Celebrating Godzilla's Birthday in a Big Way!

Hiroyasu Yamaura. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Tuesday, November 3, I was able to catch the great Hiroyasu Yamaura perform a one-man show. He wrote and narrated it himself with the help of some background music he played during select scenes. 

Hiroyasu Yamaura with a copy of Ultra Seven (1967-68). Photo by Brett Homenick. 

The story, titled Mohei and Osan, was a period piece that takes place in Kyoto and featured a scandalous romance involving a married woman. Yamaura-san's story was based on Five Women Who Loved Love by Ihara Saikaku.

Hiroyasu Yamaura with a booklet for Ultra Q (1966). Photo by Brett Homenick.

Yamaura-san was nervous about performing the one-man show, as he'd never done something like this before. Usually, his plays are performed by other actors. But he did a great job telling the story for a little more than an hour. If you can't try new things when you're 88 years old, when can you try them?

After the performance, Yamaura-san very kindly sat down with my friend Jacob and me, as we chatted about random topics, and Yamaura-san answered various questions. Although his memories are limited about the subject, he recalled working on Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) and even remembered being in California around the time of the 1989 earthquake in San Francisco.

Photo by Jacob Dow.

I pointed out that November 3 is Godzilla's birthday, so it was the perfect day for such a meeting. But the Ultra-series was represented, too, as I brought my Blu-rays of Ultra Q (1966) and Ultra Seven (1967-68) to get signed. It's simply amazing how much excellent tokusatsu Yamaura-san has written during his career. 

Yes, it was a fun chat. Photo by Jacob Dow.

When it was all said and done, we were the last ones in the building, except for the staff. Yamaura-san went above and beyond with his time, and I'm grateful for every moment of it. 

A wonderful moment. Photo by Jacob Dow.

I couldn't think of a better way of celebrating Godzilla's birthday. It was an afternoon very well spent. Thank you again very much, Yamaura-san!