Eiji Tsuburaya

Eiji Tsuburaya Born July 10, 1901 Sukagawa, Fukushima, Japan Died January 25, 1970 Occupation Special Effects Director First work Monkey Sun (1940) Notable work Godzilla (1954)

Eiji Tsuburaya (円谷 英二,   Tsuburaya Eiji), born Eiichi Tsumuraya (圓谷 英一,   Tsumuraya Eīchi) and occasionally credited Eiji Tsumuraya (圓谷 英二,   Tsumuraya Eiji), was a Japanese special effects director, cameraman and producer. Tsuburaya rose to fame primarily due to his work as a cinematographer and special effects director on Toho's kaiju films during the 1950's and 1960's, when he pioneered the techniques of tokusatsu and suitmation. Tsuburaya was one of the creators of Godzilla, who would go on to become Toho's most famous creation and an international icon. In 1963, Tsuburaya founded his own special effects studio, Tsuburaya Productions, which would become known for producing the Ultra Series. Tsuburaya himself served as a producer for several of the studio's early tokusatsu television series, including Ultra Q, Ultraman and Ultraseven. Toward the end of his life, Tsuburaya continued to receive honorary credit for supervising and directing the special effects in Toho's kaiju films, even though his responsibilities with his own company and eventually his declining health prevented him from actually working on the films. Tsuburaya's understudy Teruyoshi Nakano would take over as Toho's primary special effects director following Tsuburaya's death of a heart attack on January 25, 1970. Tsuburaya's company, Tsuburaya Productions, continued operating under his family until 2007, when it was acquired by TYO Inc.

Selected Filmography

Special Effects Director

• Invisible Man Appears (1949) - Director of Special Effects
• Godzilla (1954) - Director of Special Effects [as Eiji Tsumuraya]
• Invisible Man (1954) - Director of Special Effects, Cinematographer
• Godzilla Raids Again (1955) - Director of Special Effects
• Half Human (1955) - Director of Special Effects
• The Legend of the White Serpent (1956) - Director of Special Effects
• Rodan (1956) - Director of Special Effects
• The Mysterians (1957) - Director of Special Effects [as Eiji Tsumuraya]
• H-Man (1958) - Director of Special Effects
• Varan (1958) - Director of Special Effects [as Eiji Tsumuraya]
• The Three Treasures (1959) - Director of Special Effects
• Battle in Outer Space (1959) - Director of Special Effects
• The Secret of the Telegian (1960) - Director of Special Effects
• The Human Vapor (1960) - Director of Special Effects
• Mothra (1961) - Director of Special Effects
• The Last War (1961) - Director of Special Effects
• Gorath (1962) - Director of Special Effects
• King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) - Director of Special Effects
• Matango (1963) - Director of Special Effects
• Atragon (1963) - Director of Special Effects
• Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) - Director of Special Effects
• Dogora (1964) - Director of Special Effects
• Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) - Director of Special Effects
• Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965) - Director of Special Effects
• Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) - Director of Special Effects
• The War of the Gargantuas (1966) - Director of Special Effects
• Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) - Visual Effects Supervisor
• King Kong Escapes (1967) - Director of Special Effects
• Son of Godzilla (1967) - Visual Effects Supervisor
• Destroy All Monsters (1968) - Visual Effects Supervisor
• Latitude Zero (1969) - Director of Special Effects, Production Manager
• All Monsters Attack (1969) - Visual Effects Supervisor [ceremonial title]
• Space Amoeba (1970) - Visual Effects Supervisor [posthumous; ceremonial title; only in promotional materials]

Producer

• Ultra Q (TV 1966)
• Ultraman (TV 1966-1967)
• Monster Booska (TV 1966-1967)
• Ultraseven (TV 1967-1968)

Gallery

Set Photos

Mothra

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  Tsuburaya with the Mothra larva puppet

King Kong vs. Godzilla

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  Tsuburaya with the KingGoji suit

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  Tsuburaya with the Godzilla stop motion puppet

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  Tsuburaya with the Godzilla and King Kong suits

Toys

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  M1 Eiji Tsuburaya

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  Tsuburaya Productions Eiji Tsubaraya Commemorative Set (Box A)

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  Tsuburaya Productions Eiji Tsubaraya Commemorative Set (Box B)

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  Bandai Japan commemorative SD set

Videos

Eiji Tsuburaya in "Birth of Ultraman," a stage show which aired a week before the premiere of Ultraman

External Links

• Official Eiji Tsuburaya site (Japanese and English)
• Official Tsuburaya Productions site
• Eiji Tsuburaya on Toho Official Site

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