Keizo Murase, Legendary Kaiju Suitmaker, Passes Away at 89

Keizo Murase in October 2020. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Longtime kaiju suitmaker Keizo Murase passed away on October 14 at 8:21 p.m. at the age of 89. According to news reports, the cause of death was decompensated cirrhosis of the liver. 

Keizo Murase poses with an old friend in April 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Murase-san's credits in the word of tokusatsu as a suitmaker are second to none. But I'll let the master himself tell his own story in my interviews with him, which can be read here and here. Those Q&As tell Murase-san's story better than I possibly could in this blog post.

Keizo Murase in March 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

To the best of my knowledge, I first met Murase-san at an event in May 2013. I subsequently met Murase-san in and around Tokyo numerous times and enjoyed interviewing him at his company more than once.

Keizo Murase chats with kaiju beam animator Sadao Iizuka in March 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

While I wasn't as close to him as I was with other Godzilla series alumni (as I recall, we spoke on the phone only once, and I received a New Year's greeting card from his company once or twice), I always enjoyed his friendly presence at the events his attended.

Keizo Murase poses with Ultra-series director Toshihiro Iijima in March 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

When I first interviewed him in April 2018, I remember he essentially showered me with gifts, presenting me with a Cast Co. bromide card set with photos from his career, as well as a copy of his book. It was a gesture I've always remembered and appreciated.

Keizo Murase in March 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

After the interview, which was held in Murase-san's workshop way out in Mizuho, Tokyo, I still had to teach a group lesson on the 10th floor of the Shinjuku Sumitomo Building (the same structure Godzilla crashes into after his first encounter with the Super X) that evening. Murase-san, who picked my translator and me from the nearby train station in his car, drove us back to the station when we were finished. Miraculously, I somehow made it to the lesson literally in the nick of time. Had I arrived even a minute later, I would have been late. It still amazes me how perfect the timing was, given the distances (and various modes of transportation) involved. 

Keizo Murase at his workshop in February 2024. Photo by Brett Homenick.

My last encounter with Murase-san was in February of this year, just before I left Japan. I visited his workshop one more time to interview him again about his career. Even after the third interview, I still didn't get to cover all the topics I would have liked, but I was and still am grateful to have had the opportunity. The interview probably won't be published for quite a while (I have a massive backlog), but I look forward to getting it published sometime in the future.

With Keizo Murase in February 2024.

When I visited Murase-san that day, he was riding high on the fact that he had been selected to receive a special award at the Japanese Academy Film Prize on March 8 for his contributions to Japanese cinema. The timing of that award was impeccable, and I'm proud that Murase-san was able to receive such a prestigious accolade in his lifetime.

With Keizo Murase in March 2016.

While we were taking photos after the interview in February, Murase-san grabbed his phone and asked his son to take a picture of the two of us together. I've said it before, but it's always cool when a VIP asks to take a photo with you. 

With Keizo Murase in October 2020.

Murase-san created some of the most fantastic images of my childhood, and it was my privilege that I was able to spend some precious moments in his company. Rest in peace, Murase-san. 

Congratulating a Kaiju Movie Veteran for His Special Award!

Keizo Murase poses with a congratulatory bouquet. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today (Wednesday, February 7), I paid a visit to legendary kaiju suitmaker Keizo Murase at Twenty, where many kaiju and other such characters are created. Murase-san will be presented with a special award at the Japanese Academy Film Prize on March 8 for his contributions to Japanese cinema.

The journey out to Murase-san's office was a long one. Even though it's technically based in Tokyo, it's about as far from central Tokyo as you can get without actually entering a different prefecture! But the trip was well worth the effort, as it's always a joy to spend time in the company of one of Japan's suitmaking pioneers.

Overall, I was at the office was a little over two hours. I also got to meet Murase-san's son, Naoto, who also works at the company. Naoto-san told me that his first work was on Legend of the Eight Samurai (1983) and talked about working on Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) and Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992). It was fascinating stuff!

While we were taking the above photos, Murase-san grabbed his phone and asked Naoto-san to take a photo of the two of us together. I've said it before, but it's always cool when a VIP asks to take a photo with you! In addition, since I no longer have any business cards to give out, I wrote my contact info in Murase-san's address book. It's the small things like that that really leave an impression on me.

Congratulations to Murase-san's much-deserved Japanese Academy Film Prize award!

Seeing 'Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster' in 35mm!

Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964) at Ikebukuro Humax Cinemas. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

On Friday, September 29, I attended a special screening of Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964) in 35mm at Ikebukuro Humax Cinemas. It was, as you'd expect, part of the promotional push for the upcoming Godzilla Minus One, which comes out in just over a month from now on November 3. 

In fact, Minus One director Takashi Yamazaki was on hand for the festivities. Director Yamazaki was joined by kaiju suitmaker Keizo Murase, who was assisted by Daisuke Sato. Murase-san shared his memories of working with Eiji Tsuburaya, as well as working on the suit for King Ghidorah.

Photographs of the guests weren't allowed, so you'll just have to take my word for it that they were there. After their Q&A, Ghidrah was screened to a packed house. To be honest, I was surprised at how many people showed up for the screening.

The print was in overall pretty good shape, although a few flaws were evident. The biggest one I noticed was a jump at the end of the opening credits. Otherwise, however, I was more than satisfied with it. And how cool was it to watch the movie on such an enormous screen.

One fun detail I noticed is that Shigeo Kato can be spotted as an extra in the Ueno Park scene when Akiko Wakabayashi is getting heckled for claiming to be a Venusian. Kato-san, of course, has a couple of lines a bit later in the film when he plays a tourist on Mount Aso just before Rodan appears. (In the English version, he's the one who quips, "Well, that's goodbye hat!"

One other slightly interesting note is that the "monster talk" scene elicited a few guffaws from the audience, who were otherwise silent during the screening. Obviously, that part of the movie is quite silly, so a reaction like that is to be expected, but I thought I'd point it out here. (Interestingly, when I saw Ghidrah screened at a theater in the L.A. in the summer of 1998, I don't recall any laughter during that scene. That L.A. audience was actually rather well behaved, which was a pleasant surprise to me at the time.)

Overall, a fun evening at the movies. Well, I've seen many Godzilla movies in theaters during my years in Japan, it's not all that common to see them projected on a screen of this size, so I welcome any opportunity I can get. Let's do it again!

Sadao Iizuka, the Animator of Godzilla's Ray, Passes Away at 88

Sadao Iizuka in May 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

 

The Anime Tokusatsu Archive Centre (ATAC) has announced today that legendary tokusatsu animator Sadao Iizuka, who animated the beams of Godzilla, King Ghidorah, and Ultraman during the 1960s, passed away on March 24 at 9:10 a.m. due to aspiration pneumonia after being hospitalized in January. He was 88. The news was confirmed by Mr. Iizuka's friend and manager Tabata Kei.

Mr. Iizuka was born on December 26, 1934, and went on to join Toho as a part-time employee in 1954 and worked on Godzilla (1954) in the tokusatsu art department. He would also work on the productions of Godzilla Raids Again (1955), Half Human (1955), and Rodan (1956) in similar capacities until being recruited by Eiji Tsuburaya to work on optical effects for The Mysterians (1957).

Sadao Iizuka in February 2018. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Mr. Iizuka would work tirelessly throughout the 1960s on a variety of effects, including the stop-motion animation used in King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) and the animation used to depict the fiery birth of King Ghidorah in Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964). 

Sadao Iizuka in December 2021. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Mr. Iizuka's beam effects for Godzilla, King Ghidorah, and Ultraman would help define Showa-era tokusatsu, but by the end of the '60s he would go leave Toho and eventually start his own company, Den Film Effect. (Mr. Iizuka's longtime nickname was Den-san.)

Sadao Iizuka with Toho SFX director Teruyoshi Nakano in March 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I was privileged to interview Mr. Iizuka twice about his career in his home. It was only intended to be one session, but Mr. Iizuka had so much to say that we scheduled a second session for a couple of weeks later. Those interviews can be found here and here.

Sadao Iizuka draws Godzilla's beam in December 2021. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Mr. Iizuka was certainly outspoken about his true feelings and opinions, rarely holding back when you asked him what he thought about something. That quality made him one of the more endearing guests you would meet at such events.

Sadao Iizuka in between Tsuburaya Productions director Toshihiro Iijima (left) and kaiju suitmaker Keizo Murase in March 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I first met him in August 2015, and he became one of my favorite folks to meet at events. Even then, he was one of the last remaining individuals who had worked on the original Godzilla and had many memories of working with Eiji Tsuburaya.

Sadao Iizuka poses with Toho SFX director Eiichi Asada in December 2022. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Pre-COVID, he always seemed in great health, especially for his age, and that seemed to be the case when I interviewed him in December 2020 and January 2021. However, when I met him again at an event on December 26, 2021, he seemed noticeably more frail. He seemed the same the last time I would ever see him, Christmas Day 2022. He was scheduled to attend another event in January, which was canceled due to his poor health. 

With Sadao Iizuka in December 2022.

Rest in peace, Iizuka-san.

UPDATE: I'd also like to mention that I was proud that this photo I took was used on Mr. Iizuka's official website for years.

It was truly an honor.

TOKUSATSU SCULPTOR KEIZO MURASE! Monsters Born in Mizuho 2022!

Keizo Murase's Mothra greets visitors to the Mizuho Local Museum Keyakikan. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Just as it did a few years ago, the Mizuho Local Museum Keyakikan is hosting a special exhibition called "Tokusatsu Sculptor Keizo Murase -- Monsters Born in Mizuho 2022." The exhibit features a lot of Murase-san's work, some of which was actually used in tokusatsu films. I visited the exhibit on Wednesday, August 24.

The entrance to the Mizuho Local Museum Keyakikan. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Murase-san's 2019 recreation of the 1992 Mothra (from that year's Godzilla vs. Mothra) greets you as you walk in. There are some other odds and ends in the lobby area, such as Mothra's eye and a Mothra larva crawling around the local area, much as she did during her trek to Tokyo in the original 1961 film. 

Keizo Murase hangs out with his friends Booska and Takora. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Most interesting of all was a gallery in which photography was not allowed. It contained the Mighty Peking Man (1977) mask, a bit of Godzilla's skin from the King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) suit, a recreation of Matango (1963) mushrooms, and a recreation of a King Ghidorah head from Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964).

There were also many cool photos from Murase-san's career, making kaiju suits for Toho and Daiei productions. The exhibit is largely the same as the previous one from a few years ago.

Mizuho is way out west, so it took a while to get there. But the trip was well worth it. It's always cool to see such bits of kaiju film history up close, and even the recreations were fun to see. The staff was very friendly, and I had the exhibit all to myself, which was a big bonus for me. 

That's about all I have to say. I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking for me. Enjoy!

New Content at Vantage Point Interviews!

With Yoshinobu Kaneko in May 2013.

Three new interviews are now up on Vantage Point Interviews. The latest one is my May 2013 interview with former child actor Yoshinobu Kaneko, whom you probably know as the little boy eager to catch of glimpse of Godzilla in King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962). But he's done so much more than that -- even starring in several Taiwanese-made fantasy films!

With Nobuyuki Yasumaru in December 2018.

The next interview is with renowned kaiju suitmaker Nobuyuki Yasumaru. Yasumaru-san goes into great detail to describe the suitmaking process.

With Keizo Murase in April 2019.

And, while we're on the subject of kaiju suitmakers, here's another interview with the legendary Keizo Murase, who describes more of his suitmaking work over the years.

Now you know why content is king at Vantage Point Interviews!

An Evening with a Legendary Monster Maker!

In between Keizo Murase (right) and Daisuke Sato.

Tonight, I was fortunate to attend a special event with legendary Toho suitmaker Keizo Murase. I had the distinct privilege of interviewing Murase-san about his career two years ago.

Keizo Murase. Photo by Brett Homenick.

It had been probably about a year since I last saw Murase-san, and given the pandemic, that's no surprise. It's certainly heartening to see Murase-san and Nakano-san still doing well and attending such public events.

Suffice it to say, it's been a busy weekend, but things will only get busier from here. October is going to feel very much like a pre-pandemic month for me. Let's see if I still have the stamina to keep up!

Keizo Murase: A Special Exhibit of His Kaiju Creations!

Today, I got up bright and early to visit the special Keizo Murase exhibit at the Mizuho-machi Kyodo Shiryokan. Murase-san is a legendary suitmaker who has contributed to a variety of monster movies over the years. On display were a bevy of Murase-san's work -- many were recreations of the originals, but they were a few screen-used items on hand (such as the Titanosaurus head that was on display at the Tokusatsu DNA exhibit). I also attended a Q&A session with Murase-san, which surprisingly enough seemed to focus more on his Mighty Peking Man (1977) contributions than anything else. Anyway, here's just a sample of what I saw.