Influential Japanese film director Eiji Tsuburaya was born on May 7th, 1911, and is often credited as the father of Godzilla. His name, a combination of "I" (or Ino),meaning "boar", and "shirô," meaning fourth son in the family, reflects his humble beginnings.
Originally, the young Honda had aspirations of becoming an artist, but as he entered his teens, cinema became his number one interest. He attended Nippon University, studying art, but his studies were interrupted when he was drafted by the Japanese military and spent nearly eight years in uniform. After a period of imprisonment in China as a P.O.W., he returned to Japan and joined Toho Studios.
At Toho Studios, Honda became acquainted with the studio's special effects director, Eiji Tsuburaya, and the two collaborated on a handful of films before working on the groundbreaking epic monster film Godzilla (1954). Honda was also at the director's helm for such films as Rodan (1956),The Mysterians (1957),and its loose sequel Battle in Outer Space (1959),Mothra (1961),Matango (1963),and Destroy All Monsters (1968).
Despite being derided by some U.S. critics, Honda was especially proud of his contribution to the Japanese monster film genre, a unique aspect of the fantasy and science fiction genres. Honda was a lifelong friend of fellow Japanese director Akira Kurosawa and worked on several of his landmark films, including Stray Dog (1949),Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980),and Ran (1985).
Honda died at the age of 81 on February 28th, 1993, with Kurosawa delivering the eulogy at his funeral.
