Tadashi Sawashima

Biography

Tadashi Sawashima (沢島 忠, Sawashima Tadashi) (19 May 1926 – 27 January 2018) was a Japanese film director and theatre director. He directed films from the 1950s to the 1970s. He died on 27 January 2018 of multiple organ failure at the age of 91. Sawashima was born in Kotō, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. He joined the Toei Studio in 1950 and worked as an assistant director under Masahiro Makino and Kunio Watanabe before debuting as a director in 1957 with Torawakamaru the Koga Ninja. He is most known for his work in Toei's ninkyo eiga series, but he also directed entertainment jidaigeki featuring Hibari Misora, Chiemi Eri, and Kinnosuke Nakamura. He directed his last film in 1977, and mostly directed stage productions after that. In his final years, he had been attempting to film a version of the Chushingura story, but did not succeed. He was given a Special Award at the 40th Japan Academy Prize ceremony in 2017 for his career in cinema. He directed 49 films and wrote nine screenplays.

Directed

1. Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969) — Director
2. Case of Umon: One-Eyed Wolf (1959) — Director
3. The Pirates (1960) — Director
4. Three Yakuza (1965) — Director
5. Isshin Tasuke: A World in Danger (1958) — Director
6. The Shogun and the Fishmonger (1961) — Director
7. A Young Warrior on Mount Fuji (1961) — Director
8. Torawakamaru, the Koga Ninja (1957) — Director
9. Life of Hishakaku (1963) — Director
10. Case of Umon: Hell’s Windmill (1960) — Director
11. Good Rascals (1962) — Director
12. Ishimatsu: the One-Eyed Avenger (1960) — Director
13. The Protector (1966) — Director
14. Life of Hishakaku 2 (1963) — Director
15. Bride of White Castle (1961) — Director
16. Travels of Hibari and Chiemi: The Tumultuous Journey (1962) — Director
17. Drunken Sword (1962) — Director
18. Samurai Vagabonds (1960) — Director
19. The Tattooed Lord (1965) — Director
20. Yaji and Kita's Ghost Story Journey (1958) — Director
21. Detective Hibari: Case of the Golden Hairpins (1958) — Director
22. Admiral Borneo: Betting at the Equator (1969) — Director
23. Kyojin-gun monogatari: Susume eikô e (1977) — Director
24. Noble Tasuke (1958) — Director
25. The Edo Official and Apprentice (1959) — Director
26. Lord Mito: Struggle of Suke and Kaku (1961) — Director
27. The Ambitious Youth (1962) — Director
28. Gentle Breeze (1959) — Director
29. Scarier than the Devil (1960) — Director
30. A Fishmonger's Tour (1963) — Director
31. Diary of a Wandering Lord (1959) — Director
32. Case of a Young Lord 9: Black Camellia (1961) — Director
33. Case of a Young Lord 7: Red Crane House (1958) — Director
34. Cry of the Mountain (1968) — Director
35. The Man of Five Rings (1981) — Director
36. Maboroshi no Satsui (1971) — Director
37. Snake Princess: Oshima and Sentaro (1965) — Director
38. Unwieldy Brothers (1960) — Director
39. Golden Ninja (1966) — Director
40. Isshin Tasuke: A Man Among Men (1959) — Director