Masahiro Makino
Sawashima was born in Kotō, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. He joined the Toei Studio in 1950 and worked as an assistant director under Masahiro Makino and Kunio Watanabe before debuting as a director in 1957 with "Torawakamaru the Koga Ninja". He is most known for his work in Toei's ninkyo eiga series, but he also directed entertainment jidaigeki featuring Hibari Misora, Chiemi Eri, and Kinnosuke Nakamura. He directed his last film in 1977, and mostly directed stage productions after that. In his final years, he had been attempting to film a version of the Chushingura story, but did not succeed.