HOORAY FOR CHOFU! Paying a Visit to Japan's Answer to Hollywood!

A map of Chofu, Japan's version of Hollywood. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On my travels on Friday, September 30, I visited Chofu, which is where Nikkatsu Studios and Kadokawa Daiei Studios are located. Chofu Station has a Daiei tokusatsu theme to it, which the pictures I took below will demonstrate. I've posted about Chofu Station before a few years ago, but I thought it was worth revisiting. Enjoy!

A Very Daiei Evening!

Shin Minatsu. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Friday, May 10, I attended a play in which two former Daiei actors appeared. They are both veterans of the Gamera series, and given how few opportunities there are to meet Showa Gamera alumni, I jumped at the chance.

The first actor I met was Shin Minatsu, who appears in Gammera the Invincible (1965), Gamera vs. Barugon (1966), and Gamera vs. Gyoas (1967) in small roles. In Gyoas, he plays the reporter who gets eaten by the titular creature toward the beginning of the film. He went on to appear in Gamera vs. Zigra (1971) as Mr. Yamada, the mustached dolphin trainer at Kamogawa Sea World.

Junichiro Yamashita. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

After I met Minatsu-san, I was also privileged to meet Junichiro Yamashita. Yamashita-san stars in Gammera the Invincible as  Aoyagi and Daimajin Strikes Again (1966) as Shohachi. He also appears in Zatoichi's Cane Sword (1967).

The meetings were pretty brief, as the actors had many other attendees with whom to mingle. But as someone who's enjoyed the Showa Gamera series almost as long as the Godzilla series, it was wonderful to meet two Daiei stars who were always quite recognizable to me.

GAMERA AND DAIMJIN TAKE CHOFU STATION! Daiei Characters Rule the Railway!

Gamera gets his rematch against Guiron at Chofu Station! Photo by Brett Homenick.

There's a lot of movie history near Chofu Station, as Nikkatsu and Daiei (now Kadokawa Daiei) movie studios have operated nearby for decades. Chofu Station has embraced this heritage by giving itself a movie theme. Best of all, silhouette figures of Daimajin, Gamera, and Gamera's greatest foes adorn the station near the ticket gates! How cool is that? Check it out for yourself!

DAY OF DAIEI! Meeting Several Actors from the House of Gamera!

With actress Yukie Kagawa and actor Sadafumi Kawahara, who both acted in Gamera films at Daiei Studios.

Yesterday I had a wonderful interview with actress Yukie Kagawa, who was in Gamera vs. Barugon (1966), Gamera vs. Gyoas (1967), Cruel Ghost Legend (1968), Curse of the Snake Woman (1968), Horrors of the Malformed Men (1969), Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972), Toei's Spider-Man TV series (1978-79), Solar Squadron Sun Vulcan (1981-82). Joining her was former actor Sadafumi Kawahara, who himself appeared in Gamera vs. Barugon and Gamera vs. Gyaos.

Kagawa-san was extremely friendly and gave some great answers to the questions about her career. Stay tuned for more information on that interview very soon!

 Posing with former Daiei Studios actress Kikuko Nishikawa in Chiba, Japan.

Later that evening, I got to meet retired Daiei Studios actress Kikuko Nishikawa, whose best known credit is Yasuzo Musumura's Kisses (1957). Nishikawa-san was likewise very friendly and was surprised to see an American who knew so much about Japanese film. She told me (more than once) that I should be a commentator on TV about Japanese movies. If only that could be the case!

Also at the dinner was Ulf Otsuki, who is always a blast hang out with. Ulf-san was very instrumental in the events of the day, and I will always be grateful for his help.