was a Japanese film director and screenwriter.
Career
Born in
Hamamatsu
is a Cities of Japan, city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In September 2023, the city had an estimated population of 780,128 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, with a population density of over the t ...
, Sawai studied German at
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
, often referred to as TUFS, is a specialist National university, national research university in Fuchū, Tokyo, Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan.
TUFS is primarily devoted to foreign language, international relations, international affairs and area studies. ...
.
Graduating in 1961, he joined the
Toei Company
, simply known as Toei Company or Toei, is a Japanese entertainment company. Headquartered in Ginza, Chūō, Tokyo, it is involved in film and television production, distribution, video game development, publishing, and ownership of 34 movi ...
as an assistant director and worked under such directors as
Masahiro Makino
was a Japanese film director. He directed more than 260 films, primarily in the chanbara and yakuza film, yakuza genres. His real name was , but he took the stage name Masahiro, the kanji for which he changed multiple times (including , , and ). ...
and
Noribumi Suzuki. He also collaborated on scripts such as those for the '
Truck Yarō' series. He made his debut as a director in 1981 with ''Nogiku no haka'', a vehicle for the
idol singer
Seiko Matsuda.
He won the
Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award in 1985,
and the
Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year in 1986.
Selected filmography
* ''
W's Tragedy
is a 1984 Japanese film directed by Shinichirō Sawai, based on the novel by Shizuko Natsuki (published in English under the title ''Murder at Mt. Fuji''). At the 9th Japan Academy Prize (film), Japan Academy Prize it won three awards and received ...
'' (1984)
* ''
Early Spring Story'' (1985)
* ''
Maison Ikkoku'' (1986)
* ''
Bloom in the Moonlight'' (1993)
* ''
Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea'' (2007)
Television credits
asterisk = series director
* ''Daigekito Mad Police ‘80'' (1980)
* ''
G-Men ‘75'' (1982)
* ''Getsuyo Wide Gekijo'' (1982)
* ''
Space Sheriff Shaider'' (1984–1985)*
* ''
Juukou B-Fighter'' (1995–1996)*
* ''
Shogun no Onmitsu! Kage Juhachi'' (1996)
* ''Keijo!'' (1996)
* ''Non X'' (1996)
* ''Gamotei Jiken'' (1998)
Bibliography
*
References
External links
*
1938 births
2021 deaths
Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year winners
Japanese film directors
People from Hamamatsu
Japanese screenwriters
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