Sadako Sawamura
Acting
Born: November 11, 1908 · Asakusa, Taito, Tokyo, Japan
Died: August 16, 1996 (aged 87)
Highest Rated
Biography
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).
Known for
Good Morning
1959
The Life of Oharu
1952
Late Autumn
1960
Street of Shame
1956
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
1960
A Fugitive from the Past
1965
Chûshingura
1962
Late Chrysanthemums
1954
Love Letter
1953
Girls of the Night
1961
The Blue Sky Maiden
1957
Mother
1952
Photos (1)
Movies (270)
Hito mo arukeba
Kin Narikin
Good Morning
Kayoko Fukui
The Bell of Love
1959
A Fugitive from the Past
Motojima's Wife
Late Autumn
Fumiko
The Life of Oharu
Sasaya's wife Owasa
Chûshingura
1962
Star of Hong Kong
Sugimoto Natsuko
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Toshiko
Koko ni otoko ari
1959
Story of a Detective's Assistant
Mine
Street of Shame
Tatsuko Taya
Ejima and Ikushima
玉椿
Shinkon noroke bushi
1953
Snow Country
Dance teacher
Untamed Woman
Oshima's aunt
The Passionate Spinster
Riki Tonobe
直八子供旅
1958
Girls of the Night
Kitamura
Nunnery Confidential
1968
Night Bitch
Matsu Komazaki
The Flower That Crossed the Mountain
1949
Flame of My Love
1949
In Search of Mother
Otora
Kin no tamago: Golden Girl
1952
Late Chrysanthemums
Nobu
A Man from Akagi
1950
Young Lovers
1957
The Blue Sky Maiden
Tatsuko Ono
Mother
Osei
The Betrothed
1957
Love Letter
Bookstor's owner
When It Rains, It Pours
Tane Abe
Youth Season Continued
Sawamura Sawako (Restaurant "Sawamura" proprietress and Keiko's older sister)
The Naked General
1958
Echo Mountain
Takako Hirasawa
Ishimatsu of the Forest
1949
Adolescence
Natsu, Mayumi's mother
Dorei no machi
1951
A Story from Echigo
1964
Night Scandal in Japan
Tetsu Kawabe
Lady Sen and Hideyori
Yodogimi
Toilet Manager
1961
Next Door to Happiness
1955
Jiruba no Tetsu
1950
Young Tree
Kuniko's mother (uncredited)
Horse
Kikuko Yamashita
The Beauty Expert
1957
A Tale of Dung and Urine
1957
Hero of the Red Light District
1960
Mr. Giant's Victory Flag
1964
Broken Drum
Yasuko
A Wife's Heart
1956
The Terrible Game
Yabuki Toyo
The Tears of Geisha Konatsu
1955
New Third Class Executive: Husband Education
Kaneko Tsujikura
Four Sisters
Makiko
The Catch
Katsu
Women of Tokyo
Yuki Takeuchi
Someday I'll Know
Fusako Kaneko
Tale of Army Brutality
Toki, Yahichi's mother
The Kii River
Ichi, housekeeper
The Wandering Princess
Kazuko Sugawara
Haha koiboshi
1949
Faraway Man
1957
Sarutobi Sasuke: Senjō ke goku no hi matsuri
1950
Four Asakusa Sisters
1952
The White Orchid
1951
Gendai no yokubô
1956
Volcano of Station Front Plaza
1968
No Advice Taken
1958
Frame of Snow
Satoko (Ishiyama’s wife)
Zero Focus
Mrs. Sotaro Uhara
Crazy Operation: First Move
1963
One Thousand Ryo Ship in the Wind and Clouds
1952
Whirlpool of Flesh
Tomiko Sekiguchi
Tokyo Sweetheart
Jewelry shop proprietress
乾杯！女学生
1954
Bright Young Maidens
Chie Shibata, Sumiko's Mother
The Love Letter Trial
1951
Curry Rice
1962
Salaryman Mejiro Sanpei
1955
At the Side of the Bridge
1962
The Cock Crows Twice
1954
Koshū
1962
Three Pearls
1949
Souls in the Moonlight III
1959
When Winter Comes
1985
Love on the Rainbow
Masako Yamashita
Work Hard, Happy Girls!
1959
The Young Eagles of the Kamikaze
1968
Here Is a Spring
1955
The Romance of Yushima
1955
The Valley Between Love and Death
1954
Little Peach
1958
Nami kage
1965
The Rose on His Arm
Akiyama's mother
Bridge of Japan
1956
Itsuko to sono haha
Fusako Tashiro
Double Wedding
Shigeko
Flower Cards Chivalry
1967
Ottamage ningyo monogatari
1962
I'm a Bodyguard
1964
Mother Never Dies
1942
Youth Season
1962
Victory Song
Captain's mother
Zokuzoku Ôban: Dotô hen
Tane
お月様には悪いけど
鶴田はと子
Firefly Light
1958
Green Earth
1942
Geisha Konatsu
Kimiso's madame
The Lovers
Mrs. Ushiyama
Youth in Fury
Aki Katsura
Beautiful Days
Imanishi's Mother
Salaryman Idea Book: Concern for Success
Okane
Naite waratta hanayome
1962
So Young, So Bright
Oine
Bellflower
Mother
Mahiru no wana
Kikuyo
Mama's Diary
1954
Sky of Hope
Kiyo
Hanayome no teikō
Seiko Maekawa
Miniature
1953
Ôban
Tane, Ushinosuke's Mother
Third Class Executives
Mrs. Kuwabara
That Cute Girl
1965
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Chinese Restaurant
1962
Ganko Oyaji to Edokko Shain
1962
Towering Waves
Mrs. Tazawa
Shinpen Tange Sazen: Sekigan no maki
Otomi
Monpe-san
1944
Oka wa hanazakari
1952
The Human Wall
1959
Elegy
1951
Wedding March
Kumako
Police Precinct: The Woman Without A Face
1959
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Onsen
1962
Sweet Sweat
Matsuko
My Six Favorite Men — Speedy Men
1954
The Life of Rikisha-Man
1963
The End of the Night
1953
Pig and Goldfish
1962
A Roaring Trade
1962
At the Side of the Bridge 3
1963
Born in Sin
1962
A Salaryman's Reckless Family
1963
Hikkoshi yatsure
1961
Spring Snow
1950
Travels to the East
Apprentice Geisha
Japan Beauty Story: A Woman Among Women
1975
Husband on the Run
1954
Beyond the Hills
Oiku Wada
Yakyukyō jidai
1948
Dancing Girl
Mitsue
The Adorable Trio
Sadako Kamiya
Kōfuku no genkai
1948
Twenty-One Fingerprints
1948
Dreaming People
1953
Three Youngmen and a Dream Girl
Taniyama’s Mother
Kyūjin ryokō
1962
Avalanche
1956
Love on Rainbow Island
Omatsu Hayashi
Wedding Day
1940
At the Side of the Bridge 4
1963
South Pacific Waves Are High
1962
Glory on the Summit
1962
The Cast-Off
Fumiko
Souls in the Moonlight II
Otsuno
Zoku aizen katsura
1962
Policeman's Diary
1955
Salaryman Sampei Meijiro: A Wife's Virginal Face
1960
All of Myself
Kazama’s Aunt
Eddy Currents of Life
Teacher Ikegami
The President's Boss
1956
The Woman Who Touched the Legs
1952
Jiyūgaoka fujin
1960
Our Marriage
Mother
The Rickshaw Man’s Son
Taki
One Night of Love
Ohama
Police Precinct: Backing Investigation
1963
A Sky Full of Tears
Kikue Sugisaki
Boss Takes to the Road
Kimie Morikawa
Detour to Love
Koto, mother
Onna no hashi
1961
Ofukuro
1955
Police Precinct Part 13
Madam next to Hikariso
Police Precinct Part 13
1960
Miyamoto Musashi - Battle at Han'nya Hill
Osaki
Pineapple Butai
Omine
Tokyo Profile
Kiyoko
At the Side of the Bridge 2
1962
The Dangerous Kiss
1960
Cascading White Threads
1956
Sisters
1953
Dancers of Awa
1941
The Three Musketeers Reunite
1956
Zoku Ôban: Fûun hen
Tane
Geisha Hidekoma
1954
Midori naru hito: zenpen wakare no yogisha
1956
Everyone's Sweetheart
1956
Romance Express
1961
Guntō nanban-sen
1950
Fearless Opposition
1958
A Pebble by the Wayside
Sumie
Salaryman Idea Book: Man of Worrisome Episodes
Okane
Door of Flowers
1961
Shanghai Rose
Miss Shen
Ghosts Die at Dawn
Takeko
Ripe and Marriageable
Mrs. Nakazato
Iroha Elegy
1955
Wakai yatsura no kaidan
1961
The Surf
Tomi, Shinji's Mother
The Prickly Mouthed Geisha and the Girl of Osaka
Otake
The Estuary
1961
One Step to Happiness
1958
Thoroughbred Women Gamblers
1967
Nippon no obaachan
1962
Wakai yatsu
1963
Forbidden Path
1952
My Lover
Sugiko's aunt
The Days of Youth are Days of Sadness
1954
Vagabond Lovers
1959
Princess Finds Her Prince
1953
Goblin Courier
1949
Lemon in the Rainbow
Setsuko Sasaki
Beyond the Seasonal Wind
1958
The Lady Was Pawn
1956
Miren
Hostess at 'Mitsuda'
Young Lovers
Ayako Nozaki
Triangle Moods
Kame
Dokuritsu bijin-tai
1963
Storm on the Silvery Peaks
Kiyo
People Waiting for Spring
Chiyo Tsukagoshi
Flower in a Storm
1962
Youth
1955
The Street Car Game
Deguchi Ume
Haha to ko no mado
1957
Midori naru hito: kōhen ai no honryū
1956
Ponkotsu
1960
The President Talks Bank
1956
Morning Whistling
1957
A Man's Flower Road of Triumph
1941
My Brother, My Love
Kayo Kitagawa
Hibi no haishin
1958
Zoku santō jūyaku
1952
Swift Current
1967
Salaryman's Medal
1965
First Love Questions and Answers
1950
Bad Reputation: Cherry Blossoms
1966
Mr. Lucky
1952
Whistling in the Morning
1959
The Big Ambition
Sumie Shida
The Blue Revolution
1953
Sanctuary
1961
Hideko the Cheerleader
Tomoko, Hideko's mother
Shinkon nanatsu no tanoshimi
1958
Mother's Ambition
1955
Passionate Poet Ishikawa Takuboku - Hometown
1936
The Song from My Heart
1969
Onna no ryūkō
1950
Awamori-kun uridasu
1961
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Fortune
Sada Banno
The Night Before the Meiji Restoration
1941
Sayonara ressha
1966
Taiyou wo Daku Onna
1964
Hospital in Front of the Train Station
1965
Finances in Front of the Train Station
1965
Mumu Dance
1964
Heavenly Gods in Front of the train Station
1964
Glory to the President of the Henpecked Political Party
1960
