Koichi Kawakita

Koichi Kawakita Born December 5, 1942 Tokyo, Japan Died December 5, 2014 Occupation Director, director of special effects, special effects cinematographer, optical photographer, actor Notable role(s) Bar patron, man listening to prime minister, store patron, JSDF officer, secretary of defense, office worker First work Gorath (1962) Notable work Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

Koichi Kawakita (川北紘一,   Kawakita Kōichi), born December 5, 1942, was a Japanese director, cinematographer, and optical photographer best known for his work on most of the Heisei era Godzilla films and the first two Rebirth of Mothra films. He also occasionally appeared in cameos in some of Toho's tokusastu productions. Kawakita passed away on December 5, 2014, his 72nd birthday.

Selected filmography

Assistant special effects cinematographer

• Gorath (1962)
• King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
• Matango (1963)
• Atragon (1963)
• Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
• Dogora (1964)
• Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

Optical photographer

• Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965)
• Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
• The War of the Gargantuas (1966)
• Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
• King Kong Escapes (1967)
• Son of Godzilla (1967)
• Destroy All Monsters (1968)
• Latitude Zero (1969)
• All Monsters Attack (1969)
• Space Amoeba (1970)

Assistant director

• Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
• Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)

Assistant director of special effects

• Submersion of Japan (1973)
• Prophecies of Nostradamus (1974)
• The Explosion (1975)
• The Mighty Peking Man (1977)
• The War in Space (1977)

Director of special effects

• Ultraman Ace (TV 1972-1973) [episodes 21-22, 25-27, 30-31, 36-37, 40-41]
• Zone Fighter (TV 1973) [episodes 3-4, 8, 10, 14-16, 25]
• Ultraman Taro (TV 1973-1974) [episodes 6-7]
• Submersion of Japan: Television Series (TV 1974-1975) [unknown number of episodes]
• Megaloman (TV 1979) [episode 7]
• Ultraman 80 (TV 1980-1981) [episodes 10, 13-14]
• Bye-Bye Jupiter (1984)
• Gunhed (1989)
• Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
• Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
• Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
• Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)
• Monster Planet of Godzilla (1994)
• Orochi, the Eight-Headed Dragon (1994)
• Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994)
• Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
• Rebirth of Mothra (1996)
• Rebirth of Mothra II (1997)
• The Gransazers (TV 2003-2004)
• The Justirisers (TV 2004-2005)
• Super Fleet Sazer-X (TV 2005-2006)
• Super Fleet Sazer-X the Movie (2005)

Director

• Toho Unused Special Effects Complete Collection (1986)
• Monster Planet of Godzilla (1994)
• CR Godzilla 3S-T Battle (video game 2006) [cutscenes]
• Kawaii! JeNny (TV 2007)
• The God of Clay (2011) [with Nobuaki Sugimoto]

Actor

• Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) as Bar patron
• Submersion of Japan: Television Series (TV 1974-1975) as Man listening to prime minister's speech [episode 23]
• Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) as Underground shopping center patron
• Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993) as Rodan [hand puppet]
• Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) as JSDF officer
• The Gransazers (TV 2003-2004) as Secretary of defense [episode 49]
• The Justirisers (TV 2004-2005) as Office worker [episode 1]

Gallery

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  Kawakita with the suits and props for Fire Rodan, Mothra, BabyGodzilla, Super Mechagodzilla, Godzilla and King Ghidorah

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  Kawakita using the Rodan hand puppet

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  Kawakita, Roland Emmerich and Patrick Tatopoulos with the DesuGoji

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  Kawakita's cameo in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack

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Trivia

• Just before his death in December 2014, Koichi Kawakita acted as a consultant for the PlayStation 3 Godzilla video game.
• On November 28, 2015, a special festival was held in Tokyo in honor of Koichi Kawakita. The films Godzilla vs. Mothra, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, and Godzilla vs. Destoroyah were screened at the festival.

External Links

• Interview by David Milner (December 1994)
• Interview by David Milner (December 1995)

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