Kaiju
Kaiju is a Japanese word that means "strange beast," but often translated in English as "monster." Specifically, it is used to refer to a genre of tokusatsu entertainment.
Related terms include kaiju eiga (monster movie), a film featuring kaiju, kaijin (referring to roughly humanoid monsters) and daikaiju (giant monster), specifically meaning the larger variety of monsters.
The most famous kaiju is Godzilla. Other well-known kaiju include Mothra, Anguirus, Rodan, Gamera, and King Ghidorah. The term ultra-kaiju is short-hand for monsters in the Ultra Series.
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History
Kaiju are typically modeled after conventional animals, insects or mythological creatures; however, there are more exotic examples. Choujin Sentai Jetman features monsters based on traffic lights, faucets and tomatoes; Kamen Rider Super includes a whole army of monsters based on household objects such as umbrellas and utility ladders.
While the term kaiju is used in the West to describe monsters from tokusatsu and Japanese folklore, monsters like vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein's Monster, mummies and zombies would fall into this category.
Kaiju are depicted as cannon fodder serving a greater evil. Some kaiju are elite warriors which serve as the right-hand man to the greater villain and are destroyed by the heroic forces. Others have a neutral alignment, only seeking to destroy buildings and other structures. During the early eras of tokusatsu, "heroic" monsters were seen in Daikaiju Eiga films, and it wasn't until later when television tokusatsu productions began using kaiju which aided the hero, saved civilians, or demonstrated some kind of complex personality. These kaiju adopted many classic monster traits, appearing as the "Misunderstood Creature." Some kaiju hung out with the heroes and provided comedy relief, in contrast to the darker approach to these characters from more mature franchises, like Kamen Rider.
Famous movies
Godzilla (Gojira) is perhaps the most successful kaiju franchise, spawning both sequels and english language versions. The landmark 1954 Japanese science fiction film directed and co-written by Ishiro Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya was produced and distributed by Toho Company Ltd. It was the first of many "giant monster" movies to be produced in Japan. Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships explode and are sunk. At first the authorities think its either underwater mines or underwater volcanic activity. The authorities soon head to Odo Island, close to where several of the ships were sunk. One night, something comes onshore and destroys several houses and kills several people. A later expedition to the island led by paleontologist Professor Kyohei Yemani, his daughter Emiko and a young navy frogman Hideto Ogata (who also happens to be Emiko's lover even though she is betrothed to Doctor Daisuke Serizawa)soon discover something more devastating than imagined in the form of a 164 foot tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan, but the rest of the world as well. Can the monster be destroyed before it is too late and what role will the mysterious Serizawa play in the battle?
Remade in 1998 starring Matthew Broderick and Jean Reno the american version, which saw a monstor similar to Gozilla attacking New York, failed to impress.
Mothra (Mosura) - 1961 - From the creator of Gozilla came another famous Kaiju classic. Shipwreck survivors are found on Beiru, an island previously used for atomic tests. Amazingly free of radiation effects, they believe they were protected by a special juice given to them by the natives. A joint expedition of Rolithican and Japanese scientists explores Beiru and discovers many curious things, including two women only a foot high. Unscrupulous expedition leader Clark Nelson abducts the women and puts them in a vaudeville show. But their sweet singing contains a telepathic cry for help to Mothra, the gigantic moth worshiped as a goddess by the island people. Mothra seeks the women in Tokyo, wreaking the usual havoc and special effects.
Rodan! The Flying Monster! (Sora no daikaiju Radon) - 1956 - Another offering from the Honda - Toho partnership. Rodan follows in the footsteps of other Japanese monster movies, such as Godzilla, which involve a giant monster being awoken from an ancient hibernation by human beings. In Rodan, miners digging far into the earth stumble across a clutch of giant, prehistoric insects called Meganulons, which viciously attack several of the miners and prompt a government investigation into the matter in the year 1957. The giant bugs turn out to be little more than food for two gigantic flying beasts called Rodans, similar to pteranodons but far larger and more powerful, who hatch from giant eggs and proceed to terrorize the entire world.
Famous Actors/Actresses
In this genre it really is the monster that steals the show with dedicated otaku followings around the globe particularly in The USA. Some actors of note include:
Kenji Sahara - His break-through in Toho Studios' sci-fi films came when he portrayed the male lead Shigeru in Sora no daikaijû Radon (1956), where he changed his name to "Kenji Sahara." He would go on to become a familiar face in Toho's sci-fi films, playing a wide variety of heroes and villains. Appearing in films from all three of the Godzilla series, "Showa, "Heisei," and "Millennium," Sahara has appeared in Godzilla films more than any other actor. He is also a regular cast member in Japan's "Ultraman" television shows.
Yumi Shirakawa joined Toho when she was just 19, in 1956. By the end of the year, Toho had catapulted the beautiful actress into her first starring role, alongside Kenji Sahara in Rodan (Sora no Daikaiju Radon, 1956). Director Ishiro Honda took a shine to her and cast her in several of his subsequent movies.
Akihiko Hirata - After accepting the role of the scientist Dr. Serizawa in the first Godzilla film, he went on to appear in many Toho special effects films, including Rodan, The Mysterians, H-Man, Varan, Mothra, Gorath, Atragon, Kiska, Latitude Zero, The War in Space, and seven other Godzilla films. His final film appearance was in Sayonara Jupiter (1983), dying of cancer just prior to taking one of the lead roles in Godzilla 1984.
Famous Directors
Arguably the most famous director of this genre is Ishiro Honda:
Influential Japanese film director born May 7th, 1911, often credited as being the father of Godzilla. His name is a combination of "I" (or Ino), meaning "boar" and "shirô," meaning fourth boy in the family. Originally, the young Honda had aspirations of becoming an artist. However, as he moved into his teens, it was cinema that became his number-one interest. As a director, Ishiro Honda made 46 films. His debut was in 1951 with "The Blue Pearl", and his final directorial role was in 1975 for "Terror of MechaGodzilla". More than half of the films which he directed were special effects films with a science fiction or monster theme, making him a unique figure in the history of cinema.
Big In Japan
Toho Company Ltd. is a large Japanese independent film studio. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. In the West, it is best known as the producer of many daikaijũ (monster) and tokusatsu (special effects) movies, the Chouseishin tokusatsu superhero TV franchise, the films of Akira Kurosawa, and the anime films of Studio Ghibli. Its most famous and worldwide creation is Godzilla, known as the King of the Monsters. It has also been involved in the production of numerous anime titles. Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, and Rodan are described as being Toho's Big Five due to the monsters' numerous appearances in all three eras of the franchise, as well as spin-offs. The company also Distributed the Gamera trilogy. They have also handled the Japanese releases of the Pokemon anime movies. It's subdivisions are Toho Pictures Incorporated, Toho International Company Limited, Toho E. B. Company Limited, Toho Music Corporation & Toho Costume Comapay Limited.
Popularity
During the 1960's in Japan, toy vinyl figures of popular Japanese Kaiju films such as Godzilla and Gamera (a giant flying turtle) became popular collectibles. Over the next four decades the popularity of Kaiju spread around the world, especially in America, where renowned Lowbrow/Pop Surrealist artists such as Ron English, Coop, Kozik and Isabel Samaras amassed their own collections of the famed vinyl Japanese monsters.
Kaiju has a large following outside of Japan and the internet hosts many fan sites dedicated to this genre of cinema.
Awards
See also
- Japanese Movies
- Jidaigeki
- Anime
- Yakuza (movie)
- Toshiro Mifune
- Ken Watanabe
- Hayao Miyazaki
- Akira Kurosawa
Links
Some content adapted from Wikipedia.org.
