, better known by his

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

, was a Japanese screenwriter who wrote many films for

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 ...

studios. Kimura scripted several films for director

Ishirō Honda was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 44 feature films in a career spanning 59 years. The most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki, his films have had a significant influence on the film industry. Honda enter ...

, including '' Matango'', ''

Frankenstein vs. Baragon 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-produc ...

'', ''

The War of the Gargantuas is a 1966 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Referred by film historian Stuart Galbraith IV as a "quasi–sequel" to '' Frankenstein vs. Baragon'', the film was a Japanese-American co-production; it ...

'', ''

King Kong Escapes is a 1967 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film was a Japanese– American co-production between Toho and Rankin/Bass, and stars Rhodes Reason, Linda Miller, Akira Takarada, Mie Hama, Ei ...

'', and ''

Destroy All Monsters is a 1968 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film, which was produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, is the ninth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and features eleven monster ...

''. He was a member of the

Japanese Communist Party The is a left-wing to far-left political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party advocates the establishment of a dem ...

whose screenplays often included political themes. His scripts are frequently contrasted with those written by

Shinichi Sekizawa was a Japanese screenwriter noted for his immense contributions to several films by Ishirō Honda, including several classic Godzilla films. He also contributed material to the original ''Ultraman'' series and several Tōei Dōga films such as ' ...

, whose scripts for

kaiju is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monster ...

films typically had a more lightweight, "fun" tone. Kimura considered the screenplay for

's '' Matango'' to be his best work, and he considered all of his scripts from ''Frankenstein Conquers the World'' onward to be merely work for hire. Kimura was known for having a dark and gloomy personality, and he was reportedly never very close to any of his fellow Toho employees. He died from a throat obstruction in his

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

apartment in 1988.

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1912 births 1988 deaths Kansai University alumni 20th-century Japanese screenwriters {{Japan-writer-stub