Yūnosuke Itō

Itō made his film debut at Toho in 1946, and although mostly a prominent supporting actor—playing memorable figures such as the novelist in Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru—he also was cast in leading roles such as Kon Ichikawa's Mr. Pu. He is acclaimed as "one of the...extremely talented character actors who populated Japanese movies in [the Shōwa] era, playing a broad range of roles."

Itō received the 1962 Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actor for his dual role in the seminal ninja film Shinobi no Mono. Film scholar Stuart Galbraith IV has noted that the "horse-faced actor...was a real chameleon, despite his instantly recognizable, distinctive features...[and] gives what may be the performance of his career [as] one of the all-time great Japanese movie villains.

The son of kabuki actor Sawamura Sōnosuke I (1886-1924), Itō was the brother of actor Sōnosuke Sawamura (1918-1978), who was born Keinosuke Itō and took the name Sawamura Sōnosuke II when their father died, appearing on stage until the 1950s when he also became a TV and film actor, though never achieving his younger brother's renown.

Itō penned a memoir in 1968 in which he recounted his difficult path to fame, titled Radish Actor (a term of disdain for hammy performers). In 1977, he was urged to record the wistful song "Square Box" by its lyricist, Haruka Homura. Released as a single by Warner Records, a planned follow-up LP was never recorded, as Itō died while practicing the several songs Homura had written for it.