as Masako Yamashita

Salaryman's Medal

A Fugitive from the Past

as Motojima's Wife

Eddy Currents of Life

as Teacher Ikegami

Whirlpool of Flesh

as Tomiko Sekiguchi

Taiyou wo Daku Onna

I'm a Bodyguard

A Story from Echigo

Youth Season Continued

as Sawamura Sawako (Restaurant "Sawamura" proprietress and Keiko's older sister)

Night Scandal in Japan

as Tetsu Kawabe

Mr. Giant's Victory Flag

as Hostess at 'Mitsuda'

At the Side of the Bridge 4

Tale of Army Brutality

as Toki, Yahichi's mother

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

Zoku aizen katsura

At the Side of the Bridge 2

Ganko Oyaji to Edokko Shain

A Comedy in Front of the Station: Onsen

Glory on the Summit

Star of Hong Kong

as Sugimoto Natsuko

At the Side of the Bridge

Pig and Goldfish

Ottamage ningyo monogatari

Flower in a Storm

Lady Sen and Hideyori

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

Boss Takes to the Road

as Kimie Morikawa

Girls of the Night

Awamori-kun uridasu

Hikkoshi yatsure

Door of Flowers

Romance Express

as Mrs. Sotaro Uhara

as Yuki Takeuchi

Jiyūgaoka fujin

Hero of the Red Light District

New Third Class Executive: Husband Education

as Kaneko Tsujikura

The Dangerous Kiss

Salaryman Sampei Meijiro: A Wife's Virginal Face

Police Precinct Part 13

as Madam next to Hikariso

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

as Kazuko Sugawara

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

Pineapple Butai

The Terrible Game

as Ayako Nozaki

Ripe and Marriageable

as Mrs. Nakazato

Someday I'll Know

as Fusako Kaneko

Koko ni otoko ari

Vagabond Lovers

as Kayoko Fukui

Souls in the Moonlight III

Whistling in the morning

Police Precinct: The Woman Without A Face

as Takako Hirasawa

People Waiting for Spring

as Chiyo Tsukagoshi

One Step to Happiness

The Naked General

Bright Young Maidens

as Chie Shibata, Sumiko's Mother

Hanayome no teikō

as Seiko Maekawa

Beyond the Seasonal Wind

Fearless Opposition

Souls in the Moonlight II

直八子供旅

Hibi no haishin

Shinkon nanatsu no tanoshimi

No Advice Taken

The Adorable Trio

as Sadako Kamiya

Zokuzoku Ôban: Dotô hen

The Blue Sky Maiden

The Beauty Expert

Zoku Ôban: Fûun hen

When It Rains, It Pours

as Oshima's aunt

Haha to ko no mado

Morning Whistling

as Tane, Ushinosuke's Mother

The Rose on His Arm

as Akiyama's mother

Love on Rainbow Island

as Omatsu Hayashi

Bridge of Japan

The Three Musketeers Reunite

Cascading White Threads

Gendai no yokubô

Midori naru hito: kōhen ai no honryū

Midori naru hito: zenpen wakare no yogisha

The Lady Was Pawn

Three Youngmen and a Dream Girl

as Taniyama’s Mother

The President Talks Bank

Street of Shame

as Tatsuko Taya

as Kuniko's mother (uncredited)

The President's Boss

So Young, So Bright

Ejima and Ikushima

The Romance of Yushima

Next Door to Happiness

Mother's Ambition

as Imanishi's Mother

Salaryman Mejiro Sanpei

The Big Ambition

as Satoko (Ishiyama’s wife)

Here Is a Spring

Policeman's Diary

お月様には悪いけど

as 鶴田はと子

The Cock Crows Twice

as Tomi, Shinji's Mother

The Days of Youth are Days of Sadness

The Valley Between Love and Death

Geisha Hidekoma

乾杯！女学生

Late Chrysanthemums

as Kazama’s Aunt

Itsuko to sono haha

as Fusako Tashiro

as Bookstor's owner

as Mrs. Ushiyama

Princess Finds Her Prince

Dreaming People

The End of the Night

One Thousand Ryo Ship in the Wind and Clouds

Oka wa hanazakari

The Woman Who Touched the Legs

as Natsu, Mayumi's mother

Four Asakusa Sisters

Tokyo Sweetheart

as Jewelry shop proprietress

Third Class Executives

as Mrs. Kuwabara

Kin no tamago: Golden Girl

The Life of Oharu

as Sasaya's wife Owasa

The White Orchid

A Man from Akagi

Jiruba no Tetsu

Guntō nanban-sen

Onna no ryūkō

First Love Questions and Answers

The Flower That Crossed the Mountain

Ishimatsu of the Forest

Flame of My Love

Kōfuku no genkai

Ghosts Die at Dawn

Twenty-One Fingerprints

as Captain's mother

Mother Never Dies

A Man's Flower Road of Triumph

as Kikuko Yamashita

as Apprentice Geisha

Hideko the Cheerleader

as Tomoko, Hideko's mother

Shinpen Tange Sazen: Sekigan no maki

A Pebble by the Wayside

Passionate Poet Ishikawa Takuboku - Hometown

The Foster Mother