Midori Sawato (澤登 翠, Sawato Midori) is a Japanese benshi or katsuben[a] (silent film narrator).[2]
Originally from Tokyo, Midori Sawato graduated from the Department of Philosophy, Hosei University. She first decided she wanted to become a benshi in 1972, when she saw the silent film The Water Magician by Kenji Mizoguchi.[3] She was particularly impressed with the performance as benshi of the man who would become her teacher, Shunsui Matsuda. After studying under Matsuda, Sawato made her debut in 1973. She is an active benshi who has garnered high praise through her wide variety of activities and performances in Japan and overseas.[4] Of the ten benshi working in Japan (as of 2012[update]), Sawato is considered the most famous.[3]
Her repertoire of over 500 films includes genres as varied as contemporary cinema, historical movies and western films, for which she provides well-formed interpretations of the work. She has received many awards, including the Award for Excellence in the field of Dramatic Performance at the Agency for Cultural Affairs Arts Festival, for her contributions toward promoting katsuben as modern entertainment, in addition to being a valuable presence carrying on the tradition of katsuben as a Japanese storytelling art.
As is traditional for benshi,[according to whom?] she often gives an introduction before the film to explain the historical and cultural differences of old films and provide background on the actors and directors. She does not use any modern vocabulary for films that have old titles.
Besides katsuben, she is involved in activities such as film critiques and essay writing. She is the author of Katsudo benshi: Sekai o kakeru (transl. "Film benshi across the world").
She was the recipient of the Japan Film Critics Golden Glory Award in 1995. In the same year in October, she received wide acclaim for her katsuben performance for Ito Daisuke's A Diary of Chuji's Travels. In December 1998, a katsuben recital was organized to commemorate the 25th year of her career. In November 2000, she received the Special Award of the Yamaji Fumiko Culture Institute. Films with her narration are regularly aired on CS and NHK.