The Three Treasures

The Birth of Japan

Directed by

Hiroshi Inagaki

Producer

Sanezumi Fujimoto,
Tomoyuki Tanaka

Written by

Ryuzo Kikushima,
Toshio Yasumi

Music by

Akira Ifukube

Distributor

Toho

Rating

Unrated

Budget

¥250,000,000^{[citation needed]}

Box office

¥344,232,000^[1]

Running time

182 minutes^JP
(3 hours, 2 minutes)

The Birth of Japan (日本誕生, Nippon Tanjō, lit. Japan Birth) is a 1959 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Toho. Promoted as the studio's thousandth film, it was released to Japanese theaters on November 1, 1959.^[2]

Plot

The Birth of Japan retells the story of the Yamata no Orochi legend, and features the great adventure of Susano as he fights the legendary serpent Orochi, in order to save the maidens of a village in the newly-formed Japanese country.

Staff

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki
Written by Ryûzô Kikushima and Toshio Yasumi
Executive producing by Katsutaro Kawakami
Produced by Sanezumi Fujimoto and Tomoyuki Tanaka
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography by Kazuo Yamada
Edited by Kazuji Taira
Production design by Kisaku Ito and Hiroshi Ueda
Assistant directing by Teruo Maru
Special effects by Hidesaburo Araki, Eiji Tsuburaya, and Akira Watanabe

Cast

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

Toshirô Mifune as Prince Yamato Takeru
Yôko Tsukasa as Princess Oto Tachibana
Akihiko Hirata as Kibino Takehiko
Kyôko Kagawa as Princess Miyazu
Takashi Shimura as Elder Kumaso
Setsuko Hara as Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess
Kumi Mizuno as Azami
Misa Uehara as Princess Kushinada
Kinuyo Tanaka as Princess Yamato
Akira Kubo as Prince Iogi
Akira Takarada as Prince Wakatarashi
Ganjirô Nakamura as Emperor
Eijirô Tôno as Ootomo
Jun Tazaki as Ootomo's Kurohiko
Ken'ichi Enomoto as God of Yaoyorozu
Hideyo Amamoto as Spectator at Gods' Dance
Shizuko Muramatsu as Goddess Izanami
Kichijirô Ueda as Kume's yahara
Akira Sera as Anazuchi
Minosuke Yamada as Okuri of Kunizo
Michiyo Tamaki as Ehime
Haruko Sugimura as Narrator
Kakuko Murata as Obaki's mother
Chieko Nakakita as Tenazuchi
Nobuko Otowa as Goddess of Anenouzume
Ikio Sawamura as Gods of Yaoyorozu
Hajime Izu as Prince Oousu
Bokuzen Hidari as God Amenominaka
Yû Fujiki as Okabi
Ichirô Arishima as Gods of Yaoyorozu
Jun'ichirô Mukai as Moroto
Kôzô Nomura as Ootomo Makeri
Hisaya Itô as Ootomo Kodate
Kô Mishima as Yakumo
Norihei Miki as Gods of Yaoyorozu
Yoshio Kosugi as Inaba
Keiju Kobayashi as God Amatsumaura
Daisuke Katô as God Fudetama
Hiroyuki Wakita as God Izanagi's son
Kingorô Yanagiya as God of Omoikane
Taro Asahiyo as God of Tachikara
Kôji Tsuruta as Younger Kumaso

Appearances

Monsters

Orochi (ShodaiOrochi)

Gallery

Main article: The Birth of Japan/Gallery.

Soundtrack

Main article: The Birth of Japan (Soundtrack).

Alternate Titles

Age of the Gods (Alternate Title)
Japan Birth (Literal Japanese Title)
Japan Is Born
The Three Treasures (United States)
The Three Treasures (Les Trois Trésors; France)
Three Treasures (Tres Tesoros; Spain)

Theatrical Releases

Japan - November 1, 1959 [view poster]
United States - December 20, 1960 [view poster]
Spain - 1972 [view poster]
France [view poster]

Box Office

The Birth of Japan grossed ¥344,232,000 in Japan. It was Toho's highest earner in 1959, and second among Japanese films overall.^[2]

Videos

Trivia

This is the only film where Orochi resembles a serpent, as opposed to a dragon.
The Birth of Japan is Toho's longest film featuring a kaiju, with a runtime of just over three hours.
In 1994, The Birth of Japan was loosely remade by Toho as Yamato Takeru.

Films

Godzilla films

Showa era

Godzilla (1954) • Godzilla Raids Again (1955) • King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) • Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) • Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) • Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) • Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) • Son of Godzilla (1967) • Destroy All Monsters (1968) • All Monsters Attack (1969) • Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) • Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) • Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) • Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) • Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Heisei era

The Return of Godzilla (1984) • Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) • Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) • Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) • Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993) • Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994) • Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Millennium era

Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999) • Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000) • Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) • Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002) • Godzilla: Tokyo SOS (2003) • Godzilla Final Wars (2004)

Reiwa era

Live action	Shin Godzilla (2016) • Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Animated	GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters (2017) • GODZILLA: City on the Edge of Battle (2018) • GODZILLA: The Planet Eater (2018)

American films

GODZILLA (1998) • Godzilla (2014) • Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) • Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) • Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Short films

"Godzilla vs. Charles Barkley" (1992) • Monster Planet of Godzilla (1994) • Godzilla: The Real 4-D (2017) • Dream Challenge: Godzilla Appears in Sukagawa (2019) • "The Faceless Star" (2019) • Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4-D (2019) • Godzilla Interception Operation Awaji attraction video (2020) • Godzilla Appears at Godzilla Fest (2020) • Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle (2021) • "The Impact of a Blue Day" (2021) • Godzilla vs. Hedorah (2021) • Godzilla vs. the Tigers (2022) • Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex (2022) • Fest Godzilla 3: Gigan Attacks (2022) • "GO YOUR WAY" (2023) • Godzilla vs. Megalon (2023) • Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar (2023)

Gamera films

Shōwa period	Gamera the Giant Monster (1965) • Gamera vs. Barugon (1966) • Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967) • Gamera vs. Viras (1968) • Gamera vs. Guiron (1969) • Gamera vs. Jiger (1970) • Gamera vs. Zigra (1971) • Gamera Super Monster (1980)

Heisei period	Gamera the Guardian of the Universe (1995) • Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996) • Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999) • Gamera the Brave (2006)

Short films	Gamera vs. Garasharp (1991) • GAMERA (2015)

King Kong films

King Kong (1933) • Son of Kong (1933) • King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) • King Kong Escapes (1967) • King Kong (1976) • King Kong Lives (1986) • The Mighty Kong (1998) • Kong: King of Atlantis (2005) • King Kong (2005) • Kong: Return to the Jungle (2006) • Kong: Skull Island (2017) • Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) • Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Other Toho films

Shōwa period	Ramayana (1940s) • Invisible Man (1954) • Half Human (1955) • Rodan (1956) • The Mysterians (1957) • The H-Man (1958) • Varan (1958) • The Three Treasures (1959) • Battle in Outer Space (1959) • The Secret of the Telegian (1960) • The Human Vapor (1960) • Mothra (1961) • The Last War (1961) • Gorath (1962) • Matango (1963) • Atragon (1963) • Dogora (1964) • Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965) • The War of the Gargantuas (1966) • The Killing Bottle (1967) • Latitude Zero (1969) • Konto 55: The Great Outer Space Adventure (1969) • Space Amoeba (1970) • Daigoro vs. Goliath (1972) • Submersion of Japan (1973) • ESPY (1974) • Prophecies of Nostradamus (1974) • The War in Space (1977) • Magnitude 7.9 (1980) • Bye-Bye Jupiter (1984) • Princess from the Moon (1987)

Heisei period	Cyber Cop (1989) • Gunhed (1989) • Mikadoroid (1991) • Reiko, Psyche Resurrected (1991) • Orochi, the Eight-Headed Dragon (1994) • Rebirth of Mothra (1996) • Rebirth of Mothra 2 (1997) • Rebirth of Mothra 3 (1998) • Super Fleet Sazer-X the Movie (2005) • Sinking of Japan (2006) • Go! Godman (2008) • Attack on Titan the Movie: Part 1 (2015) • Attack on Titan the Movie: Part 2 (2015)

Reiwa period	Monster Hunter (2020) • The Great Yokai War: Guardians (2021) • Shin Ultraman (2022) • yokaipedia (2022)

Other Daiei films

The Invisible Man Appears (1949) • Warning from Space (1956) • The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly (1957) • Killer Whale (1962) • Daimajin (1966) • Return of Daimajin (1966) • Wrath of Daimajin (1966) • Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts (1969)

Other Japanese films

Shōwa period	Japanese King Kong (1933) • The Great Buddha Arrival (1934) • The King Kong that Appeared in Edo (1938) • Magic Serpent (1966) • The X from Outer Space (1967) • Gappa (1967) • The Last Dinosaur (1977) • Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds (1977) • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Heisei period	The Cat (1991) • Sakuya (2000) • Wanigon vs. Gamaron (2000) • The Great Yokai War (2005) • Negadon: The Monster from Mars (2005) • Reigo: King of the Sea Monsters (2008) • Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit (2008) • Geharha: The Dark and Long Haired Monster‎ (2009) • Demeking, the Sea Monster (2009) • Raiga: God of the Monsters (2009) • Death Kappa (2010) • The God of Clay (2011) • A Giant Warrior Descends on Tokyo (2012) • Jellyfish Eyes (2013) • Day of the Kaiju (2014) • Love & Peace (2015) • Kaiju Mono (2016) • The Great Buddha Arrival (2018) • Kaiju Ward Gallas (2019)

Reiwa period	God Raiga vs. King Ohga: War of the Monsters (2019) • The Great Actress Reiko Inui (2019) • Howl from Beyond the Fog (2019) • Monster Seafood Wars (2020) • The 12 Day Tale of the Monster that Died in 8 (2020) • Nezura 1964 (2021) • Yatsuashi (2021) • What to Do with the Dead Kaiju? (2022) • Yuzo the Biggest Battle in Tokyo (2022) • AKARI (2022) • Hoshi 35 (2023) • Brush of the God (2024) • "Foodlosslla: What Should Humanity Do!?" (2024) • Kaiju: Island of Fire (TBA)

Miscellaneous

Films	The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) • The Giant Behemoth (1959) • Gorgo (1961) • Bulgasari (1962) • Gogola (1966) • Space Monster Wangmagwi (1967) • Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967) • APE (1976) • The Mighty Peking Man (1977) • Pulgasari (1985) • Reptilian (1999) • Cloverfield (2008) • 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) • Colossal (2016) • The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) • Rampage (2018) • Notzilla (2019) • untitled Cloverfield sequel (TBA)

Documentaries	Toho Unused Special Effects Complete Collection (1986) • Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1998) • GAMERA1999 (1999) • Bringing Godzilla Down to Size (2008) • The Dawn of Kaiju Eiga (2019) • Yonggary Chronicle Project (2019) • Godzilla's Leading Ladies (2020)

Fan films	Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969) • Gamera 4: Truth (2003) • Waiting for Gorgo (2009) • G vs. G (2019) • Godziban (2019) • Heritage (2020) • Coming Out (2020) • Wolfman vs. Godzilla (TBA)

V • T • E

↑ 日本誕生 - Wikipedia
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Stuart Galbraith IV (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press.

The Three Treasures

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Staff

Cast

Appearances

Monsters

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Theatrical Releases

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