Sawamura Sônosuke

Sawamura Sônosuke (born Itô Keinosuke) was a Japanese actor. He was the son of kabuki actor Sawamura Sônosuke I, and thus became the second-generation head of a prestigious family of kabuki performers. His younger brothers also entered the arts, becoming acclaimed film actor Itô Yûnosuke and kabuki actor Sawamura Shônosuke I.

He debuted on the stage at the Imperial Theater in 1922 under his birth name, Sawamura Keinosuke. Shortly after his father's sudden death, he succeeded his father's title, officially taking the name of Sawamura Sônosuke II in 1924.

He transitioned to participating in Toho theater productions by 1934 and eventually joined Toho as a film contract actor in 1954. He appeared in acclaimed dramatic pictures during this era, such as Naruse Mikio's Late Chrysanthemums (1954). He is best known to genre fans around the world for his supporting role as Shibeki, a frantic fishing company official in the giant monster sequel Godzilla Raids Again (1955).

Soon after his tenure with Toho ended, he would prominently appear in samurai films for competing studios Toei and Daiei, including several distinct roles in the popular, long-running Zatoichi action series.

Sawamura passed away from diabetes insipidus in 1978 at the age of sixty.