Sakakida debuted in film in 1921, and appeared in a number pre-war films with various studios, including Nikkatsu, Takamatsu-Azuma, Empire Kinema, and Makino Talkie, before finally landing at PCL in 1937, which would later become Toho.

After the war, Sakakida appeared in numerous supporting roles for Toho, predominantly sci-fi, beginning with the original Godzilla in 1954. He played the mayor of the island town attacked by Godzilla in the first half of the film. One of his last appearances was in Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975), in a still shot of a group of scientists restraining Akihiko Hirata’s character.