Kinuyo Tanaka
In his debut appearance in 1947, "Phoenix", directed by Keisuke Kinoshita, Sada was paired with Kinuyo Tanaka in a love scene. As Tanaka was already a big-name movie star, this was an immediate boost for Sada's career. Later that year, he was selected for the lead role in (), a movie adaptation of a popular NHK radio drama.