Shirôgorô Sawamura(1877-1932)
- Actor
Sawamura was born in 1877 in Tokyo. He studied under Takasagoya
Fukusuke, making his first stage performance in the Osaka Nakaza
Theater. In 1911 he was promoted to the ranks of the named actors, and
in 1914 he succeeded to the name of Sawamura Shirogoro V at the Teikoku
Theater. That same year he was invited to join Tenkatsu along with
Ichikawa Enjuro. The name of both of these actors began to spread after
their appearance in the 1916 film Ninjutsu Sanyushi. They went on to
appear together in films such as Saiyuki (Diary of a Westward Journey)
and Jitsuroku Hagi, and it is said that of the two, Sawamura Shirogoro
was slightly more popular with the public due to his oval face and his
flashiness. Sawamura became an idol of the youth during his Tenkatsu
and Nikkatsu days. In the autumn of 1921 Sawamura joined Shochiku,
where he starred in Kanzaki Kanninbukuro. After Ichikawa Enjuro and the
rest returned to Kokukatsu, they parted ways, and the line up was never
seen again.
Most of the films in which Sawamura starred were directed by Yoshino Jiro, and some of the later ones by Mori Kaname and Kako Zanmu, but the film Nichiren Komachi was directed by and starred Sawamura himself. After a final performance in Kedanimura Rokusuke, Sawamura retired from acting, dying in 1932 from an illness. Sawamura Shirogoro was second only to Onoe Matsunosuke as a leading star of the early days of the early days of Japanese cinema.
Most of the films in which Sawamura starred were directed by Yoshino Jiro, and some of the later ones by Mori Kaname and Kako Zanmu, but the film Nichiren Komachi was directed by and starred Sawamura himself. After a final performance in Kedanimura Rokusuke, Sawamura retired from acting, dying in 1932 from an illness. Sawamura Shirogoro was second only to Onoe Matsunosuke as a leading star of the early days of the early days of Japanese cinema.