Tomoyuki Tanaka | |
|---|---|
 Tanaka on the set of
Battle in Outer Space in 1959 | |
| Born | April 26, 1910 |
| Died | April 2, 1997 (aged 86) |
| Alma mater | Kansai University |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Years active | 1940–1997 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Honours | Order of the Sacred Treasure (1981) [3] |
| Japanese name | |
| Kanji | 田中 友幸 |
| Hiragana | たなか ともゆき [1] |
| Romanization | Tanaka Tomoyuki |
| Signature | |
 | |
Tomoyuki "Yūkō" Tanaka [4] ( Japanese: 田中 友幸, 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
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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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, 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 37 films by 2024. Thirty-two movies have been produced by Toho, and four 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.
Personal life
In 1950, Tanaka married 23-year-old actress Chieko Nakakita, [10] with whom he later had three sons [9] and adopted a daughter named Mieko. [11]
Filmography
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As producer
References
- ^ a b c Tanaka 1983, pp. 52–53.
- ^ a b Ryfle 1998, p. 40.
- ^ a b Tanaka 1983, p. 538.
- ^ Kawakita 2009, p. 220.
- ^ a b c d e Ryfle 1998, p. 39.
- ^ Kalat 2010, p. 16.
- ^ Fukuda & Someya 2001, p. 26.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Nichigai Associates 1998, p. 881.
- ^ "中北千枝子さん死去／女優". 四国新聞社. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "命ある限り（1946） : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
- ^ "地獄の貴婦人（1949): 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved July 17, 2021.
- ^ "魔の黄金 : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
- ^ "熱砂の白蘭 : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
- ^ "誰が私を裁くのか : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
- ^ "死の断崖（1951） : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
- ^ "赤道祭 : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
- ^ "霧笛（1952） : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
- ^ Galbraith IV 2008, p. 183.
- ^ Galbraith IV 2008, p. 231.
Bibliography
- Fukuda, Jun; Someya, Katsuki (2001). 100 Out of 100 Toho Movies! Film Director Jun Fukuda (in Japanese). Wides Publishing. ISBN 978-4898300633.
- Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1461673743.
- Kalat, David (2010). A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series (Second ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786447497.
- Kawakita, Kōichi (November 30, 2009). Heisei Godzilla Chronicle. Kinema Junpo. ISBN 978-4-87376-319-4.
- Nichigai Associates (1998). 現代日本人名録 98 [Directory of Contemporary Japanese People: 98] (in Japanese). Vol. 3. Nichigai Associates. ISBN 978-4816914683.
- Ryfle, Steve (1998). Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G. ECW Press. ISBN 1550223488.
- Tanaka, Tomoyuki (1983). The Complete History of Toho Special Effects Movies (in Japanese). Toho Publishing Business Office. ISBN 4-924609-00-5.
