Fumio Ishimori, Writer of 'Kamen Rider,' 'Zone Fighter,' and 'Ultraman Ace,' Passes Away at 93

Fumio Ishmimori with a Zone Fighter DVD in April 2017. Photo by Brett Homenick.

According to his official Facebook page, screenwriter Fumio Ishimori (sometimes credited as Shiro Ishimori) passed away on June 9. He was 93.

Born on July 31, 1931, Mr. Ishimori began his screenwriting career in the early 1960s, primarily working for Nikkatsu Studios during most of the 1960s, before transitioning to Shochiku before the end of the decade.

With Fumio Ishimori in April 2017.

In total, Mr. Ishimori wrote more than 70 movie screenplays, penning the scripts for the films Fearless Comrades (1966), A Warm Misty Night (1967), Toshio Masuda’s Monument to the Girl’s Corps (1968), The Rendezvous (1972), Journey into Solitude (1972), Toho’s Horror of the Wolf (1973), Galaxy Express 999 (1979), and Nobuhiko Obayashi’s The Rocking Horsemen (1992).

Fumio Ishimori stands outside a theater in Asakusa where a play he had written was performed in September 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

In terms of TV tokusatsu, he wrote Kamen Rider (1971-73) episodes 47, 50, 76, 83, 89, and 90, Ultraman Ace (1972-73) episodes 37 and 44, and Zone Fighter (1973) episode 20 (under the pen name Shiro Ishimori).

But his tokusatsu connections run even deeper — his maternal cousin was famed manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. 

Fumio Ishimori in Asakusa after his play was performed in January 2020. Photo by Brett Homenick.

In November 2020, I had the distinct privilege of interviewing Mr. Ishimori about his prolific screenwriting career. I had come to respect and admire Mr. Ishimori since our first meeting in early 2016 that I was determined to share his story in English with the rest of the world. Mr. Ishimori was, without a doubt, one of the kindest gentlemen I met while I was in Japan. 

With Fumio Ishimori in October 2020.

As he got older, he became much less active, and I never met him again after we completed our interview. Mr. Ishimori stopped going out, although he continued to offer screenwriting lectures via Zoom. I wanted to meet him one last time before leaving Japan, but it was sadly not to be. I'm pleased that I was able to record Mr. Ishimori's screenwriting memories in my interview with him.

Rest in peace, Ishimori-sensei. Thank you for your kindness.

THE NAGASAWA FILTRATION PLANT REVISITED! A Filming Location for Many Tokusatsu Productions!

The Nagasawa Filtration Plant. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today (Tuesday, March 19), I braved heavy winds to pay another visit to the Nagasawa Filtration Plant (a.k.a. the Nagasawa Purification Plant) in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. This particular building was used as a filming location for countless tokusatsu movies and TV programs dating back to the early 1960s.

Among other titles, it has been featured in Invasion of the Neptune Men (1961), Gorath (1962), episode 2 of Ultraman (1966-67), the Super Sentai series, and perhaps most famously as Jounan University's Institute of Biochemistry in Kamen Rider (1971-73).

I last visited the plant back in March 2016. Hard to believe it's been eight years, but there you go. At any rate, I clearly remember that you aren't allowed to get too close to the building without prior approval (such as joining an official tour of the facility), so I made sure to stay outside the gate. 

Still, as tokusatsu buffs, we're more concerned with the outside of the building than the inside since that's what we saw in our favorite flicks. It was great to see the plant again after so long. It isn't exactly the easiest spot to visit since it's quite far from any train station, which is the main reason it's taken me so long to return, but it's well worth seeing if you have the chance. Here are my snapshots from earlier today. Enjoy! 

From VFX Master to 'Monster Hunter' Director!

Shuichi Kokumai. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier tonight (Sunday, January 7), I attended an event with SFX and VFX specialist Shuichi Kokumai. Kukumai-san was promoting his new film If My Girlfriend Were a Monster Hunter... (2022), which he wrote and directed.

Shuichi Kokumai with members of his cast. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Kokumai-san has worked in practical and digital effects/VFX since the 1980s, working on such Toei TV programs as Kamen Rider Black (1987-88) and Kamen Rider Black RX (1988-89). He also worked in practical effects in such feature films as Rex: A Dinosaur's Story (1993), Kamen Rider ZO (1993), Kamen Rider J (1994), and Mechanical Violator Hakaider (1995).

In more recent years, Kokumai-san has worked in VFX, including Rebirth of Mothra III (1998), Godzilla 2000 (1999), Godzilla against Mechagodzilla (2002), and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). He has also worked on countless Kamen Rider and Super Sentai projects in VFX, on top of being a director of low-budget movies.

The venue advertised that Eiichi Asada would also be on hand, which he wasn't, so I was pretty disappointed. To be honest, Asada-san was the main reason I came, and, when I realized he wasn't there, I was a bit perplexed as to what I was going to do at the event, especially since so much of it revolved around Kokumai-san's new movie, which I haven't seen. It was still worthwhile to meet a member of the Godzilla series VFX staff whom I'd never met before, but the event could have been much better with Asada-san on hand. Too bad.

What Happened When a Kamen Rider and a Toho SFX Director Crossed Paths!

Masato Uchiyama. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight (Saturday, April 29), I attended a special event -- one that boasted a familiar guest as well as a brand-new one for me. The new guest was Masato Uchiyama. Uchiyama-san's credits include playing Ren Senju on Ultraman Nexus (2004-05), Katsuhiro Kumagai on episode 11 of Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy (2004), and Yoshio Kobayashi (Rabbit Orphnoch) on Kamen Rider 555 (2003-04). His best-known role, however, would have to be that of Shun Kageyama (Kamen Rider PunchHopper) in Kamen Rider Kabuto (2006-07), Kamen Rider Decade (2009), and Kamen Rider Zi-O (2018-19). 

Masato Uchiyama strikes a pose with Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

It's not often that I meet guests who are actually younger than I am, but that's the case with Uchiyama-san. He was quite friendly, but, due to my lack of familiarity with his work, it was a bit difficult to come up with things to say. Thankfully, a group of about four young women (who looked like they came straight from Harajuku) were on hand, attracted by the opportunity to meet Uchiyama-san, and did the talking for me. One young lady even brought out a few Kamen Rider toys for the occasion. It was a rare sight at a tokusatsu event, but I guess Uchiyama-san has that kind of fanbase. 

Masato Uchiyama and Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I did talk quite a bit with Uchiyama-san's colleague (and assistant) who was there at the event with him. She told me she isn't an actress or even Uchiyama-san's manager; she just works at the same company as Uchiyama-san and was there to assist him. She also told me a bit about of her own background, as well as Uchiyama-san's current projects. 

With Masato Uchiyama.

The most fun at the event, however, was definitely Eiichi Asada. I showed up to the event quite late, and, when I arrived, Asada-san was standing outside by himself on a smoke break. We engaged in a bit of small talk, and Asada-san was a bit concerned that I might be a bit cold because I wasn't wearing a coat. I assured him I was fine (which I most assuredly was), despite the cold weather. During the event, Asada-san told Uchiyama-san's group of admirers about me, pointing out to them that I was single. I had a bit of fun with that (telling the young ladies the reason I'm single is that I play for the other team), to which Asada-san jokingly got exasperated. It's kind of amusing when a Toho SFX director tries to play matchmaker for you.

With Eiichi Asada.

Asada-san left the event a bit sooner than I did, so you can imagine my surprise when I heard someone call my name when I was about to get on the elevator at the train station. It was Asada-san (who was with another person from the event), and we all went up the elevator together. I was holding a flyer for the recent soundtrack release for the Ken Takakura film Station (1981), which Asada-san pointed out was a good film. Actress Chieko Baisho was on the flyer, and I mentioned that she was married to the composer of Godzilla 1985 (1984), of which Asada-san wasn't aware. He then told me I knew a lot about these movies, which I guess after all this time I kind of do. 

We went out separate ways at the next station. What a fun event! Even though I wasn't sure I would attend, I'm glad I did. Bring on the next one!

A Night of Tokusatsu!

Hironobu Hagimae and Takashi Naganuma. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight (Sunday, March 19), I attended another tokusatsu event headlined by two familiar faces: Toho SFX crew member Takashi Naganuma and motorcycle stuntman Hironobu Hagimae.

Takashi Naganuma. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I spent most of the evening with Naganuma-san, who told me he enjoys seeing my reactions to his jokes and wordplay. Well, his jokes are always full of surprises, so I'm sure my reactions are as interesting as he says. Once again, there was very little tokusatsu talk; it was mostly about other things, especially about language (both Japanese and English).

Tonight was one of the few times I accompanied Naganuma-san outside for his smoke break (along with another attendee). After the show, the three of us walked back to the station together. They asked me if I wanted to join them for coffee, but I elected to go home instead. It was fun, but I was pretty exhausted.

Hironobu Hagimae. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Stuntman Hironobu Hagimae was also on hand. I overheard his answer to someone else's question about retakes of motorcycle stunts with explosions. He said that there usually would be and that there could be as many as four takes sometimes. So it wasn't always just a one and done. 

I didn't have much of a chance to talk to Hagimae-san this time. But I did learn that he had some involvement with the motorcycle stunts in The Last Days of Planet Earth (a.k.a. Prophecies of Nostradamus, 1974). Gotta find out more about that someday!

It was another fun, informal event, and I look forward to doing it again soon!

GO, GO, LET'S GO! More Photos from the Kamen Rider 50 Years Exhibition!

Bad guys at a Kamen Rider event? What a SHOCKER! Photo by Brett Homenick.

Here are even more photos I took today at the Kamen Rider 50 Years Exhibition. There was just too much to fit into one blog post. Enjoy!

GO, GO, LET'S GO! Visiting the Kamen Rider 50 Years Exhibition!

Signage for the Kamen Rider 50 Years Exhibition. Photo by Brett Homenick.

 Earlier today, Friday, January 13, I visited the Kamen Rider 50 Years Exhibition currently taking place in Sunshine City, Ikebukuro. The exhibit, which runs from December 23 through January 15, covers the entire history of the Kamen Rider franchise and features actual props from the various series, as well as replica suits of the numerous heroes and villains. A picture's worth a thousand words, so let's get to the photos!