Nikkatsu Studios Director Yukihiro Sawada Passes Away

Yukihiro Sawada in March 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

According to various social media posts, longtime Nikkatsu director Yukihiro Sawada has recently passed away. No other details are available at the moment, including the cause or even date of death. However, it is likely he was 89 years old at the time of his passing, especially since Sawada-san apparently attended a Q&A event in June of this year.

Yukihiro Sawada in March 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Yukihiro Sawada was born on January 15, 1933, in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. He graduated from Chuo University’s Faculty of Economics in 1956 and joined Nikkatsu Studios after graduating from university. There, he worked on the legendary director Seijun Suzuki, among many others.

Yukiro Sawada in November 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

He debuted as a film director in his own right in 1970, directing Tetsuya Watari in the movie Attack (1970). He went on to direct the violent 1978 cult flick Panic in High School (alongside co-director Gakuryu Ishii), as well as the tokusatsu feature film Moonlight Mask (1981). He remained at Nikkatsu until 1983, after which he worked freelance.

In between Miyoko Akaza (left) and Yukihiro Sawada in November 2019.

Sawada-san is, however, probably best remembered for his work in television, having helmed episodes of the hit TV series Howl at the Sun! (1972-86), Seibu Keisatsu (1979-84), and Detective Story (1979-80). But, for tokusatsu fans, he directed the very first episode of the Nikkatsu-produced, pre-Super Sentai action series Strada 5 (1974), which seemed to anticipate many of the tropes that would come to be associated with that famous franchise.

With Yukihiro Sawada in March 2019.

I had the privilege of meeting Sawada-san three times over the years. I just wish I was more familiar with his career and could have talked to him in more detail about it.

Rest in peace, Sawada-san.

UPDATE (9/23): According to screenwriter Hiroshi Kashiwabara, Sawada-san passed away on September 21.

In Celebration of Yusaku Matsuda!

In between Miyoko Akaza (left) and Yukihiro Sawada. 

Tonight, I returned from another event. This one was a celebration of the late actor Yusaku Matsuda, who passed away 40 years ago after completing the Ridley Scott actioner Black Rain (1989). Two of Matsuda's collaborators were on hand for the event.

 Yukihiro Sawada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The first guest was director Yukihiro Sawada. Sawada-san has a prolific film and television career, but I know him best as the director of the first episode of Strada 5 (1974), Nikkatsu's task force-themed action series that predates Super Sentai by a year.

Earlier this year, I'd seen one of Sawada-san's feature films, Koko Dai Panic (a.k.a. Panic in High School, 1978). Despite its dark and controversial subject matter, it was a tight thriller that kept me invested in the film. As always, it was a joy to meet him again.

Miyoko Akaza. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also in attedance was actress Miyoko Akaza. Akaza-san starred as Otsuyu in the Daiei horror classic The Haunted Lantern (a.k.a. The Bride from Hell, 1968) that she began to receive attention. In the West, her best-known credit would probably be Toho's Lady Snowblood (1973) as Sayo Kashima.

It's pretty safe to say that she's ageless. It was a lot of fun listening to her reminisce about some of her old co-stars and colleagues, especially Masaaki Daimon.

Strada 5 Panic!

 Yukihiro Sawada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I attended a 35mm screening of Koko Dai Panic (a.k.a. Panic in High School, 1978), a controversial film co-directed by Nikkatsu's Yukihiro Sawada. The film chronicles a crazed student who steals a rifle and goes on a rampage at his school after another student's suicide. (Yes, the subject matter is quite dark.) It was interesting to see Koichi Ueda (a staple of the Heisei and Millennium Godzilla series) in the film as a policeman who tries to subdue the shooter. 

I'd met director Sawada once before, but this was my first time to see a film of his. I mostly know Sawada-san as the director of the first episode of Strada 5 (1974), Nikkatsu's task force-themed action series that predates Super Sentai by a year. I had Sawada-san sign my Strada 5 Blu-ray.

MEETING A NIKKATSU DIRECTOR! Breaking Bread with the Man Who Directed Strada 5's Pilot Episode!

Director Yukihiro Sawada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight, I was privileged to meet Nikkatsu director Yukihiro Sawada, who specialized in directing some of the studio's more erotic output during the 1970s. I must admit that I'm rather unfamiliar with his work in that area, but one of his credits that is of interest to me is the 13-episode TV series Strada 5 (1974), of which he directed only the pilot episode.

It's not every day that one has the chance to meet the director of an obscure Super Sentai-esque TV series (although it predates Super Sentai by a year), so I was sure to seize the opportunity. I'm glad I did!