A Trip to Kaiju Paradise!

With Tomoo Haraguchi and some of his incredible props.

On Wednesday, November 4, I was privileged to visit the kaiju bar owned and operated by Tomoo Haraguchi, the director of such tokusatsu movies as Mikadroid (1991), Sakuya: Slayer of Demons (2000), and Death Kappa (2010). Among many other credits, he was a modeler for all three Heisei Gamera movies, as well as Gamera the Brave (2006). 

Angilas' 1968 carapace. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I'd heard about the bar for years but never had a chance to visit until last night. A couple of weeks ago, I made my reservation directly with Haraguchi-san and brought my friend Jacob with me. It was amazing to see all the props on hand.

Haraguchi-san gave us full permission to photograph any items in the bar proper. The stuff on display would be enough to make it a tokusatsu museum in its own right. The original Jet Jaguar flying prop from Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), Angilas' carapace from Destroy All Monsters (1968), which was also used through Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), the English-language newspaper front page from War of the Gargantuas (1966), the photo of Akiko Wakabayashi from Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964), a Return of Ultraman (1971-72) flying prop, and so much more.

In all, we spent about two and a half hours at his bar. Since the establishment is technically closed, Haraguchi-san made an exception and opened it just for us. As a result, the three of us spent the evening hanging out together. Now how's that for hospitality?

With a Return of Ultraman flying prop.

Haraguchi-san talked about a variety of subjects, revealing that he worked on the suits as an unpaid volunteer on Godzilla vs. Megalon when he was 12 years old. Of course, he did it just for fun, so money was of no concern to him at the time. His first paid gigs in the business were a bit later in the '70s. 

The Jet Jaguar flying prop from Godzilla vs. Megalon. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I was especially fascinated to learn that Haraguchi-san loves pretty much all the Showa-era Godzilla movies. I suppose, because his style seems so contemporary, I expected him to be more captivated by modern movies. Of course, he's also into Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen flicks, as well as movies with Rick Baker SFX. 

When it was all said and done, Haraguchi-san refused to be paid. We were both surprised and insisted we pay, but Haraguchi-san would not accept any money. He said it was fun, so no money was required. I can't tell you how grateful I felt, and I did my best to express that sentiment to Haraguchi-san. Suffice it to say, you just don't see that spirit very much anymore.

Many thanks to Haraguchi-san for the wonderful evening! Please enjoy the rest of the photos.

Dichard Nixon back again! The newspaper front page from War of the Gargantuas. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The story reads: "The fishermen fled in terror from the scene as if pursued by the devil." Hey, Gaira isn't the devil! Fake news! Photo by Brett Homenick.

A newspaper from King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962). Photo by Brett Homenick.

Akiko Wakabayashi from Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster. Photo by Brett Homenick.

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.