Eizo Yamagiwa, Director of Various Ultra-Shows, Passes Away at 92

Eizo Yamagiwa in July 2022. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Longtime Ultra-series director Eizo Yamagiwa passed away on November 28 at a Tokyo hospital from sepsis due to old age. A private funeral has already been held. He was 92. 

Born on July 22, 1932, Eizo Yamagiwa began his career in the film industry at Shintoho in the mid-1950s as an assistant director. During his time at the studio, he worked on the seventh entry in the Starman film series, Super Giant: The Space Mutant Appears (1958), which was one of the three Starman features that was eventually edited into the American release Evil Brain from Outer Space. 

Ultra-series alumni Shozo Uehara (left), Toshihiro Iijima (center), and Eizo Yamagiwa enjoy a chat in March 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Yamagiwa-san also worked as an assistant director under Teruo Ishii at Shintoho before launching his career as a director of film and television. At Tsuburaya Productions, Yamagiwa-san directed episodes 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 28, 29, 34, and 35 of Return of Ultraman (1971-72), episodes 3, 4, 9, 10, 15, 16, 21, 22, 28, 29, 38, and 39 of Ultraman Ace (1972-73), episodes 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 14, 20, 21, 24, 25, 39, 40, 47, 48 (as well as episode 28 as special effects director) of Ultraman Taro (1973-74), and episodes 50 and 51 of Ultraman Leo (1974-75).

Mitsuhiro Sano, Keiji Takamine, Eizo Yamagiwa, and Shigemitsu Taguchi gather at an Ultraman Ace reunion in February 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

He also helmed episodes 3, 4, 14, and 15 of Silver Kamen (1971-72), episode 4 of Horror Theater Unbalance (1973), episodes 11 and 13 (as well as episode 11 as co-scriptwriter with Ei Ogawa) of Jekyll and Hyde (1973), and episodes 8, 9, 16, and 17 of the Submersion of Japan TV series (1974-75).

I first met Yamagiwa-san in March 2016 at a book-launch party for an Ultra Q (1966) tome. There were numerous luminaries in attendance from the world of tokusatsu, and Yamagiwa-san was among them. Even though I didn't know who he was at the time, Yamagiwa-san seemed surprised that an American was at the event, so he approached me. He gave me his business card, and, bowled over that he would come up and introduce himself to me, I asked that we take a picture together. Of course, it didn't take long for me to become familiar with Yamagiwa-san's work.

Eizo Yamagiwa in February 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Over the years, we met several times at events and a couple of times on a personal level. In fact, a month after we first met, we went to a Chinese restaurant in Shibuya together and ate dinner. At that dinner, Yamagiwa-san signed and gave me a book about Return of Ultraman in which he participated as an interviewee. We also talked about various movies from around the world we enjoyed. One title I recall that Yamagiwa-san cited was 8 1/2 (1963). However, when I mentioned Ed Wood (1994), another movie about moviemaking, he wasn't familiar with it, which was to be expected.

Shigemitsu Taguchi (left), Eizo Yamagiwa (center), and Akihiko Iguchi gather to discuss their work on the '70s Ultra-series in November 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

As Yamagiwa-san got older, however, it became more and more difficult to meet up. I'd still catch him at an event here and there, but, when I would call him, we couldn't seem to get our schedules to match.

Eizo Yamagiwa interviewed at his home in November 2020. Photo by Brett Homenick.

In 2020, I began doing interviews again in a big way, and I was pleased that Yamagiwa-san agreed to do one with me. In fact, in the beginning, he wasn't sure he would participate at all. I guess he felt he'd given enough interviews on his work in the Ultra-series and wasn't too keen on doing any more. So he wanted to see a sample of the questions I wanted to ask before accepting.

With Eizo Yamagiwa in June 2018.

My translator mailed him the translated version of my questions, which covered a wide variety of topics, including his early life and his work at Shintoho, with the Starman series. It was apparently enough to get him to agree to the interview, as we conducted it just a few weeks later.

Eizo Yamagiwa next to his bookshelf in November 2020. Photo by Brett Homenick.

We did the interview at Yamagiwa-san's home in Eifuku. It was a fascinating history, and I'm very glad he shared it with me. I was especially interested in hearing about his work on the Starman series. In fact, after the interview, I told Yamagiwa-san how I first saw clips of the Starman movies on the old Muppet Babies cartoon show in America. I wanted to point out how the Starman movies became part of American pop culture in surprising ways. His reaction? I'll do my best at an exact quote from memory: "If that had been Japan, I would have tried to sue them." I guess my anecdote didn't go over very well.

Ultra-series veterans Susumu Kurobe (left), Mitsuko Hoshi (center), and Eizo Yamagiwa share the stage in June 2018. Photo by Brett Homenick.

My other memory from the interview is that Yamagiwa-san wanted his photo taken next to his bookshelf so that people could see his collection. I guess he was quite proud of it!

I last saw Yamagiwa-san at an event in July 2022. It was great to see him again there, and I finally was able to get him to sign something Starman-related. I had a DVD sleeve made from cardstock from an old Mill Creek 50-movie pack that included Evil Brain from Outer Space. I brought it for Yamagiwa-san to sign, and I told him it was the U.S. version of the Starman movie he worked on. I remember he did a great job of reading the U.S. title out loud from the DVD sleeve, which was fun to see.

After the event, I bumped into him again by chance as he was getting into a taxi as he was leaving. I said goodbye to him again as he entered the vehicle to go home. Little did I know I'd never see him in person again.

With Eizo Yamagiwa in November 2020.

To the best of my memory, I called him in May 2023, asking to meet up. He told me he was too old, so he had to decline my request. When I knew I was leaving Japan, I asked a mutual friend to try to arrange a meeting, hoping he would have better luck, but that didn't work, either. I wish I could have met him again before I left.

With Eizo Yamagiwa in July 2022.

Rest in peace, director. Your legacy in film lives on.

Ultraman Jack Celebrates the Year That Was 2023!

Kaiju Sakaba in Shimbashi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

 

Last night (Friday, December 22), I attended another end-of-the-year party, but this time it was at Kaiju Sakaba near Shimbashi Station. It'd been a long time since I last went to Kaiju Sakaba, which made it a bit more special as a location. 

Photo by Brett Homenick.

I'd forgotten about the Roman Holiday-inspired Jamila display that lights up and roars when you put your hand in it. It's something the staff basically forces you to put your hand in before you enter. 

Gomora is ready to party! Photo by Brett Homenick.

The guest of honor was suit actor Eiichi Kikuchi. Kikuchi-san is principally known as Ultraman Jack's suit actor in Return of Ultraman (1971-72). He also donned the Ultra Seven suit in Ultra Seven (1967-68) for two episodes (14 and 15) and tussles with Sean Connery in the classic James Bond thriller You Only Live Twice (1967).

Photo by Brett Homenick.

It was a lot of fun to see Kikuchi-san again. His clothing style that evening suggested that of a cowboy. In fact, he was wearing a belt buckle that read something along the lines of, "In Dixie, we don't call 911." I asked Kikuchi-san where he bought his belt, and, interestingly enough, he said he got it in Japan!

Eiichi Kikuchi and an old friend. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Underneath his flannel shirt, however, was a T-shirt he wore in honor of Jiro Dan, the late actor who played Hideki Go, Ultraman Jack's human alter ego in Return of Ultraman, who passed away in March of this year. 

Photo by Brett Homenick.

Here are some memories from the evening: At one point during the evening, I made the Specium Ray pose, but Kikuchi-san corrected the position of my arms, pointing out that it would have obscured the Color Timer. Well, folks, that's why he's Ultraman!

Photo by Brett Homenick.

Another fun memory was when Kikuchi-san (whom I had the privilege of sitting almost directly across from during the evening) was coming back to his seat. He put his hand on my shoulder as he passed my chair, which was a lovely thing for him to do. 

Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also on hand was former Toho SFX crew member and tokusatsu book author Masahiko Shiraishi, who worked primarily on the Heisei series, starting with Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) and culminating with Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). 

It'd been a while since I last saw Shiraishi-san, and our conversation covered such topics as MGM musicals (Shiraishi-san loves them!) and Fred Astaire movies (he loves those, too!). 

During the evening, I asked Shiraishi-san if he considers Chofu (the home of Daiei and Nikkatsu) or Seijo (the home of Toho) to be Japan's equivalent of Hollywood. He selected neither of those options and went with Kyoto instead. A very fascinating and unexpected answer! I hadn't considered Kyoto a possibility before, but, at least in the context of its Showa-era heyday, it ought to be in the running.

Masahiko Shiraishi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

There were other familiar faces on hand, such as Yutaka Arai, who has worked as an SFX director on independent kaiju eiga. It was great to say hello to several folks I hadn't seen in a while.

What a wonderful end-of-the-year celebration this was. Everyone was in the holiday spirit and had a fun time. I'm glad I went and, as always, can't wait to do it again!

A Fun Birthday Celebration with Ultraman Jack!

Eiichi Kikuchi poses with two of his alter egos. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On the evening of Friday, August 18, I joined a birthday celebration for suit actor Eiichi Kikuchi, best known for portraying Ultraman Jack in Return of Ultraman (1971-72), as well as Ultra Seven in episodes 14 and 15 of Ultra Seven (1967-68). Kikuchi-san was born on August 21, 1942, so we were a bit early with the celebration, but the timing worked out well for all attendees.

Suffice it to say, Kikuchi-san was in great spirits, and I don't think I've ever seen him so animated at such a gathering before. He was making jokes and having fun the entire evening, which was wonderful to see. Hard to believe he was on the cusp of turning 81!

Kikuchi-san even poured drinks for some of the attendees, who were in awe of the fact that Ultra Seven and Ultraman Jack was giving them such an honor. When I jokingly offered my glass (I'm a lifelong teetotaler, to say nothing of the fact that my glass was the wrong type to be receiving such an alcoholic beverage), he was amused and said I'd make a good manzai partner for him. Now that's what I call an honor!

Later on in the evening, when Kikuchi-san was demonstrating an action scene, he stopped suddenly in the middle of his demonstration to ask me how to say "action" in English. It was another memorable moment from the evening. 

Kikuchi-san passed around some memorabilia from his collection, including a photo album of pictures he took on the set of Ultraman Mebius (2006-07) when he made a guest appearance on the show.

When we were all heading back to the train station, Kikuchi-san asked me how old I was, and, when I told him, he seemed surprised and responded that I was young. All I can say is, I hope to be as young as Kikuchi-san is when I reach his age.

What a fun celebration. I'd never seen Kikuchi-san happier, which in turn made me over the moon for him. Below are just some of the snapshots I took. I think his enthusiasm comes across quite well in them.

Ultraman Jack Warms Up a Cold January Evening in Style!

With Atsushi Hagiwara.

Tonight, Friday, January 20, I attended a special event featuring two special guests -- Return of Ultraman (1971-72) suit actor Eiichi Kikuchi and Toho modelmaker Atsushi Hagiwara. Due to my work schedule, I arrived later than almost everyone else (as usual), but that certainly didn't stop me from enjoying myself.

Eiichi Kikuchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

As luck would have it, I was seated in between Hagiwara-san and Kikuchi-san. Hagiwara-san brought several photo albums featuring his modeling work (as well as that of his colleagues) on the Toho sci-fi epic Sayonara Jupiter (1984). There were some doubles among one of the photo albums, so Hagiwara-san surprisingly gave me the extras as a gift. I certainly wasn't expecting that, but it was nice to receive!

He also told me an interesting story about his younger brother, Akira, who also worked as a modelmaker on various Toho movies. Akira used Atsushi's home phone number (at the time) to put on the number plate of one of the High-Power Laser Beam Vehicles seen in Godzilla 1985 (1984). Now there's an in-joke I don't think any of us knew about!

Eiichi Kikuchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also on hand was suit actor Eiichi Kikuchi, who showed attendees several collages with various photos from his suit-acting career, as well as more recent photos with other suit actors and assorted luminaries from the world of tokusatsu. Kikuchi-san was in great spirits, and I was happy to share a couple of fist bumps with him. He also seemed happy to try out a bit of English, which of course I'd always encourage him to try.

After posing for the above photo, I asked Kikuchi-san to sign a shikishi board for a friend of mine, which he gladly did. Kikuchi-san went above and beyond to give my friend an elaborate autograph, which I'm sure will please my buddy. 

I expected to have a lot of fun, but this exceeded my expectations. Can't wait to do it again!

An Evening with One of Tokusatsu's Most Prolific Scriptwriters!

Shigemitsu Taguchi with a LaserDisc of the anime feature The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (1982). Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier today, I attended a special event headlined by tokusatsu scriptwriter Shigemitsu Taguchi. I've met Taguchi-san many times over the year, but, since the pandemic, my chances to see him have been few and far between. I had a chance to meet him last December, but our talk was much shorter than I'd hoped. So this was a great opportunity to spend more time with him.

Among other series, Taguchi-san has written for Return of Ultraman (1971-72), Mirrorman (1971-72), Ultraman Ace (1972-73), Jumborg Ace (1973), Ultraman Taro (1973-74), and Ultraman Leo (1974-75). Of course, he has written for many other TV programs, including anime, but his tokusatsu connections are extensive.

Shigemitsu Taguchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Taguchi-san, as always, was a lot of fun to see. At first, I asked him about his adorable dog Stella, but of course I wanted to ask him about various tokusatsu topics. He hasn't seen Shin Ultraman (2022) or even Shin Godzilla (2016). He described director Eizo Yamagiwa as a "gentleman," and, when I asked him about the strictest director at Tsuburaya Productions, he talked about the detailed shots that Akio Jissoji would set up and how Jissoji liked doing close-ups. He also greatly admires the kaiju designs of Tohl Narita. Moreover, Taguchi-san was worried because I wasn't eating, so he offered me some of his pasta. It was very kind of him, but I just wasn't hungry!

Taguchi-san was a bit surprised to see me at the event and asked how I found out about it. Of course, I keep my eyes peeled for any event with cool guests, even if the event itself doesn't have a tokusatsu theme. So, when I saw that Taguchi-san would be attending, that was good enough for me. He then asked me if I took the train to attend, which of course I did. 

Taguchi-san, on the other hand, explained that a driver would be taking him home -- very lucky! I also told Taguchi-san about my neighborhood, but, right after that, the event wrapped. It was great to visit Taguchi-san again, who is also very much a gentleman.

A Special 'Ultraman Ace' 50th Anniversary Event in Tokyo!

Shunichi Okita. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Sunday, July 3, I attended a special book-launch event for a new tome chronicling the history of Ultraman Ace (1972-73), which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

One of the guests on hand was Shunichi Okita. Okita-san portrayed TAC member Ichiro Yamanaka in Ultraman Ace, but, prior to his signature role, Okita-san began as a Nikkatsu actor. He appears in the highly acclaimed crime thriller Tokyo Drifter (1966) and later appeared in a couple of Kihachi Okamoto films at Toho: Red Lion (1969) and Battle of Okinawa (1971). It had been years since I last saw Okita-san, so it was great to see him again.

Eizo Yamagiwa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Another great guest was Tsuburaya Productions director Eizo Yamagiwa. Earlier in his career at Shintoho, Yamagiwa-san worked on the seventh Starman actioner, Super Giant: The Space Mutant Appears (1958), which was later edited into the cult classic Evil Brain from Outer Space. At the end of the 1960s, Yamagiwa-san joined Tsuburaya Productions as a director, helming such TV programs as Return of Ultraman (1971-72), Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Taro (1973-74), and Ultraman Leo (1974-75), among others. He also directed episodes of Silver Kamen (1971-72) and the Submersion of Japan TV series (1974-75).

I brought a DVD sleeve from the Tales of Terror Mill Creek Entertainment 50-movie pack that had Evil Brain from Outer Space for Yamagiwa-san to sign. I explained that it was the American version of the Starman movie he worked on, and he read out the title of the movie in English. 

Eiichi Kikuchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

A surprise guest was Eiichi Kikuchi, who is principally known as Ultraman Jack's suit actor in Return of Ultraman. Kikuchi-san also donned the Ultra Seven suit in Ultra Seven (1967-68) for two episodes (14 and 15). He also tussles with Sean Connery in You Only Live Twice (1967).

As you can see, he loves striking various Ultra-poses for the gathered paparazzi!

There were also some cool items on display, like Okita-san's TAC uniform from Ultraman Ace.

Various scripts from the show were on display, too.

In the end, though, hanging out is what it's all about! That's the highlight of any such event for me, and I think these photos demonstrate that very well.

I was especially happy to see Yamagiwa-san doing well. He turns 90 years old later this month!

Yes, I'd say the guests had a great time...

... by looking at these photos.

 And that's all for now. See you next time!