He is known for his fashion and advertising photography as well as his nudes of girls and women.
He earned his degree from Nihon University's College of Art with a major in photography.
Sawatari won the Japan Photograph Association's Nendo Sho (Annual Award) of 1973 for his book Nadia,[1] which visually documents his romantic relationship with an Italian woman by this name.
In 1990 he won the Kodansha Publication Culture Award in Photography for Taste of Honey.
His photographs have been exhibited by many institutions including Ginza Wacoal Hall and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.