[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.
[4] Of the ten benshi working in Japan (as of 2012[update]), Sawato is considered the most famous.
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.
In the same year in October, she received wide acclaim for her katsuben performance for Ito Daisuke's A Diary of Chuji's Travels.