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Tomoyuki Tanaka

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Tomoyuki Tanaka
Tanaka on the set of Battle in Outer Space in 1959
Born(1910-04-26)April 26, 1910
Kashiwara, Osaka, Empire of Japan[1]
DiedApril 2, 1997(1997-04-02) (aged 86)
Tokyo, Japan[2]
Alma materKansai University
OccupationFilm producer
Years active1940–1997
Spouse
​
(m. 1950)​
Children4
HonoursOrder of the Sacred Treasure (1981)[3]
Japanese name
Kanji田中 友幸
Hiraganaたなか ともゆき[1]
RomanizationTanaka Tomoyuki
Signature

Tomoyuki "Yūkō" Tanaka[4] (Japanese: 田中 友幸（ともゆき）, Hepburn: Tanaka Tomoyuki, April 26, 1910 – April 2, 1997) was a Japanese film producer. Widely regarded as the creator of the Godzilla franchise, he produced most of the installments in the 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.[5]

Early life

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Tanaka was born on April 26, 1910,[3] in Kashiwara, Osaka.[1] As a child, he would often walk miles to the nearest theater to watch silent adventure and ninja films in the afternoons.[5] 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.[5] In his youth, Tanaka was once disowned by his parents because he focused more on his interests, films and acting, than on his studies.[5]

Career

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Tanaka c. 1950s

Soon after graduating from Kansai University,[6] Tanaka entered the Japanese film industry in 1940 and joined 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 Iwao Mori.[7] After four years with the company, he began producing his own films, and one of his first efforts, Three People of the North [ja], was released in 1945. In his 57-year career, Tanaka produced more than 200 films.[5]

He is best known as the creator, with storyteller Shigeru Kayama, director Ishirō Honda, writer Takeo Murata and special-effects wizard 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. In an interview in 1991, Tanaka summed up the symbolism of Godzilla:[8]

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.

The classic 1954 film Godzilla and in 1955 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. He produced six films directed by the acclaimed Akira Kurosawa.[9] Their film Kagemusha (1980) was nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar and took the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

He is credited for the "original story" in Godzilla 1985.[10]

Personal life

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In 1950, Tanaka married 23-year-old actress Chieko Nakakita,[11] with whom he later had three sons[9] and adopted a daughter named Mieko.[12]

Filmography

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As producer

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Year Title Notes Ref(s)
1944 Until the Day of Victory [ja][a] With Sanezumi Fujimoto and Sōjirō Motoki;

uncredited

1945 Legend of the Great Japanese Swordsman[b] [13]
Three People of the North [ja][c]
1946 Cheerful Woman [ja][d]
Those Who Make Tomorrow[e]
As Long as I Live[f] [14]
Eleven Schoolgirls[g]
Declaration of Love[h]
1947 Four Love Stories [ja][i] With Keiji Matsuzaki
24 Hours of a Secret Life[j]
Snow Trail[k] [13]
1948 My Love on the Other Side of the Mountains [ja][l] [13]
1949 Lady from Hell[m] With Keiji Matsuzaki [13][15]
Senta Was Cut
Jakoman and Tetsu[n] [13]
1950 Escape at Dawn[o] [13][16]
The Gold of the Devil[p] With Sōjirō Motoki [17]
The Angry Street[q]
White Beast[r] [13]
Pursuit at Dawn [ja][s] [18]
The Gate of Tokyo
1951 Beyond Love and Hate [ja]
A White Orchid [13][19]
Who is to Judge Me? [20]
Hakamadare Yasusuke
Cliff of Death [21]
Equatorial Festival [22]
1952 Foghorn [23]
My Son's Bride
Sword for Hire [13]
The Lady from Shanghai
Adolescence [ja]
A Swift Current
The Man Who Came to Port
1953 My Wonderful Yellow Car [13]
Embrace
Yasugorō Succeeds
Mother and Daughter
Adolescence Part II
Youth of Heiji Senigata [ja]
Red-Light Bases [ja]
1954 Farewell Rabaul
Itsuko and Her Mother
Forever Be Mine
The Surf [ja] [24]
Godzilla
1955 Godzilla Raids Again
Love Never Fails [25]
Half Human [13]
Asunaro monogatari [ja] [26]
1956 The Legend of the White Serpent [27]
Barefoot Youth [28]
Rodan
1957 Untamed
The Last Escape [29]
The Mysterians
1958 The H-Man [13]
Varan the Unbelievable
1959 The Three Treasures with Sanezumi Fujimoto [13]
Battle in Outer Space
1960 The Secret of the Telegian [13]
1961 Yojimbo [2]
Mothra [30]
1962 Gorath
King Kong vs. Godzilla
1963 Atragon
1964 Mothra vs. Godzilla
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
1965 Frankenstein vs. Baragon
Invasion of Astro-Monster
1966 The War of the Gargantuas with Kenichiro Tsunoda [31]
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
1967 King Kong Escapes
Son of Godzilla
1968 Destroy All Monsters
1969 All Monsters Attack
1970 Space Amoeba
1971 Godzilla vs. Hedorah
1972 Godzilla vs. Gigan
1973 Godzilla vs. Megalon
Submersion of Japan with Osamu Tanaka
1974 Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
ESPY with Fumio Tanaka
1975 Terror of Mechagodzilla
1976 Zero Pilot
1984 The Return of Godzilla
1989 Gunhed
Godzilla vs. Biollante with Shōgo Tomiyama
1995 Godzilla vs. Destoroyah with Shōgo Tomiyama

Notes

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  1. ^ 勝利の日まで, Shōri no Hi made
  2. ^ 日本剣豪伝, Nihon kengō-den
  3. ^ 北の三人, Kita no san-nin
  4. ^ 陽気な女, Yōkina on'na
  5. ^ 明日を創る人々, Asu o tsukuru hitobito
  6. ^ 命ある限り, Inochi aru kagiri
  7. ^ 十一人の女学生, Juichinin no jogakusei
  8. ^ 愛の宣書, Ai no sen-sho
  9. ^ 四つの恋の物語, Yottsu no koi no monogatari
  10. ^ 地下街二十四時間, Chikagai nijuyojikan
  11. ^ 銀嶺の果て, Ginrei no Hate
  12. ^ わが愛は山の彼方に, Waga ai wa yama no kanata ni
  13. ^ 地獄の貴婦人, Jigoku no kifujin
  14. ^ ジャコ萬と鉄, Jakoman to Tetsu
  15. ^ 暁の脱走, Akatsuki no dassō
  16. ^ 魔の黄金, Ma no kogane
  17. ^ 怒りの街, Ikari no machi lit. 'The City of Rage'
  18. ^ 白い野獣, Shiroi Yajū
  19. ^ 暁の追跡, Akatsuki no tsuiseki

References

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  1. ^ a b c Tanaka 1983, pp. 52–53.
  2. ^ a b Ryfle 1998, p. 40.
  3. ^ a b Tanaka 1983, p. 538.
  4. ^ Kawakita 2009, p. 220.
  5. ^ a b c d e Ryfle 1998, p. 39.
  6. ^ Kalat 2010, p. 16.
  7. ^ Fukuda & Someya 2001, p. 26.
  8. ^ Raftery, Brian M. (2000). "Forty-four years ago, Godzilla, King of the Monsters invaded the U.S". Entertainment Weekly. No. 537. New York, N.Y.: Time, Inc. p. 116.
  9. ^ a b WuDunn, Cheryl (4 April 1997). "Tomoyuki Tanaka, the Creator of Godzilla, Is Dead at 86". New York Times. New York, N.Y. Retrieved Oct 12, 2012.
  10. ^ Canby, Vincent (1985-08-30). "THE SCREEN: 'GODZILLA 1985'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  11. ^ Nichigai Associates 1998, p. 881.
  12. ^ "中北千枝子さん死去／女優". 四国新聞社. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "田中友幸". Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  14. ^ "命ある限り（1946） : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  15. ^ "地獄の貴婦人（1949): 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  16. ^ "暁の脱走". nfad.nfaj.go.jp. National Film Archive of Japan. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  17. ^ "魔の黄金 : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  18. ^ "曉の追跡". nfad.nfaj.go.jp. National Film Archive of Japan. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  19. ^ "熱砂の白蘭 : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  20. ^ "誰が私を裁くのか : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  21. ^ "死の断崖（1951） : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  22. ^ "赤道祭 : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  23. ^ "霧笛（1952） : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  24. ^ "潮騒". nfad.nfaj.go.jp. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  25. ^ "麥笛". nfad.nfaj.go.jp. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  26. ^ "あすなろ物語". nfad.nfaj.go.jp. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  27. ^ "白夫人の妖恋". nfad.nfaj.go.jp. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  28. ^ "裸足の青春". nfad.nfaj.go.jp. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  29. ^ "最後の脱走". nfad.nfaj.go.jp. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  30. ^ Galbraith IV 2008, p. 183.
  31. ^ Galbraith IV 2008, p. 231.

Bibliography

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Preceded by President of Toho Pictures
1975–1981 		Succeeded by
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