Sawamura Sadako was a Japanese actress and essayist born in Saruwakacho, Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. Her real name was Ohashi Teiko (大橋貞子). She was also known as an essayist, publishing memoirs such as "Song of Shells" and "My Asakusa."

Her older brother, Tomokazu, became the fourth-generation Sawamura Kunitaro, and her younger brother, Tokunosuke, became a film actor under the stage name Kato Daisuke. She began learning nagauta (a type of traditional Japanese music) and dance at the age of six, by traditional Japanese age counting.

In 1915, she entered Asakusa Elementary School. From the second grade, she often accompanied her brother to the Miyatoza theater as his assistant. In April 1921, she enrolled in the First Tokyo Prefectural Girls' High School. After the Great Kanto Earthquake on September 1, 1923, she worked as a tutor for the four children of the first Sawamura Sojun to earn tuition fees.

In 1926, she entered the Home Economics Department of the Teacher Training Division at Japan Women's University, aspiring to become a schoolteacher. However, she became disillusioned after witnessing the behind-the-scenes world of teachers and decided to pursue a career in acting instead.

In March 1929, she wrote a letter expressing her desire to become a new theater actress to Yamamoto Yasue, an actress at Tsukiji Little Theater. Following Yamamoto's advice, Sawamura applied to become a research student while still attending university and was accepted. She made her debut in May of that year in the troupe's inaugural performance "Flying Song".

As the troupe began to lean towards the proletarian theater movement, she was pressured to leave university but received a significant role in "Ministerial Candidate" in November, which influenced her dedication to acting. Just before her graduation from university in March 1930, her previously submitted withdrawal request was accepted, and in April, she was promoted to a full member of the Shinkyo Theater Troupe.

In 1931, she left Shinkyo to join the Proletarian Art Troupe. Following directives from the Japan Proletarian Theater League, she toured factories on strike and rural villages, focusing on agitprop theater. In the fall of that year, she married actor Imamura Shigeo, who was the secretary-general of the left-wing theater.

In February 1932, she joined the Mobile Entertainment Troupe Mezashitai. However, at the end of March that year, she was arrested on suspicion of violating the Peace Preservation Law and detained at Tsukiji Police Station. Despite being pressured to renounce her political beliefs, she refused. After two months of detention, she was indicted and transferred to Ichigaya Prison, where she spent ten and a half months in solitary confinement without a trial.

In April 1933, after ten and a half months, she declared her renunciation of her political beliefs, promised to divorce Imamura, and was released on bail. In May of the same year, she was cast as the lead in the Left-Wing Theater's 5th anniversary commemorative performance of "Fear." However, because she was out on bail, the authorities informed the troupe that the play would be banned if Sawamura was cast, so Yamamoto took her place.

In June, her trial began, but under the direction of the Proletarian Theater League, she withdrew her renunciation, causing the trial to be halted. During the process of canceling her bail, she went underground but was re-arrested a week later. After being detained at Tsukiji Police Station, she was returned to Ichigaya Prison. In December, during her trial, she once again declared her renunciation and was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for five years, and was released.

In 1934, encouraged by her brother Kunitaro, she made the decision to become a film actress. She joined the Modern Drama Department of Nikkatsu Uzumasa Studios for a monthly salary of 60 yen. She made her debut in "Field of Light". She transferred to Tamagawa Studios and appeared in supporting roles in supplementary films.

In 1936, she married actor Fujiwara Kamataro from P.C.L. (Photo Chemical Laboratories). In 1938, she left Nikkatsu and transferred to Toho Studios. In 1942, she left Toho Studios and turned to live performances with her husband Fujiwara. After joining the Shinkiza Theater, founded by her brother Kunitaro, she continued her stage activities until just after the end of World War II in 1945.

In 1946, she divorced Fujiwara and began a relationship with Ohashi Kyohiko, who was a reporter for Kyoto Shimbun. They entered into a de facto cohabitation arrangement akin to elopement, as Ohashi was already married with children.

In 1947, she made a comeback to films produced by Shochiku as a freelance actress.

In 1968, she remarried Ohashi Kyohiko officially. In 1969, she published her first essay, "The Song of Shells," marking the beginning of her career as an essayist. Her autobiographical essay "My Asakusa" was published in 1977.

In 1989, she retired from acting. Following her retirement, she moved to Yokosuka, Japan, and lived in seclusion, devoting herself to writing while spending her days gazing at the sea of Shonan through a telescope. She served as an advisor for the Association for Promoting Freedom of Funeral, advocating for natural burials.

On August 16, 1996, she passed away at her residence in Yokosuka due to heart failure at the age of 87.

(Source: Japanese = Wikipedia || Translation = MyDramaList) Edit Biography