Sadako Sawamura

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 Womens University she was active in leftwing 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 193133 actor Kamatari Fujiwara 193646 and subsequently to film magazine editor and critic Yasuhiko Ohashi 196896 though domestic partners from 1946 onward