Tomoyuki Tanaka

was a Japanese film producer, best known as the creator of Godzilla. He produced most of the installments in the ''Godzilla'' series, beginning in 1954 with ''Godzilla'' and ending in 1995 with '' Godzilla vs. Destoroyah''. He was one of the most prolific Japanese producers of all time, having worked on more than 200 films, including over 80 ''tokusatsu'' films and six of Akira Kurosawa's films, notably Yojimbo and Kagemusha.

Biography

Early life

Tanaka was born on April 26, 1910, in Kashiwara, Osaka. As a child, he would often walk miles to the nearest theater to watch silent adventure and ninja films in the afternoons. At the age of 14, Tanaka saw the silent Western film ''The Covered Wagon'' and was so enamored by its cinematography that it remained his all-time favorite film. In his youth, Tanaka was once disowned by his parents because he focused more on his interests, films and acting, than on his studies.
Tanaka studied economics at Kansai University, graduating in 1940.

Career

Tanaka entered the Japanese film industry in 1940, joining the film studio Taiho Eiga. The following year, Tanaka moved to Toho after it merged with Taiho Eiga and began his career as a producer under . After four years with the company, he began producing his own films, and one of his first efforts, ', was released in 1945.

Tanaka left Toho in 1947 during the Toho strikes; he would return to the company in 1952.

In 1954 Tanaka started on production of the war movie , to be directed by Senkichi Taniguchi, co-produced with the Indonesian studio Perfini, and filmed in Jakarta. The project was cancelled when the Indonesian government refused to grant visas to the Japanese filmmakers. On the flight back to Japan from Jakarta, Tanaka wrote the outline for a new film. Inspired by ''King Kong'', which had been re-released in Japan in 1952, as well as by ''The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'' and the recent Daigo Fukuryū Maru incident, Tanaka wrote a daikaiju film, working title . Tanaka pitched the project to Iwao Mori, who approved, and work began on ''Godzilla''.

Tanaka selected Ishirō Honda to direct ''Godzilla''; the two had recently collaborated on '' Farewell Rabaul'' and Senkichi Taniguchi, Tanaka's first choice, had refused the job. , a prominent detective and science fiction author, provided the treatment for ''Godzilla'' at Tanaka's request, Tanaka being a fan of Kayama's. Tanaka had worked with special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya on several earlier films; Tsuburaya was attached to ''Godzilla'' from the beginning, as his determination of the feasibility of the project was a condition for its approval.

''Godzilla'' would spawn a series of sequels, adding up to 38 films as of March 29, 2024. Thirty-three movies have been produced by Toho, and five by the American studios TriStar Pictures and Legendary Pictures. He often worked with the other three members of the Godzilla team: Honda, Tsuburaya, and composer Akira Ifukube, to complete such works as '' The Mysterians'' (1957) and '' Matango'' (1963). he also creates manipulative aliens, causing problems for the Earth, for the purpose of political, according to the tendencies of his monster films. Tanaka also created the space-monster King Ghidorah and the innocent Minilla.

Akira Kurosawa started the Kurosawa Production Company in 1959, with Toho holding a majority stake, and closed it in 1966;
during this period, Tanaka would produce all five films directed by Kurosawa: '' The Bad Sleep Well'', ''Yojimbo'', '' Sanjuro'', '' High and Low'', and '' Red Beard''. Tanaka would later reunite with Kurosawa to produce ''Kagemusha'' (1980), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

Toho entered into a similar arrangement with actor Toshiro Mifune and Mifune Productions in 1962, with Tanaka assisting in the operation of the company. Tanaka produced several successful films with Mifune Productions, including '' Legacy of the 500,000'', '' Samurai Assassin'', and '.

In 1971 Tanaka became President of the newly formed , a Toho subsidiary that would create special effects for the parent company.
In 1975 he became President and CEO of Toho Pictures.
In 1978 Toho Eizo merged with , a Toho affiliate; Tanaka would step down as President and become Chairman of the merged company.
In 1988 Toho Eizo merged with Toho Bijutsu, another Toho subsidiary, to form Toho Eizo Bijutsu; Tanaka would step down as Chairman of Toho Eizo.
In 1989 Tanaka became Chairman and CEO of Toho Pictures.
In 1995 Tanaka retired from his official duties and became an advisor to Toho Pictures.

He is credited for the "original story" in '' Godzilla 1985''.

Tanaka oversaw the production of Mitsubishi's pavilion at several expos, including the Osaka Expo, Expo '75 in Okinawa, and Expo '85 in Tsukuba.

Personal life

In 1950, Tanaka married 23-year-old actress Chieko Nakakita, with whom he later had three sons and adopted a daughter named Mieko.

Godzilla

Tanaka is best known as the creator, with author , director Ishirō Honda, screenwriter , and special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, of Godzilla, the towering embodiment of post-World War II anxiety. Tanaka created Godzilla in 1954 in an effort to illustrate the terror Japan felt after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the recent Daigo Fukuryū Maru incident. In an interview in 1991, Tanaka summed up the symbolism of Godzilla:

Japanese people back then had a great fear of radiation, which is what gave Godzilla his enormous size. He has always stood for nature's retaliation against humanity.

Filmography

As producer

Notes

References

Bibliography

*
*
*
*
*
*
*

External links

Tomoyuki Tanaka on the official Toho website (archived)Tomoyuki Tanaka
at the National Film Archive of Japan

{{Authority control

1910 births
1997 deaths
Japanese film producers
People from Kashiwara, Osaka