
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).

Good Morning
MOVIE • 1959

Chûshingura
MOVIE • 1962

Hikarugake
TV • 1977

Nunnery Confidential
MOVIE • 1968

A Fugitive from the Past
MOVIE • 1965

Street of Shame
MOVIE • 1956

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
MOVIE • 1960

Daikazoku
TV • 1984

The Catch
MOVIE • 1961

The Life of Oharu
MOVIE • 1952

Late Autumn
MOVIE • 1960

Rose Buds in the Rainbow
MOVIE • 1968

Little Peach
MOVIE • 1958

New Third Class Executive: Husband Education
MOVIE • 1960

Love Letter
MOVIE • 1953

The Surf
MOVIE • 1954

A Wife's Heart
MOVIE • 1956

Pineapple Butai
MOVIE • 1959