The God of Clouds Interviewed at Vantage Point Interviews!

Yours truly with Fuchimu Shimakura in January 2021.

My interview with Fuchimu Shimakura, Toho's longtime backdrop painter during the Showa era, has finally been posted on Vantage Point Interviews. Not only does he discuss painting tokusatsu backdrops for classics like Battle in Outer Space (1959), Monster Zero (1965), and Destroy All Monsters (1968), but he also talks about designing Mothra's wings in 1961. All this and more is covered in my interview with Mr. Shimakura. 

Vantage Point Interviews -- where content is king!

A Legendary Afternoon!

Fuchimu Shimakura Photo by Brett Homenick.

A couple of weeks ago, on January 13, I was privileged to spend an afternoon with painter and veteran of the Showa Godzilla series Fuchimu Shimakura (who is sometimes credited as Jin Shimakura). 

Suffice it to say, it was a fascinating afternoon full of intriguing stories. It's just a shame that such things are so few and far between these days.

MORE PHOTOS! Takashi Naganuma's Launch Party!

Nobuyuki Yasumaru addresses Shinji Higuchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

As mentioned elsewhere on this blog, I attended the launch party for Takashi Naganuma's new book on Toho SFX. It was a private celebration, and it was a lot of fun. Here are some other highlights.

Director Tom Kotani and suit builder Nobuyuki Yasumaru enjoy each other's company.

A group shot with yours truly, Tom Kotani, and Takashi Naganuma. This was taken shortly after I was invited to address the audience on the microphone. I offered praise to the SFX luminaries in attendance, and asked everyone to give director Kotani a round of applause. Kotani-san stood up and hugged me!

My photo of Toho cyclorama painter Fuchimu Shimakura.

Yours truly with Shimakura-san! Personality-wise, Shimakura-san was extremely youthful and had a wonderful sense of humor. I really hope to have a chance to meet him again.

A group shot with director Shinji Higuchi, Takashi Naganuma, and others in attendance.

Meeting suit builder Nobuyuki Yasumaru. Shinji Higuchi is directly seated behind us.

Nobuyuki Yasumaru points out the details in a photograph to Shinji Higuchi.

Yours truly with Shin Godzilla co-director Shinji Higuchi.

A selfie with Yoshikazu Ishii, a Toho SFX expert.

TAKASHI NAGANUMA'S BOOK PARTY! SFX All-Stars Turn Out for The Celebration!

Takashi Naganuma addresses the audience of fans and pros. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Sunday, November 27, a private party was held in Yokohama Chinatown to celebrate the launch of a new book by Takashi Naganuma, detailing Toho's tokusatsu history from the 1970s and beyond. 

Godzilla stands above Yokohama Chinatown. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I was invited by Naganuma-san when I saw him a week ago. Naturally, when I heard about this party, I jumped at the chance to attend. I'm very glad I did. There were several Toho tokusatsu staff members in attendance, many of whom I'd never met before. There was even a big surprise in store for us!

Director Tsugunobu "Tom" Kotani waits in the green room. Photo by Brett Homenick.

When I arrived, I greeted Naganuma-san, who was busy setting up. I then joined director Tsugunobu "Tom" Kotani in the green room. Kotani-san still speaks quite a bit of English, though he tells me he used to be even more proficient. He reminisced about working with Richard Boone on The Last Dinosaur (1977). According to Kotani-san, he and Richard Boone got along very well, and Boone even helped communicate some of his directions to the rest of the cast. Kotani-san said that Boone was like an honorary assistant director in that sense. 

Toho SFX expert Yoshikazu Ishii. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Among the tokusatsu pros in attendance was Yoshikazu Ishii, the first assistant director of SFX on Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), among a lot of other film and TV work. Ishii-san's English has come along very well since I first met him back in 2003. He helped translate my conversation with Toshiro Aoki later in the evening. Many thanks to Ishii-san for his help!

Tom Kotani greets fellow Toho director Shinji Higuchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The above photo ought to give away the surprise. Fresh off the success of Shin Godzilla, co-director Shinji Higuchi attended the launch party. Naturally, Higuchi-san is well acquainted with the Toho alumni in attendance, and their respect for Higuchi-san was quite evident.

Nobuyuki Yasumaru discusses his work at Toho. Photo by Brett Homenick.

A big highlight for me was getting the chance to meet Toho suit builder Nobuyuki Yasumaru. His work on Toho SFX dates all the way back to Mothra (1961), but he is best known for his work building the suits for most of the '70s Toho monsters as well as the '84 Godzilla suit and Pulgasari. His work on Toho monster suits began with Gorosaurus on King Kong Escapes (1967).

Fuchimu Shimakura recalls his Toho days. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Artist Fuchimu Shimakura was also on hand, and while most fans aren't familiar with his name, they know his work. Shimakura-san painted the cycloramas and backgrounds seen in many classic Toho films and Ultraman programs. In other words, if you saw Mount Fuji in the background of a monster fight scene during the 1960s, he painted it. When I spoke with Shimakura-san, he told me that he began work at Toho in 1959 (!), which would have made him about 19 years old at the time. According to Shimakura-san, his first tokusatsu works were The Three Treasures (1959) and Battle in Outer Space (1959).

Director Shinji Higuchi speaks to the audience. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Shinji Higuchi was also among the speakers, and he turned out to be the most popular guest among the fans and professionals. It's not hard to see why. Shin Godzilla was a massive success at the Japanese box office. Higuchi-san did not have to attend an event like this, but his respect for the SFX technicians in attendance speaks for itself.

SFX art director Toshiro Aoki talks tokusatsu. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Another luminary in attendance was SFX art director Toshiro Aoki. Aoki-san's career as an art assistant dates back to 1959 with The Three Treasures, but he went on to work on Mothra, Gorath (1962), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Godzilla vs. the Thing (1964), among many other titles. In the 1970s, Aoki-san became SFX art director for films like Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972), Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), and Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975). Aoki-san worked in the same position for Tsuburaya Productions on Return of Ultraman (1971-72), Ultraman Ace (1972-73), and Ultraman Taro (1973-74). 

Yours truly with Toho SFX art assistant Jiro Shirasaki.

Jiro Shirasaki was among with many other SFX alums, and he likewise worked on many classic Toho films in the SFX art department.

All in all, it was a tremendous party, but as is often the case, there's a lot more to say. Stay tuned!