Some people take the view that nowadays the world is returning to the cold war period. In the cold war period after World War Two, the United States and the Soviet Union were competing to develop nuclear weaponry. In 1962 the Cuban crisis occurred, almost setting off a nuclear war. Japan is the only country in the world that was bombed with nuclear weapons. In 1954, less than ten years since the atomic bomb was dropped, the Japanese film company Toho made the monster movie “Godzilla.” In the Pacific Ocean where hydrogen bomb tests are being repeatedly conducted, an ancient monster, that had been lying dormant at the bottom of the ocean, awakes and before long appears in Tokyo, destroying the town. The efficacy of the music that creates a feeling of impending doom made the movie a huge hit. This movie deals with the fear that mankind might cause its own downfall with nuclear weapons and exposes with scathing irony the foolishness of humans who can’t stop developing nuclear weapons. Together with “Planet of the Apes,” which similarly takes the theme of nuclear weaponry and the folly of humanity, this movie is reputed to be one of the most outstanding masterpieces in this genre. Godzilla is a synthesis of the words gorilla and kujira (whale). It is said that the American film “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” (produced in 1953) had a huge influence on the production of “Godzilla.” In this story a giant monster, revived by an atomic bomb experiment, destroys the streets of New York. As a result of the success of “Godzilla,” it became a film series and after that 27 movies were produced – a few were even produced overseas. The second movie “Godzilla Raids Again” (released in 1955) depicted a monster vs. monster showdown, becoming the standard for subsequent Godzilla movies. The third movie “King Kong vs. Godzilla” (released in 1962) gained an audience of 12.55 million, the highest in the Godzilla movie series, and also became a big hit overseas. “King Kong” (released in 1933) is a giant gorilla monster that appeared in an American movie. In the 1960s the Godzilla movies contributed to Japan’s export revenues. However, the content shifted towards pure entertainment and Godzilla was portrayed as being mankind’s ally. And in consideration of his juvenile audience, Godzilla became reestablished as being people friendly. But, alongside the rise in popularity of television, the audience for Godzilla movies in theater, gradually decreased. As a result the movie series had to be suspended a few times. Continuing on from the very first Godzilla, revival productions have all taken the theme of a crisis for humanity. Movie productions nowadays are made often using CGI, but the majority of movies in the “Godzilla” series were made with tokusatsu (old school special effects). The special effects for Gozilla were done by TSUBURAYA Eiji. Later creating Ultraman and other characters, his name is now synonymous with tokusatsu. For the filming of Godzilla, an actor was placed inside into the Godzilla costume and it’s said that this tradition has been handed down to the present day yuru-kyara mascot boom. On the other hand, Godzilla became the nickname of National Honor Award winning baseball player MATSUI Hideki. (From September issue, 2014 / 2014年9月号より）