is a Japanese suitmaker, stuntman, sculptor, modeler, and film director. He is particularly well known for his work in

giant monster films In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

, including ''

Mothra is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that first appeared in the 1961 film '' Mothra'', produced and distributed by Toho Studios. Mothra has appeared in several Toho ''tokusatsu'' films, most often as a recurring character in the ''Godzilla'' ...

'' (1961), ''

King Kong vs. Godzilla is a 1962 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the third film in both the ''Godzilla'' and ''King Kong'' franchises, as well as the first T ...

'' (1962), and '' The Mighty Peking Man'' (1977).

Career

In 1958,

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...

hired Murase to sculpt the

Varan is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared in the 1958 film ''Varan the Unbelievable'', directed by Ishirō Honda and produced and distributed by Toho. Varan is depicted as a giant prehistoric reptile capable of gliding flight, ...

suit for ''

Varan the Unbelievable is a 1958 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it stars Kōzō Nomura, Ayumi Sonoda, and Koreya Senda, with Haruo Nakajima as Varan. In the fi ...

.'' An amateur photographer, Murase extensively documented his work which was published in his 2015 autobiography, ''Monster Maker: Keizo Murase''. After working for

Daiei Film Daiei Film Co. Ltd. ( Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ''Daiei Eiga Kabushiki Kaisha'') was a Japanese film studio. Founded in 1942 as Dai Nippon Film Co., Ltd., it was one of the major studios during the postwar Golden Age of Japanese cinema, producing ...

on ''

Gamera is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. Debuting in the 1965 film ''Gamera, the Giant Monster'', the character and the first film were intended to compete with the success of Toho's ''Godzilla'' film ...

'', he, Masao Yagi, and Akira Suzuki founded the modelling company, Ex Productions, he later left in 1972 to form his own company, Twenty.

Filmography

Film

* ''

The H-Man is a Japanese science fiction thriller film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects directed by Eiji Tsuburaya. Plot On a rainy night in the outskirts of Tokyo, a drug smuggler, Misaki, is killed while trying to escape in a getaway ...

'' (1958) * ''

'' (1958) -

sculptor / Miniature construction * ''

'' (1961) -

imago sculptor * ''

'' (1962) -

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

and

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

sculptor * ''

Gorath is a 1962 Japanese epic science fiction disaster film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Based on an idea by Jojiro Okami, the film is about mankind's efforts to move Earth out of its orbit to prevent it from ...

'' (1962) - Maguma sculptor * ''

Matango is a 1963 Japanese horror film directed by Ishirō Honda. The film stars Akira Kubo, Kumi Mizuno and Kenji Sahara. It is partially based on William Hope Hodgson's short story "The Voice in the Night" and is about a group of castaways on an is ...

'' (1963) -

sculptor * '' Mothra vs. Godzilla'' (1964) - Godzilla sculptor * ''

Dogora is a 1964 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, the film stars Yosuke Natsuki, Nobuo Nakamura, Hiroshi Koizumi, and Akiko Wakabayashi, along with A ...

'' (1964) -

sculptor * ''

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is a 1964 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the fifth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and was the second ''Godzilla'' film produced ...

'' (1964) - Godzilla and

King Ghidorah is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1964 film ''Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster''. Although the name of the character is officially trademarked by Toho as "King Ghidorah", the character was originall ...

sculptor * ''

Frankenstein Conquers the World is a 1965 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film stars Nick Adams, Kumi Mizuno and Tadao Takashima, with Koji Furuhata as Frankenstein and Haruo Nakajima as Baragon. An international co-producti ...

'' (1965) - Frankenstein and

Baragon is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1965 film '' Frankenstein Conquers the World'', produced and distributed by Toho. Depicted as a four-legged, horned dinosaur-like creature with large ears, Baragon a ...

sculptor * ''

'' (1965) -

sculptor * '' Return of Daimajin'' (1966) -

Daimajin is a series of Japanese films. The trilogy of films were all shot simultaneously and released in 1966 with three different directors and predominantly the same crew. The series was produced by Daiei Film and contained similar plot structures inv ...

sculptor * ''

Daimajin Strikes Again is a series of Japanese films. The trilogy of films were all shot simultaneously and released in 1966 with three different directors and predominantly the same crew. The series was produced by Daiei Film and contained similar plot structures invo ...

'' (1966) - Daimajin sculptor * '' Gamera vs. Gyaos'' (1967) -

Gyaos is a 1967 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Noriaki Yuasa, with special effects by Yuasa. Produced by Daiei Film, it is the third entry in the ''Gamera'' franchise and stars Kojiro Hongo, Kichijiro Ueda, Tatsuemon Kanamura, Reiko Kasahara, a ...

sculptor * ''

Yongary, Monster from the Deep ''Yongary, Monster from the Deep'' (, ) is a 1967 ''kaiju'' film directed by Kim Ki-duk, with special effects by Kenichi Nakagawa. The film was a South Korean- Japanese co-production between Keukdong Entertainment Company and Toei Company. The fi ...

'' (1967) - Yonggary sculptor * '' Gamera vs. Viras'' (1968) - Viras sculptor * ''

Terror of Mechagodzilla is a 1975 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda (his final film as a director), written by Yukiko Takayama, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka and Henry G. Saperstein, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and pr ...

'' (1975) * '' The Mighty Peking Man'' (1977) - Peking Man sculptor * '' The Seventh Curse'' (1986) * '' Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' (1991) - King Ghidorah and Mecha-King Ghidorah sculptor * ''

Godzilla vs. Mothra is a 1992 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Takao Okawara, written by Kazuki Ōmori, and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the 19th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and is the fourth film in the ...

'' (1992) * ''Howl from Beyond the Fog'' (2019) * '' Brush of the God'' (2022) - Director

Television

* '' Kamen Rider'' (1971) * ''

Ultraman Ace is the 5th show in the Ultra Series. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, the series aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from April 8, 1972, to March 30, 1973, with a total of 52 episodes. Starting from this show, the Ultra Series begins to shift f ...

'' (1972) * '' Ike! Greenman'' (TV 1973–1974) - Greenman sculptor

References

External links

* 1933 births People from Hokkaido Special effects people Godzilla (franchise) Living people {{Japan-film-director-stub