Tomoyuki Tanaka

For the musician, see Fantastic Plastic Machine (musician).

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, best known as the creator of Godzilla. He produced most of the installments in the Godzilla 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] and six of Akira Kurosawa's films, notably Yojimbo and Kagemusha.

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]
Died	April 2, 1997(1997-04-02) (aged 86) Tokyo, Japan[2]
Alma mater	Kansai University
Occupation	Film producer
Years active	1940–1997
Spouse	Chieko Nakakita ​ (m. 1950)​
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

Biography

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] Tanaka studied economics at Kansai University, graduating in 1940.^[6]

Career

Tanaka c. 1950s

Tanaka entered the Japanese film industry in 1940, joining 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 [ja].^[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.

Tanaka left Toho in 1947 during the Toho strikes; he would return to the company in 1952.

In 1954 Tanaka started on production of the war movie In the Shadow of Glory (栄光のかげに, Eikō no Kage ni), to be directed by Senkichi Taniguchi, co-produced with the Indonesian studio Perfini, and filmed in Jakarta. The project was cancelled when the Indonesian government refused to grant visas to the Japanese filmmakers. On the flight back to Japan from Jakarta, Tanaka wrote the outline for a new film. Inspired by King Kong, which had been re-released in Japan in 1952, as well as by The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and the recent Daigo Fukuryū Maru incident, Tanaka wrote a daikaiju film, working title The Giant Monster from 20,000 Miles Beneath the Sea (海底二万哩から来た大怪獣, Kaitei Niman Mairu kara kita Daikaijū). Tanaka pitched the project to Iwao Mori, who approved, and work began on Godzilla.

Tanaka selected Ishirō Honda to direct Godzilla; the two had recently collaborated on Farewell Rabaul and Senkichi Taniguchi, Tanaka's first choice, had refused the job. Shigeru Kayama [ja], a prominent detective and science fiction author, provided the treatment for Godzilla at Tanaka's request, Tanaka being a fan of Kayama's. Tanaka had worked with special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya on several earlier films; Tsuburaya was attached to Godzilla from the beginning, as his determination of the feasibility of the project was a condition for its approval.

Godzilla 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.

Akira Kurosawa started the Kurosawa Production Company in 1959, with Toho holding a majority stake, and closed it in 1966; during this period, Tanaka would produce all five films directed by Kurosawa: The Bad Sleep Well, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, High and Low, and Red Beard.^[8] Tanaka would later reunite with Kurosawa to produce Kagemusha (1980), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

Toho entered into a similar arrangement with actor Toshiro Mifune and Mifune Productions in 1962, with Tanaka assisting in the operation of the company. Tanaka produced several successful films with Mifune Productions, including Legacy of the 500,000, Samurai Assassin, and Fort Graveyard [ja].

In 1971 Tanaka became President of the newly formed Toho Eizo [ja], a Toho subsidiary that would create special effects for the parent company. In 1975 he became President and CEO of Toho Pictures. In 1978 Toho Eizo merged with Tokyo Eiga [ja], a Toho affiliate; Tanaka would step down as President and become Chairman of the merged company. In 1988 Toho Eizo merged with Toho Bijutsu, another Toho subsidiary, to form Toho Eizo Bijutsu; Tanaka would step down as Chairman of Toho Eizo. In 1989 Tanaka became Chairman and CEO of Toho Pictures. In 1995 Tanaka retired from his official duties and became an advisor to Toho Pictures.

He is credited for the "original story" in Godzilla 1985.^[9]

Tanaka oversaw the production of Mitsubishi's pavilion at several expos, including the Osaka Expo, Expo '75 in Okinawa, and Expo '85 in Tsukuba.

Personal life

In 1950, Tanaka married 23-year-old actress Chieko Nakakita,^[10] with whom he later had three sons^[8] and adopted a daughter named Mieko.^[11]

Godzilla

Tanaka is best known as the creator, with author Shigeru Kayama [ja], director Ishirō Honda, screenwriter Takeo Murata [ja], and special effects director 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 and the recent Daigo Fukuryū Maru incident. In an interview in 1991, Tanaka summed up the symbolism of Godzilla:^[12]

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.

Filmography

As producer

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
	Oen-san
	Lovetide
	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
	Yagyu Secret Scrolls
1958	The H-Man		[13]
	Varan the Unbelievable
	Rickshaw Man
1959	The Three Treasures	with Sanezumi Fujimoto	[13]
	Battle in Outer Space
	Life of an Expert Swordsman
1960	The Secret of the Telegian		[13]
	The Human Vapor
	The Bad Sleep Well
	The Last Gunfight
1961	Yojimbo		[2]
	Mothra		[30]
	The Story of Osaka Castle
	The Merciless Trap
1962	Sanjuro
	Gorath
	King Kong vs. Godzilla
	Chūshingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki
1963	Atragon
	High and Low
	Warring Clans
	Matango
	Legacy of the 500,000
	The Lost World of Sinbad
1964	Mothra vs. Godzilla
	Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
	Dogora
	Whirlwind
1965	Frankenstein vs. Baragon
	Invasion of Astro-Monster
	Red Beard
	Samurai Assassin
	Ironfinger
	Key of Keys
	Fort Graveyard [ja]
1966	The War of the Gargantuas	with Kenichiro Tsunoda	[31]
	Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
1967	King Kong Escapes
	Son of Godzilla
	Samurai Rebellion
	Japan's Longest Day
1968	Destroy All Monsters
	Kill!
	Admiral Yamamoto
	Judge and Jeopardy
1969	All Monsters Attack
	Samurai Banners
	Battle of the Japan Sea
	Portrait of Hell
1970	Space Amoeba
	The Vampire Doll
1971	Godzilla vs. Hedorah
1972	Godzilla vs. Gigan
1973	Godzilla vs. Megalon
	Submersion of Japan	with Osamu Tanaka
1974	Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
	Prophecies of Nostradamus
	ESPY	with Fumio Tanaka
1975	Terror of Mechagodzilla
1976	Zero Pilot
1976	House
1980	Kagemusha
1981	Imperial Navy
1984	The Return of Godzilla
1987	Princess from the Moon
1989	Gunhed
	Godzilla vs. Biollante	with Shōgo Tomiyama
1994	Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla	with Shōgo Tomiyama
1995	Godzilla vs. Destoroyah	with Shōgo Tomiyama

Notes

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