View source for Eiji Tsuburaya

{{Short description|Japanese special effects director (1901–1970)}}
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{{Redirect2|Tsuburaya|Master of Monsters||Tsuburaya (disambiguation)}}
{{for|the video game|Master of Monsters (video game){{!}}''Master of Monsters'' (video game)}}
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{{Eastern name order|Tsuburaya Eiji}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Eiji Tsuburaya
| native_name        = {{nobold|円谷 英二}}
| native_name_lang   = ja
| image              = Eiji Tsuburaya.jpg
| caption            = Tsuburaya during the production of ''[[The Three Treasures]]'' in 1959
| alt                = Tsuburaya having a break during the production of The Three Treasures, 1959.
| birth_name         = Eiichi Tsumuraya{{efn|name=Birth name|His birth name has also been commonly cited as Eiichi Tsuburaya.{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=138–139}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=154}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=18}} To avoid investigation into his wartime efforts, Tsuburaya changed his screen name into his legal name after the war.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=14–15}}}}
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1901|7|7}}{{efn|name=Birthdate|Sources have listed Tsuburaya's date of birth as July 5, 7 or 10.{{sfn|Takeuchi|Yamamoto|2001|p=324}}<ref name="Founder">{{cite web|url=https://tsuburaya-prod.com/company/founder|title=The Founder – Eiji Tsuburaya|publisher=Tsuburaya Productions|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228002111/https://tsuburaya-prod.com/company/founder|archive-date=February 28, 2023|access-date=February 27, 2023}}</ref> Although his family initially recorded his birthday as July 10,{{sfn|Takeuchi|Yamamoto|2001|p=324}}<ref name="Sukagawa">{{Cite web |title=すかがわ市Ｍ７８光の町サポーター |trans-title=Sukagawa City M78 Town of Light Supporter |url=http://m78-sukagawa.jp/person/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230013410/http://m78-sukagawa.jp/person/ |archive-date=December 30, 2022 |access-date=December 29, 2022 |website=M78 Town of Light, Sukagawa City |publisher=[[Tsuburaya Productions]] |language=Japanese}}</ref> Tsuburaya himself,<ref name="Sukagawa" /> his relatives, and [[Tsuburaya Productions|his company]] have credited his birthdate as July 7.<ref name="Founder" /> The latter date is considered appropriate because it coincides with the Japanese star festival ''[[Tanabata]]''.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=18}}}}
| birth_place        = [[Sukagawa, Fukushima]], Japan
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1970|1|25|1901|7|7}}
| death_place        = [[Itō, Shizuoka]], Japan
| occupation         = {{hlist|[[Special effects director]]|film director|cinematographer|screenwriter|editor|television producer|businessman|inventor|aviator}}
| alma_mater         = [[Tokyo Denki University|Tokyo Kanda Electrical Engineering School]]
| years_active       = 1919–1969
| works              = [[Eiji Tsuburaya filmography|Full list]]
<!--
| notable_works      = {{ubl| ''[[The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya]]'' (1942) | ''[[Eagle of the Pacific]]'' (1953) | ''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' (1954) | ''[[Rodan (film)|Rodan]]'' (1956) | ''[[The Three Treasures]]'' (1959) | ''[[Mothra (film)|Mothra]]'' (1961) | ''[[King Kong vs. Godzilla]]'' (1962) | ''[[Mothra vs. Godzilla]]'' (1964) | ''[[Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster]]'' (1964) | ''[[Invasion of Astro-Monster]]'' (1965) | ''[[Ultra Q]]'' (1966) | ''[[The War of the Gargantuas]]'' (1966) | ''[[Ultraman (1966 TV series)|Ultraman]]'' (1966–1967) | ''[[Battle of the Japan Sea (film)|Battle of the Japan Sea]]'' (1969) }}-->| spouse             = {{marriage|Masano Araki|1930}}
| children           = 4,{{efn|His second child died in her juvenescence.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=23}}}} including [[Hajime Tsuburaya|Hajime]], [[Noboru Tsuburaya|Noboru]] and [[Akira Tsuburaya|Akira]]
| resting_place      = Catholic Fuchū Cemetery, [[Fuchū,&nbsp;Tokyo]]
| title              = President of [[Tsuburaya Productions]]{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=76}}
| website            = {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20080801070549/http://www.eiji-tsuburaya.gr.jp/}}
| signature          = Eiji Tsuburaya Signature.svg
| relatives          = {{ubl|[[Aōdō Denzen]] (ancestor)|[[Hiroshi Tsuburaya]] (grandson)}}
| awards             = {{ubl|6 [[Japan Technical Award]]s|3 [[Japanese Society of Cinematographers Award]]s}}
| module             = {{Infobox military person
| embed = yes
| allegiance = [[Empire of Japan]]
| branch = [[Imperial Japanese Army]]
| serviceyears = 1921–1923{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=10–12}}
| serviceyears_label =
| rank = 
| module             = {{Infobox Chinese |child =yes
| kanji             = 円谷 英二
| kana              = つぶらや えいじ
| romaji            = Tsuburaya Eiji
}}
}}
}}

{{Nihongo|'''Eiji Tsuburaya'''|円谷 英二|Tsuburaya Eiji|July 7, 1901{{efn|name=Birthdate}} – January 25, 1970|lead=yes}} was a Japanese [[special effects director]], filmmaker, and cinematographer. A co-creator of the ''[[Godzilla (franchise)|Godzilla]]'' and ''[[Ultraman]]'' franchises, he is considered one of the most important and influential figures in the history of cinema. Tsuburaya is known as the {{nihongo foot|"Father of ''[[Tokusatsu]]''",{{r|Founder}}|特撮の父|Tokusatsu no Chichi|{{literal translation|Father of special effects}}.<ref name="nfaj">{{Cite journal|date=August 17, 2021|title=《特撮の父》―その黎明から開花へ|trans-title="Father of Tokusatsu" – From Dawn to Bloom|url=https://www.nfaj.go.jp/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/07/tsuburaya120_release.pdf|journal=[[National Film Archive of Japan]]|language=Japanese |access-date=May 9, 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403235557/https://www.nfaj.go.jp/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/07/tsuburaya120_release.pdf |archive-date=April 3, 2023 }}</ref> Also nicknamed the {{nihongo|"God of ''Tokusatsu''"|特撮の神様|Tokusatsu no Kamisama|{{literal translation|God of special effects}}}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=15}}<ref name="NHK">{{Cite web|title="特撮の神様" 円谷英二監督が撮影 「かぐや姫」フィルム発見|trans-title="God of special effects": director Eiji Tsuburaya filmed "Princess Kaguya" film discovered|url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210707/k10013124901000.html|date=July 7, 2021|access-date=November 12, 2021|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422081220/https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210707/k10013124901000.html |archive-date=April 22, 2022|publisher=[[NHK]]|language=Japanese}}</ref> and "Japan's Master of Monsters".{{sfn|Harrington|1960|p=488}}<ref name="JMoM">{{Cite magazine|last=Morrison|first=Donald|title=Japan's Master of Monsters|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1694124-2,00.html|url-status=dead|access-date=March 5, 2022|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205160646/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1694124-2,00.html|archive-date=December 5, 2008}}</ref>|group=lower-alpha}} having pioneered Japan's special effects industry and introduced several technological developments in film productions. In a career spanning five decades, Tsuburaya worked on approximately [[Eiji Tsuburaya filmography|250 films]]—including globally renowned features directed by [[Ishirō Honda]], [[Hiroshi Inagaki]], and [[Akira Kurosawa]]—and earned six Japan Technical Awards.

Following a brief stint as an inventor, Tsuburaya was employed by Japanese cinema pioneer [[Yoshirō Edamasa]] in 1919 and began his career working as an assistant cinematographer on Edamasa's ''A Tune of Pity''. Thereafter, he worked as an assistant cinematographer on several films, including [[Teinosuke Kinugasa]]'s ''[[A Page of Madness]]'' (1926). At the age of thirty-two, Tsuburaya watched ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]'', which greatly influenced him to work in special effects. Tsuburaya completed the first iron [[Crane shot|shooting crane]] in October 1934, and an adaptation of the crane is still in use across the globe today. After filming [[Across the Equator|his directorial debut]] on the cruiser ''[[Japanese cruiser Asama|Asama]]'' in the Pacific Ocean, he worked on ''[[Princess Kaguya (1935 film)|Princess Kaguya]]'' (1935), one of Japan's first major films to incorporate special effects. His first majorly successful film in effects, ''[[The Daughter of the Samurai]]'' (1937), remarkably featured the first full-scale [[rear projection]].

In 1937, Tsuburaya was employed by [[Toho]] and established the company's effects department. Tsuburaya directed the effects for ''[[The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya]]'' in 1942, which became the [[List of highest-grossing films in Japan|highest-grossing Japanese film in history]] upon its release. His elaborate effects were believed to be behind the film's major success, and he won an award for his work from the Japan Motion Picture Cinematographers Association. In 1948, however, Tsuburaya was [[Purge (occupied Japan)|purged]] from Toho by the [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers]] because of his involvement in [[propaganda film]]s during World War II. Thus, he founded Tsuburaya Special Technology Laboratory with his eldest son [[Hajime Tsuburaya|Hajime]] and worked without credit at major Japanese studios outside Toho, creating effects for films such as [[Daiei Film|Daiei]]'s ''[[The Invisible Man Appears]]'' (1949), widely regarded as the first Japanese science fiction film.

In 1950, Tsuburaya returned to Toho alongside his effects crew from Tsuburaya Special Technology Laboratory. At age fifty-three, he gained international recognition and won his first Japan Technical Award for Special Skill for directing the effects in Ishirō Honda's ''[[kaiju]]'' film ''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' (1954). He served as the effects director for Toho's string of financially successful ''tokusatsu'' films that followed, including, ''[[Rodan (film)|Rodan]]'' (1956), ''[[The Mysterians]]'' (1957), ''[[The Three Treasures]]'' (1959), ''[[Mothra (film)|Mothra]]'', ''[[The Last War (film)|The Last War]]'' (both 1961), and ''[[King Kong vs. Godzilla]]'' (1962). In April 1963, Tsuburaya founded [[Tsuburaya Productions|Tsuburaya Special Effects Productions]]; his company would go onto produce the television shows ''[[Ultra Q]]'', ''[[Ultraman (1966 TV series)|Ultraman]]'' (both 1966), ''[[Ultraseven]]'' (1967–1968), and ''[[Mighty Jack]]'' (1968). ''Ultra Q'' and ''Ultraman'' were extremely successful upon their 1966 broadcast, with ''Ultra Q'' making him a household name in Japan and gaining him more attention from the media who dubbed him the "God of ''Tokusatsu''".<!-- In the same period, he was also credited for working on Honda's Japanese-American co-productions ''[[The War of the Gargantuas]]'' (1966) and ''[[King Kong Escapes]]'' (1967), as well as the ''kaiju'' epic ''[[Destroy All Monsters]]'' (1968).--> While he spent his late years working on several Toho films and operating his company, Tsuburaya's health began to decline, and he died in 1970.

==Biography==
===Childhood to war years: 1901–1945===
====Childhood and youth (1901–1919)====
[[File:Eiji and Sei Tsuburaya.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Tsuburaya with his mother Sei, {{circa|1902}}. Sei died of illness shortly after giving birth to her second son.|alt=A mother in a kimono holds her newborn child.]]
Eiji Tsuburaya was born {{Nihongo|Eiichi Tsumuraya|圓谷 英一|Tsumuraya Eiichi}}{{efn|name=Birth name}} on July 7, 1901,{{efn|name=Birthdate}} at a merchant house called Ōtsukaya in [[Sukagawa, Fukushima|Sukagawa]], [[Iwase District, Fukushima|Iwase]], [[Fukushima Prefecture]], where his family ran a malted rice business.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:{{sfn|Takeuchi|Yamamoto|2001|p=324}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=10–12}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=541}}{{sfn|Keibunsha|1990|pp=310–312}}}} He was the first son of Isamu Shiraishi and Sei Tsumuraya, with a large extended family.{{sfn|Keibunsha|1990|pp=310–312}} When Tsuburaya was three years old, his mother Sei died of illness at the age of nineteen, shortly after giving birth to her second son. Bereaved by Sei's death, Shiraishi divorced her posthumously and left the family, leaving Tsuburaya in the care of his grandmother Natsu.{{sfn|Keibunsha|1990|pp=310–312}} Through Natsu, Tsuburaya was related to the [[Edo period]] painter [[Aōdō Denzen]], who brought [[Engraving|copper printing]] and Western painting to Japan, from whom Tsuburaya considered to have inherited his manual dexterity.{{sfn|Takeuchi|Yamamoto|2001|p=324}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=10–12}} His uncle Ichirō, who was Sei's younger brother,<ref name="Sukagawa" /> was five years older than him and acted like an elder brother to him.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=10–12}} Thus, Tsuburaya began to use the nickname Eiji ("ji" indicating second-born) instead of Eiichi ("ichi" indicating first-born).{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=18}}

In 1908, he started attending the Dai'ichi Jinjo Koto Elementary School in Sukagawa, and it was soon realized that he had a talent for drawing.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=18}} During his boyhood, Tsuburaya became interested in flying because of the recent success of Japanese aviators; he soon started building model airplanes as a hobby, an interest he would pursue throughout his entire life.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=18}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=10–12}}{{sfn|Keibunsha|1990|pp=310–312}}

In 1913, Tsuburaya saw his first film, which featured footage of a volcanic eruption on [[Sakurajima]]; in the process, he was more fascinated by the projector than the movie itself.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=18}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=10–12}} In 1958, Tsuburaya told ''[[Kinema Junpo]]'' that because he was extremely fascinated by the projector, he purchased a "toy movie viewer" and created his own film strips by "carefully cutting rolled paper, then making sprocket holes, and drawing stick figures [on the paper], frame by frame."{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=18}}{{efn|Over the years, there have been disputes over this account. Tsuburaya's third son, [[Akira Tsuburaya|Akira]], suggested that it was converted later because it is improbable that a store in Sukagawa sold any kind of projector at that time.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=18}}}} Because of his craftwork at a young age, he became a provincial celebrity and was interviewed by the ''{{Ill|Fukushima Minyu Shimbun|ja|福島民友}}''.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=10–12}}

In 1915, at the age of 14, he graduated from [[Secondary education in Japan|junior high school]], and begged his family to let him enroll in the Nippon [[Flying school|Flying School]] at [[Haneda Airport|Haneda]]. After the school was closed on account of the accidental death of its founder, Seitaro Tamai, in 1917, Tsuburaya switched to the Tokyo Kanda Electrical Engineering School (now [[Tokyo Denki University]]). While at the school, he started working as an inventor at the toy company Utsumi, and devised inventions including the first battery-powered phone capable of making calls, an automatic speed photo box, an "automatic skate" and the toy phone. The latter two earned him a patent fee of {{JPY|500}}.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=154}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=10–12}}

====Early career and marriage (1919–1934)====
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 170
 | header = 
 | image1 = Tsuburaya and Edamasa on ship.png
 | alt1 = Three men and a woman stand for a photograph, including Tsuburaya who is wearing a white hat
 | caption1 = Tsuburaya (far right) with colleagues including his ''[[Senpai and kōhai|senpai]]'' [[Yoshirō Edamasa]] (far left) onboard the ''Korea Maru'', {{circa|early 1920s}}
 | image2 = Eiji Tsuburaya with comrades.jpg
 | alt2 = Tsuburaya (far right) sits with Imperial Japanese Army pals in the 1920s
 | caption2 = Tsuburaya (far right) with fellow [[Imperial Japanese Army]] comrades, {{circa|1922}}
}}
During a ''[[hanami]]'' party held at a tea house in the spring of 1919, Tsuburaya met [[Yoshirō Edamasa]], a pioneer of [[Cinema of Japan|Japanese cinema]]. Edamasa asked Tsuburaya if he was interested in movies or photography; after he explained to Edamasa that he was interested in motion pictures, Tsuburaya accepted the director's offer to become an employee at his company, the Natural Color Motion Pictures Company (dubbed "Tenkatsu").{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=10–12}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=541}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=21}} Therefore, Tsuburaya began working in the film industry at the age of eighteen, as Edamasa's camera assistant, contributing to films such as ''A Tune of Pity'' (1919) and ''Tombs of the Island'' (1920);{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=21}} reportedly, he also served as a screenwriter during this period.{{sfn|Harrington|1960|p=502}}{{sfn|Thomas|1961|p=8}}{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=44}} Despite Tenkatsu becoming part of the Kokatsu Company and Edamasa leaving his job in March 1920, Tsuburaya kept working at the studio until he was ordered to serve the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] between 1921{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=10–12}} and December 1922.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=21}}

After leaving the army in 1923, Tsuburaya moved back to his family's house in Sukagawa. However, he suddenly departed just a few months later, in order to pursue a more established career within the filmmaking industry.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=|pp=21–22}} In the morning of his departure from home, he left a note: "I won't return home until I succeed in the motion picture business, even if I die trying."{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=|pp=21–22}} The next year, he worked as the cinematographer on the film ''The Hunchback of Enmei'in Temple''.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=192}} Tsuburaya joined [[Shochiku]] in 1925{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=44}} and would have his breakthrough as the cameraman and assistant director on [[Teinosuke Kinugasa]]'s ''[[A Page of Madness]]'' (released the following year).{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=23}} In 1927, he shot [[Minoru Inuzuka]]'s ''[[jidaigeki]]'' films ''Children's Swordplay'' and ''Melee'', both starring [[Kazuo Hasegawa]] and Tsuyako Okajima,<ref>{{Cite web |title=稚児の劔法 |trans-title=''Children's Swordplay'' |url=https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/00716/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206183111/https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/00716/ |archive-date=February 6, 2023 |access-date=February 6, 2023 |publisher=[[Shochiku]] |language=Japanese}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=乱軍 |trans-title=Melee |url=https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/00725/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206183433/https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/00725/ |archive-date=February 6, 2023 |access-date=February 6, 2023 |publisher=Shochiku |language=Japanese}}</ref> as well as Toko Yamazaki's ''The Bat Copybook'', ''Mad Blade Under the Moon'', and ''Record of the Tragic Swords of the Tenpo Era''.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=193}} Because of the financial success of these films, Tsuburaya started being regarded as one of [[Kyoto]]'s leading cinematographers.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=22}}

In 1928, while working on eleven films at Shochiku, Tsuburaya began creating and utilizing new camera operating techniques, including [[double-exposure]] and [[Slow motion|slow-motion]] camerawork. The next year, Tsuburaya constructed his own smaller version of [[D. W. Griffith]]'s 140-foot tall [[Crane shot|shooting crane]]: having invented it without the benefit of using blueprints or manuals, the wooden crane allowed Tsuburaya to improve camera movement and was able to be used in and outside the studio.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=22}} The creation proved to be a success, although it did not guarantee total safety: one day, while Tsuburaya and an assistant were preparing the crane in order to film a scene, the structure collapsed, sending him plummeting to the ground of the studio. A witness of the incident, named Masano Araki, was one of the first people to run to his aid: she visited Tsuburaya daily while he was hospitalized, and the pair formed a relationship shortly thereafter. On February 27, 1930, Tsuburaya married the decade-younger Araki.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=23}} Their first child, [[Hajime Tsuburaya|Hajime]], was born on April 23, 1931.{{sfn|Shiraishi|2006|p=16}}

In May 1932, Tsuburaya, Akira Mimura, Hiroshi Sakai, Kohei Sugiyama, Masao Tamai, and Tadayuki Yokota established the Japan Cameraman Association, which later coalesced with other companies to become the Nippon Cinematographers Club (now known as the {{ill|Japanese Society of Cinematographers|ja|日本映画撮影監督協会}}).{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=23}} Shortly after that, the association would start to hold award ceremonies. In November of that same year, Tsuburaya quit Shochiku and joined [[Nikkatsu|Nikkatsu Futosou Studios]]. Around the same time, he began using the professional name "Eiji Tsuburaya".{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=154}}{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=23}}

In 1933, Tsuburaya saw the American film ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]'', which inspired him to work on movies featuring special effects. In 1962, Tsuburaya told the ''[[Mainichi Shimbun]]'' that he attempted to convince Nikkatsu to "import this technical know-how, but they had little interest in it because, at the time, I was seen as merely a cameraman who worked on Kazuo Hasegawa's historical dramas". He managed to acquire a 35mm print of ''King Kong'' and started to study the film's special effects frame-by-frame, without the advantage of documents explaining how they were produced: he would later write an analysis of the film's effects for the magazine ''Photo Times'' in October 1933.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|pp=23–25}} In the same year, Masano gave birth to a second child, a daughter named Miyako.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=23}} However, the child would die of unknown causes in 1935.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=23}}

In December 1933, Nikkatsu granted Tsuburaya permission to use and study new screen projection technology for the company's ''jidaigeki'' films. However, while the studio agreed with his decision to project these films cast into a location use using location plates, not all of his technological developments were met with approval. While he was filming the final scenes for ''Asataro Descends Mt. Akagi'' in February 1934, Tsuburaya fell out with Nikkatsu's CEO, who had no acquaintance with what Tsuburaya was creating and assumed that he was wasting the company's money. After the argument, Tsuburaya resigned from his job at Nikkatsu.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=25}}

====J.O. Studios, directorial works, and Toho (1934–1940)====
[[File:Eiji Tsuburaya 1934.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Tsuburaya riding his iron [[Crane shot|shooting crane]] in 1934. An adaptation of this crane is still used worldwide today.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=22}}]]

Shortly after leaving Nikkatsu, he accepted an offer from Kyoto entrepreneur Yoshio Osawa to work at his company, J.O. Talkies, and research [[optical printer|optical printing]] and screen projection.{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=50–51}} In October 1934, Tsuburaya and his colleagues completed the first iron shooting crane model and used it to shoot Atsuo Tomioka's ''The Chorus of a Million''.{{sfn|Keibunsha|1990|pp=310–312}} In contrast to his previous prototype, the crane was installed on a truck that operated on tracks, which made it able to change the camera's position in a matter of seconds. In December of that year, Osawa renamed the studio J.O. Studios and designated Tsuburaya as its chief cinematographer.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=26}}

From February to August 1935, he traveled to Hawaii, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand on the cruiser ''[[Japanese cruiser Asama|Asama]]'' in order to shoot his directorial debut, ''[[Across the Equator|Three Thousand Miles Across the Equator]]'', a feature-length [[Propaganda film|propaganda]] documentary film.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=10–12}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=26}} During the expedition, his second son, [[Noboru Tsuburaya|Noboru]], was born on May 10, 1935.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=26}}

Upon returning from the voyage, Tsuburaya began work on ''[[Princess Kaguya (1935 film)|Princess Kaguya]]'', an adaptation of the 10th-century Japanese literary tale ''[[The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter]]''. He did not only serve as the film's cinematographer, but was also in charge of special effects for the first time. For the film, he worked with animator [[Kenzō Masaoka]] to create [[Miniature effect|miniatures]], puppets, a composite of Kaguya emerging from a cut bamboo plant, and a sequence in which a ship encounters a storm.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=10–12}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=541}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|pp=26–27, 193}} While the original print of the film is considered to be lost, a shortened version, screened in England in 1936, was discovered by a researcher at the [[British Film Institute]] in May 2015: this version was released in Japan on September 4 and 5, 2021, as part of an event celebrating Tsuburaya's 120th birthday.<ref name="NHK"/><ref name="Eiga">{{cite web |url=https://eiga.com/news/20210709/27/ |title=円谷英二撮影の幻の映画「かぐや姫」イギリスから帰還 フィルムが渡った理由、発掘の経緯は？|trans-title=The Eiji Tsuburaya-photographed phantom movie "''Princess Kaguya''" returns from England. Why did the film cross over and how was it excavated? |last=|first= |work=Eiga.com |date=July 9, 2021 |access-date=February 4, 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709070114/https://eiga.com/news/20210709/27/ |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |language=Japanese}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web |url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14392699 |title=Long-lost film by special effects wizard behind Godzilla found |last=Ohara |first=Atsushi |work=[[The Asahi Shimbun]] |date=July 26, 2021 |access-date=February 2, 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203032225/https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14392699 |archive-date=February 3, 2023 }}</ref>

[[File:Folk Song Collection- Oichi of Torioi Village.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Publicity still of geisha singer [[Ichimaru]] playing the female lead in Tsuburaya's first histrionic film, ''Folk Song Collection: Oichi of Torioi Village''.]]
In March of the next year, Tsuburaya's directorial debut, the [[Play (theatre)|theatrical play]] ''Folk Song Collection: Oichi of Torioi Village'', was released: it was an adventure film concerning a condemned romance and featuring political tones.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=27}} ''Folk Song Collection: Oichi of Torioi Village'' was the second film to ever star popular geisha singer [[Ichimaru]], while also featuring actor Kenji Susukida.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=541}} Soon after its completion, Tsuburaya began working on [[Arnold Fanck]]'s ''[[The Daughter of the Samurai]]'' (released in 1937). ''The Daughter of the Samurai'' was the first German-Japanese co-production, and is considered to be Tsuburaya's first major success as a special effects director, since it featured the first full-scale [[rear projection]].{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=541}}{{sfn|Keibunsha|1990|pp=310–312}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=27}} The German staff were allegedly impressed by his elaborate miniature work on the project.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=14–15}}

In September 1936, [[Ichizō Kobayashi]] merged the film studios P.C.L. Studios and P.C.L. Film Company with J.O. Studios to create the film and theatre production company [[Toho]]. Film producer {{Ill|Iwao Mori|ja|森岩雄}} was appointed as production manager at Toho: having become aware of the importance of special effects during a tour in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], in 1937 Mori hired Tsuburaya at the company's studio in [[Tokyo]], establishing the special effects department on November 27, 1937, and treating him as the section's manager.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=16–17}} Shortly after, Tsuburaya received a research budget and began studying optical printers to create Japan's first version of the device, which he designed.{{sfn|Kodansha|2020c|pp=30–31}} Among Tsuburaya's first film assignments at Toho were ''[[The Abe Clan (1938 film)|The Abe Clan]]'', a ''jidaigeki'' film directed by [[Hisatora Kumagai]], and the unreleased propaganda musical ''The Song of Major Nango'' (both 1938). The latter film was directed and shot by Tsuburaya, and he completed it on September 6 of that year.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=27, 193}}

In 1939, he was ordered to join the Kumagaya Aviation Academy of the Imperial Army Corps, where he was entrusted to shoot flight-training films. After impressing his superiors with his aerial photography, Tsuburaya was given more assignments and a master's certificate during his almost three years at the academy.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|pp=27–28}} In November 1939, while Tsuburaya was still at the flight school and undertaking assignments at Toho, he was appointed head of Toho's Special Arts Department. A month after that, he was commissioned to shoot a science film for Toho's then-recently assembled educational section. Under governance demands, Toho was mandated to maintain the creation of propaganda films. Accordingly, in May 1940, Tsuburaya began directing the documentary ''The Imperial Way of Japan'' for Toho Education Films' branch, the Toho National Policy Film Association. He was given his first ever credits for special effects for his work on Sotoji Kimura's ''Navy Bomber Squadron'', which featured a bombing scene with a miniature airplane.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=14–15}}{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=50–51}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=28, 193}} ''Navy Bomber Squadron'' was believed to be lost for over sixty years, until an unfinished copy of the film was discovered and screened in 2006.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=28}}

In September 1940, [[Yutaka Abe]]'s ''[[Moyuru ōzora|The Burning Sky]]'', was released to Japanese cinemas. Tsuburaya was in charge of effects for the film and received his first accolade from the Japan Motion Picture Cinematographers Association.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=16–17}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=82, 543}} His next undertaking, ''Son Gokū'', was released on November 6, 1940.{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=50–51}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=16–17}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=543}} During an interview for the August 1960 issue of ''[[American Cinematographer]]'', he broke down the creative process behind ''Son Gokū'', saying: "I was called upon to create and photograph a [[Monkey King|monkey-like monster]] which was supposed to fly through the air", adding: "I managed the job with some success and this assignment set the pattern for my future work."{{sfn|Harrington|1960|p=502}}

====War years (1941–1945)====
[[File:The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya.webm|thumb|right|thumbtime=5500|English subtitled print of ''[[The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya]]'' (1942), which featured an acclaimed depiction of the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor attack]] created by Tsuburaya]]
On December 7, 1941, the [[Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service]] suddenly [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|attacked]] the [[Naval Station Pearl Harbor|U.S. naval base]] at [[Pearl Harbor]]: consequently, the Imperial Japanese Government tasked Toho to produce a propaganda film that would influence the nation to believe they would win the [[Pacific War]]. The resulting film, [[Kajirō Yamamoto]]'s [[War film|war]] [[Epic film|epic]] ''[[The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya]]'' (1942), became the [[List of highest-grossing films in Japan|highest-grossing Japanese film in history]] upon its release in December 1942 and won ''[[Kinema Junpo]]'''s [[Kinema Junpo Award for Best Film of the Year|Best Film Award]]. Tsuburaya directed its effects, which he created with the assistance of navy-provided photographs of the Pearl Harbor attack: in the process, he also worked with future ''[[Godzilla (franchise)|Godzilla]]'' collaborates [[Akira Watanabe (art director)|Akira Watanabe]] and Teizō Toshimitsu for the first time in his career. His work on the film was supposedly one of the main reasons behind its major success and gained him the Technical Research Award from the Japan Motion Picture Cinematographers Association.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=541}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=28}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=20–21}}{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=30}}}} The film depicted the attack so realistically that footage from it was later featured in documentaries on the Pearl Harbor attack.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=29}}

Around the same time as ''The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya'' was in production, Toho's effects department was filming Japan's first [[puppet film]], ''Ramayana''.<ref name="Asano">{{cite web|last=Asano|first=Eiko|url=http://voiceofnara.jp/20200218-news644.html|title=太平洋戦争中の特撮人形劇映画、制作現場の写真見つかる 人形は浅野孟府作|trans-title=Special effects puppet movie during the Pacific War, photos of the production site can be found. Puppets made by Mōfu Asano|date=February 18, 2020|website=Voice of Nara|access-date=February 7, 2023|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207045812/http://voiceofnara.jp/20200218-news644.html|archive-date=February 7, 2023|language=Japanese}}</ref> The film's screenplay—based on the [[Ramayana|Sanskrit epic of the same name]]—had been written by future ''[[Moonlight Mask]]'' creator [[Kōhan Kawauchi]] in 1941,<ref name="Kawauchi">{{cite web|last=|first=|url=https://kawauchi-office.jp/line.html|title=その年譜|trans-title=The chronology|website=Kōhan Kawauchi|publisher=Kawauchi Literature Office|access-date=February 7, 2023|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002160743/https://kawauchi-office.jp/line.html|archive-date=October 2, 2022|language=Japanese}}</ref> under Tsuburaya's supervision.<ref name="Asano"/>

Tsuburaya's next four major productions were all war films: [[Masahiro Makino]]'s ''[[Ahen senso|The Opium War]]'', [[Tadashi Imai]]'s ''Watchtower Suicide Squad'', Kunio Watanabe's ''Decisive Battle in the Skies'' and Kajirō Yamamoto's follow-up to ''The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya'', [[Kato hayabusa sento-tai|''General Kato's Falcon Fighters'']] (all produced in 1943).{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=30}}{{Sfn|Ragone|2014|pp=193, 194}} For ''The Opium War'', Tsuburaya and his team created miniature navy battle sequences and animation synthesis in urban landscapes.{{Sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=86, 544}} During the production of ''General Kato's Falcon Fighters'' (released in 1944), Tsuburaya had his first meeting with future collaborator and filmmaker [[Ishirō Honda]].{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=30}}{{Sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=60–61}} After watching ''The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya'', Honda became interested in special effects and believed Tsuburaya's work in ''General Kato's Falcon Fighters'' was inferior in scope, but the art and gunpowder technology had enhanced. Additionally, Tsuburaya expressed dissatisfaction with the size of the shooting stage, the art materials, the method of performance, etc.{{Sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=60–61}}

Shortly before Toho distributed ''General Kato's Falcon Fighters'' in cinemas, Masano and Tsuburaya's third son and last child, [[Akira Tsuburaya|Akira]], was born on February 12, 1944.{{Sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=21–22, 155}} Akira was the first of the couple's sons to be [[Baptism|baptized]], since Masano had been converted to [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] by her younger sister. Masano persisted in introducing her children to the Catholic faith and ultimately converted her husband.{{Sfn|Ragone|2014|pp=28–29}}

In 1944, Tsuburaya met future ''Godzilla'' producer [[Tomoyuki Tanaka]] during the production of the [[Mikio Naruse]]-directed war film ''{{Ill|Until the Day of Victory|lt=Until the Day of Victory|ja|勝利の日まで (映画)}}'', which was Tanaka's debut as a film producer.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=52}} Tanaka stated that he did not develop a serious connection with Tsuburaya during the film's production.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=52}} The following year, the special effects director collaborated with Tanaka for the second time on Kiyoshi Saeki's ''{{Ill|Three People of the North|ja|北の三人}}''.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=22}}

On March 10, 1945, Tsuburaya and his family sought refuge for two hours in their residence's bomb shelter during the [[Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)|Tokyo air raids]]. During the two-hour-long attacks, he told his children fairy tales to keep them quiet.{{Sfn|Ragone|2014|p=29}} Later that year, Tsuburaya made the effects in [[Torajirō Saitō]]'s ''Five Men from Tokyo'', for which he was credited as "Eiichi Tsuburaya".{{Sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=22–23}} ''Five Men from Tokyo'' is a comedy film concerning five men who struggle to make a living after returning to Tokyo and remaining unemployed due to the Tokyo air raids on March 10, 1945, at the end of [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=東京五人男 – 作品情報 |trans-title=''Five Men from Tokyo'' – Work Information |url=http://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=26774 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208025253/http://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=26774 |archive-date=February 8, 2023 |access-date=February 7, 2023 |website=Kinenote |language=Japanese}}</ref>

=== Occupation<!--(of Japan)--> years to ''Chūshingura'': 1946–1962 ===
==== Early postwar work (1946–1954) ====
Even though Toho was unaffected by the Tokyo bombings, as the company was located in Seijo, the amount of film productions was reduced due to the [[Occupation of Japan]].{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=29}} Because of this, the company produced only eighteen films in 1946, with Tsuburaya working on eight of them.{{sfn|Kodansha|2020c|pp=30–31}}{{sfn|Takeuchi|Yamamoto|2001|p=331}} During the same year, Tsuburaya became head of the special effects production department at Toho and established its cinematography, compositing, art, and development units.{{sfn|Takeuchi|Yamamoto|2001|p=331}} Since he and his effects unit at the company had a minor slate of films to work on, they also began testing [[matte painting]] and optical printing.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=29}}

Toho was on the verge of disbandment due to the [[Toho strikes|three major labor disputes]] that occurred at the studio during the late 1940s.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|pp=43–44}} According to Akira Tsuburaya, his father had to sneak around the Japanese police and U.S. tanks deployed during these strikes and disputes in order to get to work.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=30}} To repel the police, the labor strikers erected a barricade, using a large fan, made by the special effects department of the company, which was equipped with the [[Nakajima Sakae|Zero fighter engine]] that Tsuburaya had used during the war. These events led to the creation of [[Shintoho]];{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=22–23}}{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|pp=43–44}}{{Sfn|Ragone|2014|p=30}} Tsuburaya would create the effects for the studio's first film, ''[[A Thousand and One Nights with Toho]]'' (1947).<ref>{{Cite web |title=東宝千一夜 – 作品情報 |trans-title=''A Thousand and One Nights with Toho'' – Work Information |url=http://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=28399 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209053932/http://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=28399 |archive-date=February 9, 2023 |access-date=February 9, 2023 |website=Kinenote |language=Japanese}}</ref>

In late March 1948, Tsuburaya was [[Purge (occupied Japan)|purged]] from Toho by the [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers]] because of his involvement in propaganda films during World War II.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|pp=29–30}}{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=63}} The U.S. occupation officials reportedly expelled him assuming he had access to classified documents when creating the comprehensive miniatures featured in ''The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya'', which led them to inaccurately conclude that he was a spy.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=14–15}}{{sfn|Keibunsha|1990|pp=310–312}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=30}}{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=52–53}}{{sfn|SAN-EI|2022|p=70}}}} Consequently, Toho disbanded their special effects division{{sfn|Kawakita|2010|p=63}} and Tsuburaya, together with his son Hajime, founded the independent special effects company {{Ill|Tsuburaya Special Technology Laboratory|ja|円谷特殊技術研究所}},{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=541}}{{Sfn|Kodansha|2020c|pp=30–31}}{{Sfn|SAN-EI|2022|p=70}}{{sfn|Yosensha|2010|pp=300–303}}}} an unofficial [[Juridical person|juridical entity]].{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=22–23}} Henceforth, he worked at major film studios outside Toho without on-screen credit.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=30}}{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=63}}

[[File:Invisible Man reveals himself - The Invisible Man Appears.gif|left|thumb|alt=A man unwraps the bandage covering his head to reveal that he is invisible|Tsuburaya's effects in ''[[The Invisible Man Appears]]'' (1949) were intended to be superior to those in [[Universal Pictures|Universal]]'s [[The Invisible Man (film series)|''The Invisible Man'' film series]]]]
In 1949, five major [[Daiei Film]] productions featuring effects directed by Tsuburaya were released to Japanese theaters: [[Japanese horror]] filmmaker [[Bin Kato]]'s ''The White Haired Fiend'', Keigo Kimura's ''Flowers of Raccoon Palace'', Kiyohiko Ushihara's ''The Rainbow Man'', [[Akira Nobuchi]]'s ''The Ghost Train'', and Nobuo Adachi's ''[[The Invisible Man Appears]]''.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=25}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=195}} This last movie was the first successful Japanese science fiction film, as well as the country's first adaption of [[H. G. Wells]]' novel ''[[The Invisible Man]]''. Created by studying the [[The Invisible Man (1933 film)|eponymous 1933 film adaptation]] of Wells' novel,{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=25}}{{sfn|Matsuda|1997|p=42}} Daiei had intended this film to be Tsuburaya's full-scale post-war recovery, featuring special effects superior in quality to those in [[Universal Pictures]]' [[The Invisible Man (film series)|''The Invisible Man'' film series]].{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=14–15}} Tsuburaya, however, was disappointed with his lack of competence on the project and gave up his ambition to become a Daiei employee after ''The Invisible Man Appears'' was finished.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:{{sfn|Takeuchi|Yamamoto|2001|p=331}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=25}}{{sfn|Matsuda|1997|p=42}}{{sfn|Toho|1993|p=165}}}}

In 1950, Tsuburaya relocated some equipment and employees at Tsuburaya Special Technology Laboratory to Toho's headquarters; his independent company was merely the size of six ''[[tatami]]'' mats inside Toho Studios.{{Sfn|Yosensha|2010|pp=300–303}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=26–27}} In the same year, he continued to direct special effects for films from other companies, including [[Toei Company|Toyoko Eiga]]'s [[List of anti-war films|anti-war film]] ''[[Listen to the Voices of the Sea]]''.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=26}} While slowly rebuilding the company's Special Arts Department, he filmed all of the title cards, trailers, and the logo for Toho's films from 1950 to 1954.{{sfn|Kodansha|2020c|pp=30–31}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=26–27, 155}} The first production featuring major contributions by Tsuburaya upon his return to Toho was reportedly a 1950 film directed by [[Hiroshi Inagaki]] and based on the life of Japanese swordsman [[Sasaki Kojirō]].{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=541}}{{sfn|Kodansha|2020c|pp=30–31}}{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=52–53}} During this period, Tsuburaya also worked on Toho films such as [[Senkichi Taniguchi]]'s anti-war film ''[[Akatsuki no Dassō|Escape at Dawn]]'' (1950),{{sfn|Yosensha|2010|pp=300–303}} directed the effects for Taniguchi's ''{{Ill|Beyond Love and Hate|ja|愛と憎しみの彼方へ}}'',{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=194}} staged miniature ships to depict a battle in Hiroshi Inagaki's ''{{Ill|Pirate Ship (1951 film)|lt=Pirate Ship|ja|海賊船 (1951年の映画)}}'',{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=26–27}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=87}} and directed the effects for [[Kenji Mizoguchi]]'s ''[[The Lady of Musashino]]''.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=195}}

In February 1952, Tsuburaya's exile from public office was officially lifted.{{sfn|Keibunsha|1990|pp=310–312}}{{sfn|SAN-EI|2022|p=70}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=155}} That same month, Ishirō Honda's second feature film, ''[[The Skin of the South]]'', was released to Japanese theaters. Tsuburaya directed the film's effects for the typhoon and landslide scenes, which was his first experience acting as the effects director on a film by the future ''Godzilla'' director.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=63}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=26–27}} Tsuburaya collaborated with Honda and producer Tomoyuki Tanaka on ''[[The Man Who Came to Port]]'' later that year: this marked the first time the trio, who are considered the creators of ''Godzilla'', ever collaborated with one another.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|pp=30–31}}

During World War II, Toho had begun researching [[3D film]]s and completed a 3D film process known as "Tovision". While the project had been abandoned, it was later revived when the 3D film ''[[Bwana Devil]]'' (1952) became a box office hit in the United States. Hence, the company produced its first 3D film, future ''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' co-writer Takeo Murata's ''{{Ill|The Sunday That Jumped Out|ja|飛び出した日曜日}}'' (1953). It features cinematography by Tsuburaya, who shot the short film by using an interlocking camera.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=26–27}}{{sfn|Toho|1985|pp=220–221}} After the completion of ''The Sunday That Jumped Out'', Murata discussed creating a ''[[kaiju]]'' film about a giant whale attacking Tokyo, which Tsuburaya devised the previous year. Tsuburaya, therefore, resubmitted the conception of this production to producer Iwao Mori. Although this project never materialized, elements of it were included in early drafts of ''Godzilla'' the following year.{{sfn|Toho|1985|pp=220–221}}

Tsuburaya's next project, the war epic ''[[Eagle of the Pacific]]'' (1953), was his first significant partnership with Ishirō Honda.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=87–89}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=36}} As the film featured many effects sequences from ''The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya'', Tsuburaya used only a small crew to shoot its new effects.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=74}} Upon its release, the film reportedly became Toho's first post-war production to gross over {{JPY|100 million}} ({{USD|278,000|long=no}}).{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=72}} The ensuing year, he and Honda collaborated on another war film, ''[[Farewell Rabaul]]'', released to Japanese theaters in February 1954, to moderate box office success.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=37}}{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=79}} His effects for this assignment were more advanced than the ones used for ''Eagle of the Pacific'', since they featured many more of his technological approaches and syntheses.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=37}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=89}}{{sfn|Matsuda|1997|p=50}} Because of the success of ''Eagle of the Pacific'' and ''Farewell Rabaul'', Tomoyuki Tanaka believed Tsuburaya should make more ''[[tokusatsu]]'' films with Honda.{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=52–53}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=53}} Tsuburaya's next film would become Japan's first global hit and gain him international attention.{{sfn|Futabasha|2016|pp=152–153}}

==== International recognition (1954–1959) ====
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 200
 | header = 
 | image1 = Inoshiro Honda and Godzilla.jpg
 | alt1 = Tsuburaya (center) and director Ishirō Honda (holding Godzilla puppet) on the set of Godzilla (1954)
 | caption1 =  Tsuburaya (center) with director [[Ishirō Honda]] (left) on the set of ''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' (1954)
 | image2 = Godzilla King of the Monsters (1956) Atomic ray.png
 | alt2 =A giant reptilian creature breaths a white ray from its mouth
 | caption2 = The debut appearance of [[Godzilla]], in the self-titled 1954 film
}}
After failing to renegotiate with the [[Government of Indonesia|Indonesian government]] for the production of ''In the Shadow of Glory'', producer Tomoyuki Tanaka began to consider creating a giant monster (or ''kaiju'') film, inspired by [[Eugène Lourié]]'s ''[[The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms]]'' (1953) and the [[Daigo Fukuryū Maru#Events surrounding March 1, 1954|''Daigo Fukuryū Maru'' incident]]. He believed that it would have considerable potential, due to the financial success of previous monster films and the impact of news generating [[Nuclear anxiety|nuclear fears]]. As a result, he wrote an outline for the project and pitched it to Iwao Mori. Following Tsuburaya's agreement to create its effects, Mori approved the production, eventually titled ''Godzilla'', in mid-April 1954; filmmaker Ishirō Honda soon took over the directing duties.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|pp=21–22}} During preproduction, Tsuburaya considered using [[stop motion]] to depict the [[Godzilla|titular monster]] but, as stated by special effects crew member Fumio Nakadai, had to employ the "costume method" because he "finally decided it wouldn't work". This technique is now known as "[[suitmation]]".{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=27}}

Tsuburaya's special effects department filmed ''Godzilla'' in 71 days from August to late October 1954, on a budget of {{JPY|27 million}}.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|pp=30, 33}}{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|p=36}} He and his crew worked relentlessly, regularly starting at 9:00 a.m., preparing at 5:00 p.m., and finishing the shoot at 4 or 5 a.m. in the following morning.{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=142–143}} Upon its nationwide release on November 3, Tsuburaya's effects received critical acclaim and the film became a box office hit.{{sfn|Futabasha|2016|pp=152–153}}{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=35}}{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|pp=103–104}} As a result, ''Godzilla'' established Toho as the most successful effects company in the world, and Tsuburaya obtained his first Japan Technical Award for his efforts.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=44}}

Instantly after completing ''Godzilla'' in October, Tsuburaya began working on another Toho-produced science fiction film, ''[[The Invisible Avenger]]'', which was released to Japanese theaters in December 1954, under the title ''Invisible Man''. This ''tokusatsu'' production was directed by Motoyoshi Oda and featured special effects and photography by Tsuburaya.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=44}} For the movie, he inherited and expanded the technology used in his first film to feature an invisible character, ''The Invisible Man Appears'' (1949).{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=25}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=106–107}} Tsuburaya instructed his crew to portray the title character's invisibility in various ways throughout the film, including optical synthesis, and suggested that the character would disguise his invisibility powers by dressing up as a clown.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=42}}

[[File:Tsuburaya Raids Again.png|thumb|left|Tsuburaya instructs [[Godzilla]] suit actor [[Haruo Nakajima]] on the set of ''[[Godzilla Raids Again]]'' (1955)]]
Due to the enormous box-office success of ''Godzilla'', Toho quickly gathered the majority of the crew behind the film to create a smaller-budget sequel to the film, entitled ''[[Godzilla Raids Again]]'': Tsuburaya was officially given the title of special effects director for the first time, having always been credited under "special technique" beforehand. Shot in less than three months, the film was released in April 1955.{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|p=13}} Just a month later, Tsuburaya began directing the effects of ''[[Half Human]]'',{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=50}} his second ''kaiju'' film collaboration with director Ishirō Honda.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=117}} Among his efforts on this film, the effects director notably created stop-motion animation, [[Rear screen-projection TV|rear-screen]] miniature, and miniature avalanche sequences.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=50}}

In April 1956, ''Godzilla'' became the first Japanese film to be widely distributed throughout the United States and was later released worldwide, leading Tsuburaya to gain international recognition.{{sfn|Futabasha|2016|pp=152–153}} However, for its American release, the movie was re-entitled as ''[[Godzilla, King of the Monsters!]]'', heavily re-edited, and integrated with new footage featuring Canadian actor [[Raymond Burr]].{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=46}}

Tsuburaya's next major undertaking, ''[[The Legend of the White Serpent (film)|The Legend of the White Serpent]]'', a Hong Kong-Japanese film adaptation of a novel by [[Fusao Hayashi]] based on the Chinese [[legend of the White Snake]], was Toho's first ''tokusatsu'' production to be completely filmed in [[technicolor]] (via [[Eastmancolor]]).{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=116–117}}{{sfn|Matsuda|1997|p=65}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=46–47}}{{sfn|Kaneda|Oishi|Konuta|Eguchi|2014|p=18}}}} In preparation for the film, which was produced on a then-record budget of {{JPY|210 million}},{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=46–47}} Tsuburaya and his unit spent a month training with color process technology before shooting the effects.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=69–70}} After working on ''The Legend of the White Serpent'', Tsuburaya made the renowned Toho logo, and his unit created the opening credits for most of the company's films. Between working on large-scale Toho films, he also created the effects for [[Nippon TV]]'s series ''Ninja Arts of Sanada Castle'' and several theatrical productions for [[Tokyo Takarazuka Theater]].{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=52}}

Toho's next assignment for Tsuburaya was ''[[Rodan (film)|Rodan]]'', the first ''kaiju'' film ever produced in color.{{sfn|Yosensha|2010|pp=300–303}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=34–35}} About 60% of ''Rodan'''s {{JPY|200 million}} budget was spent on Tsuburaya's effects, which included optical animation, matte paintings, and extremely elaborate miniature sets created to be destroyed or flown over by its [[Rodan|namesake monster]] (played by original ''Godzilla'' suit actor [[Haruo Nakajima]]).{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=50}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=124–125}} ''Rodan'' required a large number of model sets in a variety of sizes, including 1/10, 1/20, 1/25, and 1/30, to be developed and assembled by Tsuburaya's division.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=50}} The film premiered in Japanese theaters in December 1956 and, upon its release in the United States the following year, earned more at the box office than any previous science fiction film.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=51}}

''[[Throne of Blood]]'', an adaptation of [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Macbeth]]'' from renowned filmmaker [[Akira Kurosawa]], was Tsuburaya's second film release of 1957.{{sfn|Takeuchi|Yamamoto|2001|p=409}} Kurosawa cut several scenes by Tsuburaya due to his displeasure with the amount of footage he made for ''Throne of Blood''.{{sfn|Takase|2003|p=303}} He next served as the special effects director for ''[[The Mysterians]]'', a science fiction epic directed by Ishirō Honda. The first color [[CinemaScope]] film ever directed by the duo, ''The Mysterians'' is often called the "definitive science fiction movie".{{sfn|Kaneda|Oishi|Konuta|Eguchi|2014|pp=16–17}}{{sfn|Kodansha|2022b|p=20}} Tsuburaya won another Japan Technical Award for his widescreen effects in ''The Mysterians''.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=541}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=156}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=53}}

A new sub-genre for Toho was born with Tsuburaya's first movie of 1958, ''[[The H-Man]]'',{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=53}} which was the first entry in the "Transforming Human Series".{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=147}}{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|p=29}} He next directed the effects for Honda's ''[[Varan the Unbelievable]]'', a film about a giant monster awakened in the [[Tōhoku region|Tōhoku]] mountains that surfaces in [[Tokyo Bay]]. Initially planned as a made-for-television film, co-produced between Toho and the American company [[American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres|AB-PT Pictures]], the production was plagued by numerous difficulties: AB-PT collapsed during production, leading Toho to alter the film's status to a theatrical feature.{{sfn|Kalat|2010|pp=46–47}}{{sfn|Kodansha|2022b|p=21}} Tsuburaya's final film released in 1958 was Kurosawa's ''[[The Hidden Fortress]]''.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=196}}

Tsuburaya began 1959 by working on the special effects for ''[[Mighty Atom (TV series)|Mighty Atom]]'', a ''tokusatsu'' television series based on [[Osamu Tezuka]]'s manga series ''[[Astro Boy]]''.{{sfn|Kodansha|2009|p=30}} Although neither he nor his company were credited in the show itself when it aired between March 7, 1959, and May 28, 1960, he supervised the miniature photography done by his staff at Tsuburaya Special Technology Laboratory.{{sfn|Kodansha|2009|p=30}} Around the same time, Tsuburaya also directed the special effects for a storm sequence featured in Honda's ''Inao: Story of an Iron Arm'', for which he also constructed the miniature for the title character's rowboat.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=156}} Next, he worked on ''[[Monkey Sun]]'', co-written and directed by Kajirō Yamamoto as an all-star remake of his 1940 film ''Son Gokū'', a previous entry in the effects director's curriculum. Taking inspiration from watching [[soybean paste]] in the [[broth]] of his wife's [[miso soup]], Tsuburaya created scenes with storm clouds, as well as smoke and ash erupting from three volcanoes. His effects for ''Monkey Sun'' were described by biographer August Ragone as "comical and surreal".{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=55}}

After operating on the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater production ''The Story of Bali'', he directed the effects for [[Shūe Matsubayashi]]'s ''[[Submarine I-57 Will Not Surrender]]'', his first war film in six years.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=55}} In order to film submarine scenes for the film, a model seabed terrain was built in the first Toho miniature pool (dubbed the "Small Pool" after a bigger stage was completed). He also filmed his effects for a technicolor version of the film, but they were converted to black-and-white for the final version.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=55}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=156–157}}{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=146–147}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=59}} In August 1959, Tsuburaya, together with his sons Hajime and Noboru, shot footage of two dragon puppets in Tsuburaya's laboratory at their house in [[Setagaya]], Tokyo for a Hong Kong-based film company.{{sfn|''The Mainichi Graphic''|1959|p=26}}

[[File:The Three Treasures - Tsuburaya and Orochi.jpg|thumb|right|Tsuburaya with the [[Yamata no Orochi]] prop on the set of ''[[The Three Treasures]]'' (1959)]]
Tsuburaya's following significant production, director Hiroshi Inagaki's big-budget [[List of religious films|religious]] epic ''[[The Three Treasures]]'', was created as Toho's celebratory thousandth film.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:{{sfn|Harrington|1960|p=488}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=160–161}}{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|p=39}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|pp=55–56}}{{sfn|Futabasha|2016|p=290}}}} Based on legends featured in the ''[[Kojiki]]'' and ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'', it stars [[Toshiro Mifune]] as [[Yamato Takeru]] and the ''[[kami]]'' [[Susanoo-no-Mikoto|Susanoo]]. The effects director and his crew shot several key sequences included in the film, such as a battle between Mifune's character Susanoo and the eight-headed dragon [[Yamata no Orochi]] and an eruption of [[Mount Fuji]].{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=60–61}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=56}} On ''The Three Treasures'', Tsuburaya used for the first time the "Toho Versatile Process", an adaptation of Toho's optical printing process that he developed on a budget of {{JPY|62 million}} for widescreen color films and revealed in May of the same year.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=60–61}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=56}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=162–163}} The movie earned over {{JPY|340 million}}, against an initial {{JPY|250 million}} budget, ranking as Toho's highest-grossing film of the year and their second-highest-grossing film altogether.{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=56–57}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=35}}{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=161}} He won the Japan Technical Award for Special Skill and was presented with the Special Achievement Award at Movie Day.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=541}} While he was pleased with the success of ''The Three Treasures'', Tsuburaya became disappointed after seeing a picture of the heads of the Yamata no Orochi prop held up by piano wires in a newspaper article concerning its special effects. Accordingly, he declined an interview with the newspaper because he believed the photograph "broke children's dreams".{{sfn|Yosensha|2010|pp=222–235}}

When the [[Space Race]] erupted between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the late 1950s, Tsuburaya counseled Toho to produce a film about a lunar expedition.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=159}} Therefore, his next film, ''[[Battle in Outer Space]]'', was a science fiction epic about a group of astronauts who battle extraterrestrials on the surface of the [[Moon]].{{efn|Tsuburaya was reportedly particularly pleased with his depiction of the Moon in ''Battle in Outer Space'' after watching [[Apollo 11]].{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=170–171}}}} Tsuburaya reportedly paid homage to producer [[George Pal]]'s ''[[Destination Moon (film)|Destination Moon]]'' (1950) in the film's Moon landing sequence; he would later meet Pal in [[Los Angeles]] in 1962.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=56}} Since films featuring his contributions were attaining global popularity and praise for Japanese cinema,{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=56}}{{sfn|''Boxoffice''|1960|p=19}} [[Hearst Communications|Hearst]] filmed Tsuburaya directing the effects for ''Battle in Outer Space'',{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=163}} and he later received the Special Award of Merit at the fourth {{Ill|Movie Day|ja|映画の日}} ceremony prior to its release.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=56}}

==== From ''The Secret of the Telegian'' to ''Chūshingura'' (1960–1962) ====
[[File:Eiji Tsuburaya - AP 1961.jpg|right|thumb|Tsuburaya holding a miniature pilot's ejector seat, {{circa|1961}}]]
A smaller-scale science fiction film, entitled ''[[The Secret of the Telegian]]'', which was Toho's second installment in the Transforming Human Series,{{sfn|Kodansha|2022b|p=23}} marked Tsuburaya's first assignment of 1960.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=56}} He then took on a project of a much larger extent, ''[[Storm Over the Pacific]]'', the first-ever war film in color.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=184–185}}{{sfn|Futabasha|2016|pp=195–196}} His department created notably large miniatures for the film, with a 13-meter long miniature being filmed by Tsuburaya on the [[Miura Coast]].{{sfn|Takeuchi|2001|p=235}} ''Storm Over the Pacific'' was also Toho's first film to require the use of the "Big Pool",{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=57}} which had been completed in February 1960.{{sfn|Takeuchi|Yamamoto|2001|p=335}} The pool would later be used in the production of every ''Godzilla'' film, before being demolished at the end of the filming process for ''[[Godzilla: Final Wars]]'' (2004).{{sfn|Matsui|2005|p=102}} ''Storm Over the Pacific'' obtained critical acclaim upon its release, with numerous of Tsuburaya's effects sequences being later featured in ''[[Midway (1976 film)|Midway]]'' (1976), a film by [[Jack Smight]] that was also about the Pacific War.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=57}} Throughout the rest of 1960, Tsuburaya worked on other notable productions, such as the third film in the Transforming Human Series, ''[[The Human Vapor]]''; he also oversaw the creation of an extremely detailed miniature of [[Osaka Castle]] and directed its destruction scene for Hiroshi Inagaki's ''jidaigeki'' film ''[[The Story of Osaka Castle]]'',{{sfn|Ragone|2014|pp=57, 59}} and then directed the tsunami sequence in the [[The Big Wave (film)|film adaptation]] of [[Pearl S. Buck]]'s 1948 novel ''[[The Big Wave]]''.<ref name="ZAKZAK">{{cite web |last= |first= |date=October 24, 2005 |title=ゴジラの円谷監督が特撮担当、幻の映画を"初上映" |trans-title=Director Tsuburaya of Godzilla is in charge of special effects, "premiere" of the fantasy movie |url=http://www.zakzak.co.jp/gei/2005_10/g2005102409.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051028001859/http://www.zakzak.co.jp/gei/2005_10/g2005102409.html |archive-date=October 28, 2005 |access-date=March 25, 2023 |work=[[:ja:夕刊フジ|ZAKZAK]] |language=Japanese}}</ref>{{sfn|Buck|1962|p=112}}

[[File:Behind the Scenes of Mothra 1961.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Tsuburaya and the special effects crew preparing the miniature [[Tokyo Tower]] for [[Mothra]]'s attack scene in ''[[Mothra (film)|Mothra]]'' (1961)]]
In 1961, Tsuburaya directed the effects for ''[[Mothra (film)|Mothra]]'', another ''kaiju'' film created in collaboration with Ishirō Honda. Allegedly inspired by his own dreams, Tsuburaya created the [[Mothra|eponymous giant, moth-like ''kaiju'']], which would go on to become one of the icons of Japanese fantasy cinema, alongside Godzilla and Rodan, and appear in numerous films thereafter.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=59}} Though the overall budget for ''Mothra'' allowed the effects department to create the largest-scale miniature set ever constructed for a Toho production,{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=204–205}}{{sfn|Matsuda|1997|p=132}} Tsuburaya was displeased with some of the sequences shot for the film, including some composite cuts of the ''Shobijin''.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=82–83}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=206–207}} Nonetheless, he decided to keep these scenes upon editing ''Mothra'' in [[post-production]].{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=206–207}} The film was released on July 30, 1961, becoming a massive box office hit and, as stated by biographer August Ragone, an "instant classic" alongside Honda and Tsuburaya's earlier ''kaiju'' films ''Godzilla'' and ''Rodan''.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=63}}

After directing [[Chroma key|blue screen]] dream scenes with actor Toshiro Mifune for Hiroshi Inagaki's film ''{{Ill|The Youth and His Amulet|ja|ゲンと不動明王}}'' (1961),{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:{{sfn|Takaki|Matsunomoto|Nakamura|Motoyama|1999|p=99}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=81}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=65}}{{sfn|Futabasha|2016|pp=220–221}}}} Tsuburaya moved on to direct the effects for Shūe Matsubayashi's {{JPY|300 million}} epic ''tokusatsu'' film ''[[The Last War (film)|The Last War]]'',{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=210–211}} which emerged as a major hit upon its October 1961 release, with Tsuburaya's effects receiving critical acclaim.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=216–217}} The effects director himself would later list ''The Last War'' as one of his "masterpieces".{{sfn|Futabasha|2016|pp=290–291}} Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, assured from the box office success of ''Mothra'' and ''The Last War'',{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=66}} gave Honda and Tsuburaya their greatest budget yet and 300 days to shoot ''[[Gorath]]'', their next science fiction epic.{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|p=65}}{{sfn|Kodansha|2022b|p=25}} Although ''Gorath'' is considered to feature some of Tsuburaya's best work as a special effects director,{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=66}} it was a box office failure when it was released in March 1962.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=175}} On May 15, the director appeared on NK Educational TV's program ''Japanese Standards''; in July, he finished directing the effects for ''{{Ill|The Story of Shim Cheong|ko|대심청전}}'', a South Korean-produced film that was never released in Japan.{{sfn|Takeuchi|Yamamoto|2001|p=336}}

{{Quote box
| quote = My movie company came up with a very interesting script that combined ''[[King Kong]]'' and ''[[Godzilla]]'', so I couldn't help working on this production, instead of my new fantasy films. This script is very special to me; it struck a deep emotional chord, because it was seeing ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]'' back in 1933 that sparked my interest in the world of special visual effects.
| source = {{mdash}}Eiji Tsuburaya (1962){{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=66}}
| width = 25em
| align = right
| salign = right
| style = padding:1.2em
}}

After filming ''Gorath'', Tsuburaya began planning to work on other projects, such as a new version of ''Princess Kaguya''. However, he postponed those as soon as he was given the opportunity to direct the special effects for Honda's [[Crossover (fiction)|crossover]] film ''[[King Kong vs. Godzilla]]''.{{sfn|Ichikawa|1996|pp=48–53}} The script's early drafts were sent back with notes from Toho asking for the monster antics to be as "funny as possible";{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=188}} Tsuburaya embraced this approach, seeking to emotionally appeal to children and expand the genre's audience.{{sfn|Kabuki|1993|pp=115–123}} Many of the sequences for the battle between the two monsters were purposefully filled with humorous details, but the approach was not favored by most of the effects crew, who "couldn't believe" some of the things Tsuburaya asked them to do, such as Kong and Godzilla volleying a giant boulder back and forth.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=82}} For their portrayals, Tsuburaya gave Haruo Nakajima (playing Godzilla) and [[Shoichi Hirose]] (playing King Kong) freedom to choreograph their own moves.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=70}} Tsuburaya directed sequences at a miniature outdoor set on the [[Miura Peninsula|Miura Coast]], which depicted the giant octopus's attack on the Faro Island village.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:{{sfn|Kishikawa|2020|p=2}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=93}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=235}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Iwasa |first=Yoichi |title=『ゴジラvsコング』の原点『キングコング対ゴジラ』撮影秘話……敵の大ダコはその日のスタッフの夕食になっていた |trans-title=Origin of "Godzilla vs. Kong": The filming secrets of "King Kong vs. Godzilla"... The enemy's big octopus was the staff's dinner that day|url=https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/46517?page=2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103080725/https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/46517?page=2 |archive-date=January 3, 2022 |access-date=July 18, 2021 |website=Bunshun.jp |date=July 2, 2021 |publisher=[[Shūkan Bunshun]] |page=2 |language=Japanese}}</ref>}} During its original theatrical release in August 1962, ''King Kong vs. Godzilla'' became the [[List of highest-grossing Japanese films|second-highest-grossing Japanese film in history]] and was watched by 11.2 million people, leading it to be regarded as the most-attended film in the ''Godzilla'' series.{{sfn|Nakamura|Shiraishi|Aita|Tomoi|2014|p=162}}

Tsuburaya's final film release of 1962 was Inagaki's epic ''jidaigeki'' film ''[[Chūshingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki]]'', for which he and his department made [[forced perspective]] stages and various optical effects. Produced by Toho—like ''King Kong vs. Godzilla''—in celebration of their 30th anniversary, ''Chūshingura'' was the company's fourth highest-grossing film of the year, and their tenth-highest altogether.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|pp=194, 196–197}}

===Birth of a company to last years: 1963–1970===
====Birth of a company and career expansion (1963–1964)====
The first movie released in 1963 to feature Tsuburaya's contributions was another war film by Shūe Matsubayashi, ''[[Attack Squadron!]]'', distributed in January of that year.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=94–95}} Despite not being an epic film, unlike Toho's previous war movies, ''Attack Squadron!'' still featured several miniature Japanese and American aircraft, crafted by Tsuburaya's crew, with some of the models being controlled via [[Radio-controlled aircraft|radio control]]. The sole new miniature battleship built for the film was ''[[Japanese battleship Yamato|Yamato]]'', an enormous motorized model constructed at 1/15 scale and measuring 17.5 meters (or 57.5 feet).{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=71}}

[[File:Tsuburaya family and Tetsuo Kinjō.jpg|thumb|The Tsuburaya family and employee Tetsuo Kinjō celebrating the foundation of Tsuburaya Productions. Left to right: Hajime, Kinjō, Eiji, Masano, Noboru, Tomoko (Noboru's spouse), and Akira.]]
After visiting Hollywood in order to study the special effects work of major American studios,{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=47}} Tsuburaya founded his own independent company, [[Tsuburaya Productions|Tsuburaya Special Effects Productions]] (later called simply Tsuburaya Productions), on April 12, 1963.{{sfn|Kodansha|2020a|pp=30–31}}{{sfn|Kodansha|2022a|p=3}} It was initially handled entirely by his family: Tsuburaya was reported as its director general and president; his wife Masano was on the director's board; his second son Noboru was appointed as accountant. Hajime, Tsuburaya's eldest son, would soon join the company as well, leaving his award-winning directorial employment at the [[Tokyo Broadcasting System]].{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=76}} Around August of the same year, photography assistant [[Kiyoshi Suzuki]] was hired alongside {{Ill|Koichi Takano|ja|高野宏一}}, a former news cameraman for [[Kyodo Television]].{{sfn|Kodansha|2020a|pp=30–31}} Takano was directly involved in Tsuburaya Productions' first-ever full-scale ''tokusatsu'' production, ''[[Alone Across the Pacific]]'' (1963),{{sfn|Keibunsha|1990|p=71}}{{sfn|Nakamura|Shiraishi|Aita|Tomoi|2014|p=123}} which required twenty-five effects sequences.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=76}} Throughout the rest of the year, Tsuburaya worked both for his new company and Toho, where he was still at the helm of the effects department, despite having terminated his exclusive deal with the company.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=134–135}}

The second film released in 1963 to feature his contributions was [[Li Han-hsiang]]'s Hong Kong [[musical film]] ''[[The Love Eterne]]''. The effects director was tasked to stage the scene where an earthquake split the tomb of the character Liang Shanbo (played by [[Ivy Ling Po]]) in two and the protagonist (played by [[Betty Loh Ti]]) ascended into heaven.{{sfn|Qiū|2007|p=188}} Cinematographer [[:ja:西本正|Tadashi Nishimoto]] traveled to Japan in order to film Tsuburaya's effects at Shintoho's {{Ill|International Television Films|lt=second studio|ja|国際放映}}.{{sfn|Nishimoto|Yamada|Yamane|2004|p=136}} Thereafter, the special effects director moved on to the World War I adventure film ''{{Ill|The Siege of Fort Bismarck|ja|青島要塞爆撃命令}}''.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=76}} In his first partnership with director {{Ill|Kengo Furusawa|ja|古澤憲吾}},{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=96–97}} Tsuburaya's division developed several new models for the film, including large-scale miniatures, full-scale replications of early twentieth-century flying vehicles, and an enormous outdoor model set of Fort Bismarck.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=76}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=79}} According to Ragone, Tsuburaya enjoyed working on this film, despite aiming to make his own tribute feature to Japanese aviation pioneers.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=76}}

Shortly after completing ''The Siege of Fort Bismarck'' in April 1963, he began [[pre-production]] work on ''[[Matango]]'', another film created in cooperation with Ishirō Honda,{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=76}} which was the final entry in the Transforming Human Series.{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=60–61}}{{sfn|Futabasha|2016|p=309}} In contrast with the majority of Toho's previous monster-themed films, the actors were capable of psychical interaction with the suit actors portraying the monsters on a sound stage.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|pp=76–77}} {{Ill|Sadao Iizuka|ja|飯塚定雄}} said that Tsuburaya "focused" Toho to purchase the "[[Optical printer|Optical Printer 1900 Series]]" in order to facilitate the production of special effects, while noting that optical synthesis technology became popular following the film's release.{{sfn|Yosensha|2011|pp=82–83}} A box office failure upon its Japanese release,{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=64–65}} ''Matango'' was not included in ''Kinema Junpo'''s list of height-grossing films for the year,{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=200}} and has been considered as one of Honda and Tsuburaya's most obscure movies ever since, being deemed as a "virtually unknown film".{{sfn|Camara|2015|p=69}}

Tsuburaya soon moved on to film miniatures and produce optical animation (via his newly purchased Optical Printer 1900 Series) for ''[[The Lost World of Sinbad]]''.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=77}} This film, directed by Senkichi Taniguchi from a screenplay by ''Mothra'' and ''King Kong vs. Godzilla'' writer [[Shinichi Sekizawa]], included an acclaimed choreographed chase sequence between a wizard and a witch, created via animation and matte photography, which gained Tsuburaya another Japan Technical Award for Special Skill.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=77}}<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=日本映画技術賞 受賞一覧 |trans-title=List of Japanese Film Technology Awards Winners|url=http://mpte.jp/outline/kennsyou/technological_prize.html |access-date=January 22, 2023 |website=mpte.jp |publisher=Motion Picture And Television Engineering Society Of Japan Inc.|language=Japanese}}</ref>

[[File:Eiji Tsuburaya Manda.jpg|left|thumb|Tsuburaya with a prop used to portray the [[Mu (mythical lost continent)|Mu]] empire's guardian sea dragon [[Manda (kaiju)|Manda]] on the set of ''[[Atragon]]'', 1963]]
Tsuburaya almost immediately started to work on another Honda-directed science fiction ''tokusatsu'' movie, ''[[Atragon]]'' (1963). Based on [[Shunrō Oshikawa]]'s novel ''The Undersea Warship''{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=256}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=100–101}}{{sfn|Kaneda|Oishi|Konuta|Eguchi|2014|p=32}}{{sfn|Futabasha|2016|pp=242–244}}}} and incorporated with Shigeru Komatsuzaki's novel ''Undersea Empire'',{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=77}} the film concerns a group of former colleagues, friends, and family that must convince the captain of the battleship ''Gotengo'', Hachiro Jinguji (played by [[Jun Tazaki]]), to use his battleship to save the world from the invading [[Mu (mythical lost continent)|ancient undersea civilization of Mu]], who are using their advanced technology and their guardian sea dragon, [[Manda (kaiju)|Manda]], in an attempt to take over the surface world. Since Toho aimed to distribute the film in Japanese theaters on December 22 of that year,{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=77}} Tsuburaya was given roughly two months to shoot the effects sequences for ''Atragon''.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=100–101}}{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|p=77}} As a result, in order to achieve the company's goal, he separated his special effects team into two units, assuring that it would allow him to complete the assignment as soon as possible. Although it was quickly converted and developed, the film is regarded as "one of the cornerstones of Japanese cinema" and is still often referenced in media.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|pp=77–78}}

While working on ''Atragon'', Tsuburaya was also concluding model effects for the Hiroshi Inagaki-directed ''jidaigeki'' film, ''[[Whirlwind (1964 film)|Whirlwind]]'' (1964).{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=78}}{{sfn|Matsuda|1997|p=152}} During this period of time, lack of sleep and workload-related stress were taking a toll on Tsuburaya's health, so much that he was often found sleeping in his chair during scene set-ups for his effects shoots.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=78}}

The fourth installment in the ''Godzilla'' movie series, ''[[Mothra vs. Godzilla]]'' (1964), was Tsuburaya's next project.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=78}} Often regarded as the best ''kaiju'' film to feature his works,{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=78}} it was produced in celebration of the tenth-anniversary of Toho's ''kaiju'' films and depicts the battle between Godzilla and the title character of the 1961 film ''Mothra''.{{sfn|Yosensha|2011|p=59}}{{sfn|Kodansha|2022b|p=6}} Tsuburaya utilized his 1900 optical printer to remove damage in [[composite photography|composite photographs]] for the picture and create Godzilla's atomic breath;{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=108}} he also went on location to shoot some composite plates of [[Nagoya Castle]] for the scene where Godzilla destroyed the building.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=81}} Since ''Godzilla'' actor Haruo Nakajima could not destroy the castle's model entirely, as originally planned, Tsuburaya first attempted to salvage the shot by making Godzilla seem enraged by the castle's strong fortification, before eventually choosing to re-shoot the scene with a more fragile model.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=108}} He also went on location to shoot a segment featuring the United States Navy discharging missiles at Godzilla: this scene was included in the movie's version for the U.S. market, whereas it was omitted from the original Japanese version. This was one of the rare occasions when a sequence featuring Godzilla was shot outside Toho Studios.{{sfn|Iwabatake|Ono|1992|p=74}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|pp=80–81}}

====Japanese-American coproductions and ''Ultra Q'' (1964–1965)====
[[File:Behind the Scenes of None but the Brave 1965.jpg|thumb|Tsuburaya (far left, with glasses) talks with [[Frank Sinatra]] (center) during the filming of the [[dogfight]] scene in ''[[None but the Brave]]'' (1965)]]
In the spring of 1964, Tsuburaya received a visit from frequent collaborator Ishirō Honda on the [[Hawaiian Islands|Hawaiian Island]] of [[Kauai]].{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=229}} The effects director was shooting a [[dogfight]] and plane crash sequence for [[Frank Sinatra]]'s ''[[None but the Brave]]'' (released in 1965),{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=229}}{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=46}} the renowned singer and actor's sole directorial picture. As the first major Japanese-American co-production, the epic anti-war film revolved around a troop of American soldiers, stranded in the middle of the [[Pacific Ocean]] during World War II, who are forced to collaborate with an opposition Japanese unit that has also been stranded on the same island.<ref>{{cite web|title=''None But the Brave''|url=https://www.filmlinc.org/films/none-but-the-brave/|url-status=live|access-date=March 4, 2023|publisher=[[Film at Lincoln Center]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305012242/https://www.filmlinc.org/films/none-but-the-brave/|archive-date=March 5, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Cotter|first=Padraig|title=''None But The Brave'': Frank Sinatra's Directorial Debut Was An Anti-War Epic|url=https://screenrant.com/none-but-brave-movie-frank-sinatra-antiwar-epic/|date=October 6, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=March 4, 2023|website=[[Screen Rant]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305011704/https://screenrant.com/none-but-brave-movie-frank-sinatra-antiwar-epic/|archive-date=March 5, 2023}}</ref>{{sfn|''Boxoffice''|1965|p=C-1}} During Honda's visit, Tsuburaya told him he was working on his first television series for Tsuburaya Productions, then-titled ''Unbalance,'' but was struggling to find a lead actor for it. Honda convinced [[Kenji Sahara]] (who starred in ''None but the Brave'' and several Honda-Tsuburaya ''kaiju'' films) to play the team leader for the intended show, which would later become ''[[Ultra Q]]'' (1966).{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=229}} ''None but the Brave'' was later released in Japan by Toho on January 15, 1965, and was distributed by [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]] in the U.S. the following month.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=217}}

In January 1964, while in [[New York City|New York]], Tsuburaya ordered [[Rostrum camera|Oxberry]]'s 1200 optical printer, a model that at the time was owned by only one other studio in the entire world: [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]].{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=83}} Despite having to spend a then-record {{JPY|40 million}} fee, Tsuburaya wanted to purchase the new printer for Tsuburaya Productions because it was one of the most adaptable post-production tools: moreover, he had used Oxberry's previous iteration of the device on films such as ''Matango''.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=83}} He went on to operate this technology on ''Ultra Q'', Tsuburaya Productions' first television series, which was a combination of two of his previously discarded projects, tentatively titled ''Unbalance'' and ''WoO''.{{sfn|Kodansha|2020b|pp=3–5}} Principal photography on ''Ultra Q'' began on September 27, 1964, with the shooting of the episode "Mammoth Flower".{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=89}} Airing on the Tokyo Broadcasting System from January 2 to July 3, 1966, the series follows the adventures of a trio who investigates strange phenomena, ranging from supernatural threats to ''kaiju'', in the 20th century. Upon broadcast, around 30% of Japanese households with televisions watched the show,{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=229}}{{sfn|Lie|2004|p=68}} making Tsuburaya a household name and gaining him even more attention from the media, who dubbed him the "God of ''Tokusatsu''".{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=15}}

After directing the effects on Honda's ''kaiju'' film ''[[Dogora]]'' (released in August 1964),{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=104}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=90}} Tsuburaya renewed their collaboration for the ''kaiju'' film, ''[[Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster]]'', making 1964 the only time two ''Godzilla'' movies were ever released in the same year (the first one being ''Mothra vs. Godzilla'').{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=215}} Conceived as one of the features celebrating ten years of Toho's ''kaiju'' films,{{sfn|Nakamura|Shiraishi|Aita|Tomoi|2014|pp=36–37}} ''Ghidorah'' featured a dragon ''kaiju'' designed as an homage to [[Yamata no Orochi]], [[King Ghidorah]], who opposed Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra in the film.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=216}} Tsuburaya and Toho executives decided to [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphize]] the monsters for the film, despite Honda feeling "uncomfortable" with the decision and being reluctant to use [[The Peanuts]] (who previously played Mothra's fairies in the namesake film) as the interpreters for the ''kaiju'' in the summit scene.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=215}} Released on December 20, 1964,{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=108–109}} ''Ghidorah'' was a massive box office hit, grossing {{JPY|375 million}}, relatively more than ''King Kong vs. Godzilla'', the series' previous record holder.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=217}} King Ghidorah would go on to become a frequent antagonist of the ''Godzilla'' franchise.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/godzilla-king-monsters-ghidorah-origin-powers-explained/|title=Ghidorah Explained: Godzilla 2 Villain Origin & Powers|author=Nicholas Raymond|work=Screen Rant|date=May 29, 2019|access-date=March 6, 2023|url-status=live|archive-date=February 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211003631/https://screenrant.com/godzilla-king-monsters-ghidorah-origin-powers-explained/}}</ref>

Tsuburaya began 1965 by directing the effects for Seiji Maruyama's war film ''[[:ja:太平洋奇跡の作戦 キスカ|Retreat from Kiska]]''.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=290–291}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=106–107}} Tsuburaya spent two months filming the scene where the fleet circles Kiska Island in thick fog on an indoor stage set since the fog could not be controlled by the wind during open shooting.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=290–291}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=106–107}} The sequence where the fleet slips through the rocks was realized by laying a rail at the bottom of the special effects pool and running the warship's miniature on it.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=290–291}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=106–107}} The miniatures could not be very large for on-set shooting, and the water flow was pumped to adjust the proportions of the waves and wakes. A large outdoor pool is used in the scene of port entry and departure without fog.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=290–291}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=106–107}} For his work on ''Kiska'', Tsuburaya won a Japan Technical Award for Special Skill at the 19th Japan Technical Awards.<ref name=":3" />

[[File:Eiji Tsuburaya and Kōji Furuhata.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Tsuburaya (left) with [[Frankenstein's monster|Frankenstein]] actor Kōji Furuhata (right) on the set of ''[[Frankenstein vs. Baragon]]'' (1965)]]
His next production, ''[[Frankenstein vs. Baragon]]'' (1965), depicted [[Frankenstein's monster]] fighting a new subterranean ''kaiju'', named [[Baragon]] in Japan.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=94}}  Tsuburaya was reportedly enthusiastic about working on the film because the titular monsters were going to be smaller than normal, allowing his team to build larger model sets than the ones used in ''Godzilla'' movies: plus, an actor in make-up—[[Koji Furuhata|Kōji Furuhata]]—would be involved to play Frankenstein, rather than leaving the role to a [[Stunt performer|stuntman]] in a monster suit.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=225}} In spite of featuring model sets among the biggest and most detailed models for a Honda-Tsuburaya collaboration, some critics have questioned several of Tsuburaya's ideas, including a puppet used to portray a horse, instead of an actual equine, for a sequence in which Baragon overruns a farmstead. According to Koichi Takano, Tsuburaya said that he used the puppet because it was "more fun".{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=94}} Tsuburaya also made a scene depicting the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki#Hiroshima|atomic bomb falling upon Hiroshima]], which Honda biographers Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski called an "impressionistic display of smoke and fire".{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=224}}

After post-production on the film was finalized for its Japanese release, held two days after the twentieth anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing (August 8, 1965),{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|pp=224, 226}} American co-producer [[Henry G. Saperstein]] asked for Toho to film a new ending for the U.S. version: Tsuburaya and Honda, accordingly, re-assembled the cast and crew to shoot the new ending, although it was eventually left unused in both American and Japanese iterations of the motion picture.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=226}} Still, the alternative ending was later screened at a fan convention in 1982, before featuring as a bonus scene on home video.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=226}}

Following ''Frankenstein vs. Baragon'', Tsuburaya quickly moved on to his next film, Kengo Furusawa's ''[[Crazy Adventure|The Crazy Adventure]]'',{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|pp=98–99}} produced in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the [[Crazy Cats]] comedy group.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=112}}{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|pp=217–218}} Inspired by popular [[spy film]]s of the time,{{sfn|Futabasha|2016|p=222}} Tsuburaya's department extensively used "[[wire fu|wire action]]" in outdoor locations, while lead actor [[Hitoshi Ueki]] performed most of the movie's action sequences without any stunts.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=112}}{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|p=101}}{{efn|Future ''Godzilla'' series special effects director [[Kōichi Kawakita]], who began working at Toho in the 1960s, suggested that this was the first time that a full-fledged "wire action" was ever performed in a film.{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|p=101}}}} Tsuburaya also directed miniature effects sequences for the film.{{sfn|Nakamura|Shiraishi|Aita|Tomoi|2014|p=58}} Released in Japan on October 31, 1965,{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=112}} ''The Crazy Adventure'' was another box office hit for Tsuburaya, earning even more than ''Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster''.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|pp=217–218}}

[[File:Eiji and Godzilla.jpg|thumb|Tsuburaya directs [[Haruo Nakajima]] (in [[Godzilla]] suit) on the set of ''[[Invasion of Astro-Monster]]'' (1965)]]
Then, Tsuburaya worked on Honda's ''[[Invasion of Astro-Monster]]'' (1965),{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=114–115}}{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|p=103}} the sixth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise and [[Shōwa era|Shōwa period]], as well as the second collaboration between Toho and [[United Productions of America|UPA]].{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=121}}{{sfn|Kalat|2010|p=84}}{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=227}} A direct sequel to ''Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster'',{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=228}} the movie focuses on two astronauts who land on a planet occupied by an alien race, known as the "Xiliens", as they ask humanity for assistance with Godzilla and Rodan in defeating the "intruder" King Ghidorah. After bringing the astronauts, scientist Sakurai, Godzilla, and Rodan to their planet, the aliens attempt to exploit Ghidorah, Godzilla, and Rodan to conquer the Earth by mind-controlling them. The last ''Godzilla'' film to feature the contributions of Tsuburaya's entire effects unit,{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=99}} ''Invasion of Astro-Monster'' notably features Godzilla's renowned victory dance, which derived from the ''shie!'' dance featured in [[Fujio Akatsuka]]'s comedy manga series ''[[Osomatsu-kun]]'' (1962–1969), a popular culture sensation at the time of the film's production.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=99}} The dance was included in the film after a Toho employee suggested it to Tsuburaya,{{sfn|Nakano|Someya|2014|pp=126-127}}{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=227}} who was already supportive of anthropomorphizing monster characters with comical characteristics.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2007|loc=00:49:51}} For his work on ''Invasion of Astro-Monster'', the director obtained the Japan Technical Award for Special Skill the following year.<ref name=":3"/>

====''Ultraman'' and beyond (1966–1967)====
At the height of ''Ultra Q'''s popularity, TBS aired "The Father of ''Ultra Q''", an episode of their documentary series ''Modern Leaders'', on June 2, 1966. Throughout the episode, Tsuburaya was filmed at work and elsewhere, being even interviewed by individuals dressed in ''Ultra Q'' monster costumes: in this instance, he mentioned for the first time that he was working on a new show to follow ''Ultra Q'', which later turned out to be [[Ultraman (1966 TV series)|''Ultraman'']].{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=113}}

Tsuburaya had begun working on the new ''tokusatsu'' series in the autumn of the previous year: TBS executives wanted to produce a series as thriving as ''Ultra Q'' and wanted a full-color program that would "take the monster line to the next level".{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=113}} Tsuburaya and writer Tetsuo Kinjō decided to take the barebones concept of ''Ultra Q'' about civilians and scientists haggling monsters: they came up with the idea of a group, tentatively named the "Scientific Investigation Agency" (SIA), formed to deal with ''kaiju'' and supernatural phenomena as the focus of the new show. The pair also agreed to add unused conceptions from ''Ultra Q'' and ''WoO''.{{sfn|Murayama|1982|p=42}}{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=114}}{{sfn|Kodansha|2022a|pp=8–13}} Tsuburaya had spent significant amounts of studio money to build his models for the ''Godzilla'' films, so TBS aimed to monetize these miniatures and was looking for a task that could repurpose the sets and suits from the ''Godzilla'' franchise.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=114}}

[[File:Eiji Tsuburaya and Ultraman.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Tsuburaya with actor [[Bin Furuya]] (in [[Ultraman (character)|Ultraman]] suit), {{circa|1966}}]]
During designing, Tsuburaya found the original versions of [[Ultraman (character)|title character]]'s design to be "too alien and sinister", and requested production designer [[Tohl Narita]] to keep drafting additional designs as teleplays were being written concurrently.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=117}} Narita chose to root Ultraman's design in the Greek concept of ''[[cosmos]]'' (order and harmony), in contrast to his previous designs for ''Ultra Q'', which had been inspired by the concept of ''[[khaos]]''.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=117}} Tsuburaya provided input on Narita's designs, with some being inspired by the art of [[Miyamoto Musashi]].{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=117}} Ultraman's silver skin symbolized steel from an interstellar rocket, while the red lining represented the surface of [[Mars]].{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=117}} As stated by biographer August Ragone, Ultraman became Tsuburaya's "most popular and enduring creation".{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=114}}

The filming sessions for ''Ultraman'' began in March 1966, and the crew was divided into three separate groups for its live-action and special effects. Tsuburaya Productions and TBS initially planned to start broadcasting the series on July 17, 1966, but the latter company chose to release it the week before.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=120}} Tsuburaya supervised the production of every episode of the series and served as the ''de facto'' special effects director for episodes 18 and 19.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=139}}

After a few meetings between the two companies and sponsors, it was decided that a pilot episode, originally planned as the "Ultraman Eve Festival", would introduce the show's title character. The pilot episode was aired on July 10—one of the dates that have been cited as Tsuburaya's birthday{{sfn|Takeuchi|Yamamoto|2001|p=324}}— of that same year, under the title ''The Birth of Ultraman: An Ultraman Premiere Celebration''.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|pp=124, 127}} ''Ultraman'' became a larger hit than its predecessor, obtaining a 40% viewership.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=229}}{{sfn|Lie|2004|p=68}} With monsters now available to watch at home weekly, children fewer asked their parents to take them to the theater: consequently, Tsuburaya Productions' triumph in television was diverting box-office money from Toho's ''kaiju'' films.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=229}}

Also in 1966, Tsuburaya worked once again with Honda for the ''kaiju film [[The War of the Gargantuas]]'', produced in collaboration with Henry G. Saperstein, which centered on scientists investigating the appearance of two giant hairy humanoids who eventually fight each other in Tokyo. Initially drafted as a sequel to ''Frankenstein vs. Baragon'', the film went through several tentative titles during scripting,{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=135}} and the final film was referred to by film chronicler [[Stuart Galbraith IV]] as a "quasi–sequel" to its predecessor.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=231}} The film premiered in Japan in July 1966.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=140}}

After Tsuburaya's series ''[[Kaiju Booska|Booska the Friendly Beast]]'' began airing on television in November 1966,{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=142}} he received his last credit as "special effects director" on a ''Godzilla'' film for ''[[Ebirah, Horror of the Deep]]''.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=118–119}} However, his disciple {{Ill|Sadamasa Arikawa|ja|有川貞昌}} actually served as a ''de facto'' special effects director for this film, with Tsuburaya's credit being merely ceremonial.{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|p=111}} The following year, Tsuburaya directed the effects for ''[[King Kong Escapes]]'', a Japanese-American co-production created to celebrate Toho's thirty-fifth anniversary.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=318–319}} In homage to the dinosaur fighting scene from ''King Kong'' (1933), the director introduced [[Gorosaurus]], a dinosaurian ''kaiju'' that battles Kong on Mondo Island in the film.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=318–319}}{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|p=117}} The ensuing 1967 release featuring Tsuburaya's contributions was ''[[Ultraseven]]'', the third entry in the ''Ultra'' series, which had been influenced by the British TV series ''[[Thunderbirds (TV series)|Thunderbirds]]''.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=135, 142}} The series received a 33.7% rating upon beginning airing on October 7, 1967.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=157}} Also in 1967, he was appointed "special effects supervisor" and handed over the position of special effects director for the ''Godzilla'' film series to Arikawa, starting with ''[[Son of Godzilla]]''.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=72–73}}

====Final works, last years, and death (1968–1970)====
In 1967, Tsuburaya Productions' writing crew took elements from Shinichi Sekizawa's screenplay, ''The Flying Battleship'', and inserted concepts from it into a TV series, ''[[Mighty Jack]],'' which was similar in concept to ''[[James Bond]]'' and ''[[Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea]]''.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=168}} Concerning a team of secret agents established by a prosperous industrialist to oppose the acts of a military organization, referred to as "Q", ''Mighty Jack'' was aimed at a more mature audience, in contrary to the ''Ultra'' series and ''Booska the Friendly Beast''.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=144}} Due to pressure from [[Fuji TV]], the series declined rapidly after the release of its first episode on April 6, 1968, as a consequence of its poor quality: many teleplays were filmed without revision, effects work frequently lacked time, and reshoots were often unattainable.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|pp=168–169}} Fuji TV considered the series as a commercial failure, due to its 8.3% audience rating, and they canceled it after Tsuburaya Productions had finished producing just 13 of the scheduled 26 episodes.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=135}}{{sfn|Ōishi|Eguchi|Shimazaki|Mamiya|2013|pp=36–37}} A sequel to the series, titled ''Fight! Mighty Jack'', later began broadcasting in July 1968.{{sfn|Shiraishi|2006|p=237}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=171}}

With budgets rising, less returning crew, and theatergoers being dragged away by television, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka chose to conclude the ''Godzilla'' series but offered one last film for the original staff.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=171}} Honda's consequential ''kaiju'' epic, ''[[Destroy All Monsters]]'' (1968), featured effects directed by Sadamasa Arikawa, which Tsuburaya allegedly supervised.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=245}} His next release of that year was another Seiji Maruyama's war epic, ''[[Admiral Yamamoto (film)|Admiral Yamamoto]]'', which starred [[Toshiro Mifune]] as [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[Gensui (Imperial Japanese Navy)|Marshal Admiral]] [[Isoroku Yamamoto]] (who was previously the topic of Honda and Tsuburaya's ''Eagle of the Pacific'').{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=126–127}} ''Destroy All Monsters'' was the twelfth-highest grossing domestic film of 1968, registering an approximately {{JPY|170 million}}-worth gain, while ''Admiral Yamamoto'' was the second-highest grosser, at roughly {{JPY|400 million}}.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=247}} On September 15, 1968, the week after the final episode of ''Ultraseven'' was broadcast{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=173}} and just over a month after ''Admiral Yamamoto'' was distributed to Japanese theaters by Toho,{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=126–127}} the director's following project for Tsuburaya Productions, ''{{Ill|Operation: Mystery|ja|怪奇大作戦}}'', began airing on the TBS, where he served as the show's supervisor.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=146–147}}

''[[Latitude Zero (film)|Latitude Zero]]'', released by Toho in July 1969, was a Japanese-American collaboration produced by Toho and Don Sharp Productions.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=173}}{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=548}} The production was reported to have had a budget of {{JPY|360 million}}{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=66–67}}{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=121}} (equivalent to about {{USD|1 million|long=no}}),{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=248}} but Tsuburaya's department had difficulty making realistic creatures for the picture after its American producer pulled out of the project.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=173}}{{sfn|Nakamura|Shiraishi|Aita|Tomoi|2014|p=124}} In comparison, retrospective writers have praised Tsuburaya's model work, especially his submarines,{{Sfn|Ragone|2014|p=173}}{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=252}} which Ryfle and Godziszewski noted resembled [[Thunderbirds machines|''Thunderbirds'' machines]] in [[Gerry Anderson]]'s show of the same name.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=252}} Like Honda and Tsuburaya's previous effort,{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=247}} ''Latitude Zero'' only grossed {{JPY|170 million}} ({{USD|472,000|long=no}}), making it a box office failure.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=252}}

Tsuburaya quickly moved on to his next project, ''[[Battle of the Japan Sea (film)|Battle of the Japan Sea]]'', regarded as the third film in the "Toho 8.15 series" (following ''[[Japan's Longest Day]]'' and ''Admiral Yamamoto'').{{sfn|Nakamura|Shiraishi|Aita|Tomoi|2014|p=124}}{{Sfn|Matsuda|2001|pp=128–129}} Tsuburaya was provided with his largest budget ever for the Seiji Maruyama-directed war epic film about the [[Russo-Japanese War]].{{Sfn|Ragone|2014|p=174}} Thus, 60 members of his department's artists created an estimated 107 ship miniatures for the film and constructed a 13-meter model replica of the Imperial Japanese Navy's battleship ''[[Japanese battleship Mikasa|Mikasa]],'' in contrast to the other 3-meter ships.{{Sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=342–343}} Released in August 1969, ''Battle of the Japan Sea'' was the second highest Japanese grosser of 1969,{{sfn|Nakamura|Shiraishi|Aita|Tomoi|2014|p=124}} earning {{JPY|360 million}}{{Sfn|Kinema Junposha|2012|p=260}} against its {{JPY|350 million}} budget.{{Sfn|Asahi Sonorama|1985|p=267}} Deemed one of Tsuburaya's masterpieces,{{Sfn|Ragone|2014|p=174}} ''Battle of the Japan Sea'' was the last production he officially took part in as the special effects director.{{Sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=342–343}}{{Sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=73}} On the same month, Tsuburaya Productions' next series, ''[[Horror Theater Unbalance]]'' (aired in 1973), entered the production process: Tsuburaya was credited as its supervisor.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=149}}

Tsuburaya and several of Toho's effects crew members spent the majority of 1969 working together to create ''Birth of the Japanese Islands'', an [[audiovisual]] exhibit simulating earthquakes and volcanoes, which was set to be part of [[Mitsubishi Group|Mitsubishi]]'s pavilion at the [[Expo '70]] in [[Suita]], [[Osaka Prefecture]]. His commitment to the project prevented him from being involved in the production of ''[[All Monsters Attack]]'' (1969), and director Honda handled special effects instead of him for the first time.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=255}} Nonetheless, the director stated that Tsuburaya was "personally involved with the editing," adding: "The film may have been generally put together [by others], but he definitely looked it over and instructed the staff to shorten certain scenes, and so on."{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=258}}

[[File:Eiji Tsuburaya's Gravepost.jpg|thumb|Tsuburaya's grave at the Catholic Cemetery in [[Fuchū, Tokyo]]|321x301px]]
Ignoring his doctor's recent advice to reduce his workload due to declining health,{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=47}} Tsuburaya started displaying symptoms of [[unstable angina]], and he collapsed while visiting the [[Naruto whirlpools]] during the shooting sessions for the Expo '70 film presentation.{{sfn|Nakamura|Shiraishi|Aita|Tomoi|2014|pp=96–97}} He was subsequently sent to {{Ill|Mishuku Hospital|ja|三宿病院}} in [[Meguro]] to continue his recovery, but refused to remain there, as he expected to complete ''Birth of the Japanese Islands'' on schedule: instead, he accepted an offer to recover and receive medical treatment at Ukiyama Villa on the [[Izu Peninsula]] in [[Itō, Shizuoka]],{{Sfn|Takeuchi|Yamamoto|2001|p=107}} where he was instructed to cancel any assignments.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=175}} Concerned about Tsuburaya's future, his son Hajime quit his job at TBS and officially took over his father's position as the president of Tsuburaya Productions on November 30, 1969.{{Sfn|Shiraishi|2006|p=260}}

In December 1969, Tsuburaya completed filming the Expo '70 project and moved to his Ukiyama Villa with his wife Masano, where he persisted in writing his autobiography and the film outlines ''Japan Airplane Guy'' and ''Princess Kaguya''.{{r|Founder}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=175}}{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=68–69}} While continuing to write the ''Japan Airplane Guy'' story treatment daily, he expressed his desire to work on more projects in the future and return to Tokyo on January 26, 1970.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=175}} However, on January 25, 1970, at 10:15 P.M., Masano awoke and discovered that Tsuburaya had died while sleeping with her at the villa in Itō, Shizuoka: he was 68 years old.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=175}} Japanese sources have cited the cause of his death as [[angina]] associated with an [[Asthma|asthma attack]].{{Sfn|SAN-EI|2022|p=70}}{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=68–69}}{{Sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=157}}

On January 27, a mourning tradition took place at the Tsuburaya family's house.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=175}} His funeral was held at the Seijō Catholic Church on January 29, with his eldest son Hajime serving as the chief mourner.{{Sfn|Shiraishi|2006|p=340}} The following day, he was posthumously awarded the Honorary Chairman Award by the Japanese Society of Cinematographers and the [[Order of the Sacred Treasure]] by emperor [[Hirohito]].<ref name="JMoM"/>{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=175}} A Catholic service was held at Toho Studios on February 2, with ''The Last War'' producer [[Sanezumi Fujimoto]] providing the services.{{sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=68–69}} Five hundred friends and colleagues attended the service, including actor Kazuo Hasegawa, ''The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya'' director Kajirō Yamamoto, ''The Three Treasures'' director Hiroshi Inagaki, and ''A Thousand and One Nights with Toho'' director [[Kon Ichikawa]].{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=175}} He was later entombed at the Catholic Cemetery in [[Fuchū, Tokyo]], Japan.{{sfn|Takeuchi|Yamamoto|2001|p=340}}

==Filmmaking==
===Style, themes, and techniques===
[[File:Eiji Tsuburaya and crew working on Godzilla (1954).jpg|thumb|Tsuburaya directs his special effects crew on the set of ''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' (1954). The film's [[Godzilla|namesake monster]] portrayed via "[[creature suit#Giant monsters|suitmation]]" (behind Tsuburaya) symbolizes [[nuclear holocaust]].]]
Tsuburaya's career in film production evolved from small-scale ''[[jidaigeki]]'' films{{Sfn|Ragone|2014|p=23}} to financially successful [[War film|war]] and [[Science fiction film|science fiction]] epics.{{Sfn|Ragone|2014|p=58}} During his stint as a cinematographer in the early 20th century, Tsuburaya closely researched international cinema in order to incorporate some of the techniques and improve his innovative style;<ref name="Founder" /> some of these films include: ''[[The Lost World (1925 film)|The Lost World]]'' (1925), ''[[Metropolis (1927 film)|Metropolis]]'' (1927), and ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]'' (1933). Tsuburaya remarked that ''King Kong'' heavily influenced him to work in special effects.{{Sfn|Ragone|2014|p=23}} He decided to create special effects sequences in films by using miniature effects and synthesis technology involving layered film strips.<ref name="Founder" /> Tsuburaya constantly converted new special effects techniques and tested them on a daily basis and became the founder and head of Japanese special effects (known as ''[[Tokusatsu]]''), earning him the title "Father of ''Tokusatsu''".<ref name="Founder" /> Biographer August Ragone writes that his footage, which was always filmed live on a soundstage, in comparison to modern techniques such as [[computer-generated imagery]], could be "silly or deadly, beautiful or terrifying, but no matter how fanciful or fantastic, his visual effects seem to live and breathe with a life of their own."{{Sfn|Ragone|2014|p=14}}

For ''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' (1954), Tsuburaya decided to create a new suit acting technique, later known as "[[creature suit#Giant monsters|suitmation]]", because the film's small budget and tight schedule restrained him from portraying [[Godzilla]] via [[stop motion]] (à la ''King Kong'').{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=27}} Film historian Steve Ryfle writes that, although suitmation was not as elaborate as the stop motion techniques by effects pioneers [[Willis H. O'Brien]] (creator of the effects in ''King Kong'') and [[Ray Harryhausen]] (creator of the effects in ''[[The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms]]''), it gave the special effects director a more effective approach to depict the destruction sequences that made Godzilla famous.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=27}}

Tsuburaya's endeavors in films often depicted [[nuclear holocaust]]s, [[world war]]s, monster invasions, and intergalactic conflicts.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=14}} Despite his movies featuring these apocalyptic and mass destructive themes, he opposed including themes of [[graphic violence]]—especially bleeding and slaughter—in his ''[[kaiju]]'' films, believing it was inappropriate for the younger members of the audience.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=47}} However, Toho executives (such as Iwao Mori) urged Tsuburaya to feature gore in his ''kaiju'' films during the late 1960s, due to the rise in popularity of juvenile-targeted television shows that featured an increase in violent content, with even Tsuburaya's own shows ''[[Ultraman (1966 TV series)|Ultraman]]'' and ''[[Ultraseven]]'' depicting heroes decapitating, slashing, chopping, or otherwise injuring their monster adversaries.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=242}} According to his protégé [[Teruyoshi Nakano]], Tsuburaya told Toho executives: "These movies are for kids. It's nonsense. Why do you enjoy showing them blood?"{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=242}} Rather than have violent themes in his films, Tsuburaya continually employed lighthearted comedy and humanism in his ''tokusatsu'' work. As written by Ryfle, it is implied that this is due to him still being a "child at heart" and having a "soft spot in his heart for children" during his late life.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=47}} In 1962, Tsuburaya explained: "My heart and mind are as they were when I was a child. Then I loved to play with toys and to read stories of magic. I still do. My wish is only to make life happier and more beautiful for those who will go and see my films of fantasy."{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=47}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=14}} His compassion for children helped shape his legacy; notably, the ''Godzilla'' films produced after his death, featuring effects by Nakano, displayed large amounts of graphic violence.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=47}}

===Relationship with cast and crew===
[[File:Eiji and Ishiro.jpg|thumb|left|Tsuburaya (center) with director [[Ishirō Honda]] (right) and crew members on the Faro Island set of ''[[King Kong vs. Godzilla]]'' (1962)]]
According to [[Ishirō Honda]] biographers Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski, it was challenging to cooperate with Tsuburaya, especially for directors.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=87}} Tsuburaya refused to surrender control of his sector to the [[principal photography|mainstream]] director: he refused to allow directors to stare into the [[viewfinder]] in case they assessed elements like the set or camera position and opposed when his footage was re-edited.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=87}} During the production of ''Godzilla'' (1954), however, Tsuburaya formed a bond with Honda, who had a completely different personality, being deemed as calm and courteous, rarely expressing his emotions towards others.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=87}} Ryfle and Godziszewski stated that the two infrequently interacted outside [[Toho Studios]] and were not personal comrades, but nevertheless shared a "''tsu-ka'' relationship".{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=87}}{{efn|According to Ryfle and Godziszewski: "''Tsu-ka'' describes an unusually close personal understanding between friends."{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=308}}}} Honda's assistant director [[:ja:梶田興治|Kōji Kajita]] said that "Other directors such as [[Hiroshi Inagaki]], [[Jun Fukuda]], and [[Shūe Matsubayashi]] also worked with Mr. Tsuburaya, but they were all the 'me-first' type and they really didn't work well together. Directors tend to think they are number one, and the effects team should just follow behind. Mr. Tsuburaya didn't appreciate that. Honda-''san'' and Mr. Tsuburaya got along so well because they were both very mature men."{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=87}}

Despite often making unrelenting directions on his crew, Tsuburaya was admired by colleagues, many of whom were younger than him and called him an "uncle", mentor, or the "Old Man".{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=47}} [[Godzilla]] suit actor [[Haruo Nakajima]] remarked that although Tsuburaya was usually smiling and had a refreshing disposition onset, he was often angry with the staff.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=338}} Special effects cinematographer Tomioka Mototaka claimed he was in a position to be scolded by Tsuburaya against cinematographer Sadamasa Arikawa; photography assistants Takao Tsurumi and Mitsuru Chokai testified that Tsuburaya did not get angry directly when young individuals in his unit failed, but scolded Arikawa and others, instead.{{sfn|Yosensha|2010|pp=35–43, 173–175}}

On the contrary, Tsuburaya was rarely infuriated by actors.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=338}} In an interview regarding August Ragone's biography on Tsuburaya, Nakajima said he was a "very reserved man on the set. Most of the direction he gave me for the performances was, 'I trust you to do it. Do what you feel is best, I'll leave it up to you.' And that's the way he was for most of the films we worked on together after ''Godzilla''." He added: "After the wires broke on the [[Rodan]] suit, causing me to fall several meters onto the miniature set, he chided, 'It's good that you didn't die; because I need you to finish the film.'"{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=back cover}} In an interview regarding ''[[Nezura 1964]]'' (2020), [[Ultraman (character)|Ultraman]] suit actor [[Bin Furuya]] remarked that Tsuburaya was "usually a normal kind person" and always encouraged his actors to "act as if they were in the kind of film that would give dreams to children".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nezura1964.com/news-11|title=古谷敏インタビュー|trans-title=Interview with Bin Furuya|language=Japanese|work=[[Nezura 1964]]|publisher=3Y Film|access-date=March 16, 2023|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316212212/https://www.nezura1964.com/news-11|archive-date=March 16, 2023}}</ref>

===Production and editing===
Tsuburaya had several methods to shoot his films. During his stint as a cinematographer, he was the first to use [[crane shot|crane shoot]]ing and [[key light]] prior to World War II.{{sfn|Yosensha|2010|pp=218–237}} According to camera operator Mitsuo Miura, Tsuburaya also filmed "pseudo nightscapes" using beer bottle fragments as a filter, and his disciple Sadamasa Arikawa became the first photographer in Japan to shoot with color filters.{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|pp=72–73}}{{sfn|Toho|1993|pp=155–165}} During his late life, Tsuburaya explained to cinematographer Tomioka that he had always recognized how many frames could be taken with a hand-cranked camera, and he was able to turn it instinctively.{{sfn|Yosensha|2010|p=35}}

Honda said that Tsuburaya's approach to film special effects was "like a physics experiment, no different than trying to make new discoveries."{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=60}} Tsuburaya's lighting engineer Kaoru Saitō remarked that his camera work in special effects only moved sideways or moves up and down with a crane once the main position is decided, and the camera itself does not approach forward. Saitō also testified that he demanded the subject approach the camera and never shot the set from the other side of the camera.{{sfn|Toho|1993|pp=137–143}}

When he brainstormed ideas for a new film, Tsuburaya was known for his quiet but intense style.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=47}} Nakano stated: "I heard about this episode when Mr. Tsuburaya was returning home from work one day and he ran into this woman who kind of looked familiar to him. So he said, 'Hello, it's been a long time.' Do you know who that woman was? It was his wife! Mr. Tsuburaya was so deep into his own thoughts, he kind of lost himself sometimes."{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=47}}

According to Arikawa, Tsuburaya also edited his own film work.{{Sfn|Iwabatake|1994|pp=142–143}} Tsuburaya's assistant director, Masakatsu Asai, stated that he memorized the situation and storage location of the cuts he shot.{{Sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=345–347}} Scripter Keiko Suzuki said Tsuburaya envisioned his own editing plan, and he often filmed scenes unscripted. Thus, for instance, scenes were altered from "Battle 1" to "Aerial Battle 2".{{Sfn|Yosensha|2016|pp=216–226}}

==Legacy==
===Cultural impact===
{{See also|Godzilla (franchise)|Godzilla in popular culture|Ultraman}}
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In spite of his death, Tsuburaya's name and work remained prominent because his ''[[tokusatsu]]'' films and television shows generated a global fandom. A year after his death, Tsuburaya's intent to revitalize ''[[Ultraman]]'' was eventuated into ''[[Return of Ultraman]]'' (1971-1972), which launched a new string of the "''Ultra''" series throughout the rest of the decade. Despite having difficulty after their father's death, [[Hajime Tsuburaya|Hajime]], [[Noboru Tsuburaya|Noboru]], and [[Akira Tsuburaya|Akira]] kept running [[Tsuburaya Productions]] and never gave up his legacy, even when Tsuburaya Productions only had just three employees before the home video revived the ''Ultraman'' series.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=179}} In 1989, Noboru declared that Ultraman is his father's "most important legacy" even if [[Godzilla]] is Tsuburaya's most popular character overseas.{{sfn|Talmadge|1989|p=44}}

Contemporary writers have frequently stated that Tsuburaya is one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema,<ref name="siliconrepublic">{{cite web |url=https://www.siliconrepublic.com/play/eiji-tsuburaya |title=Eiji Tsuburaya's 114th birthday marked with Godzilla Google Doodle
 |last=Kennedy |first=John |date=July 7, 2015 |website=[[Silicon Republic]] |access-date=April 5, 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405040903/https://www.siliconrepublic.com/play/eiji-tsuburaya |archive-date=April 5, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://searchengineland.com/eiji-tsuburaya-google-logo-celebrates-godzilla-co-creator-on-his-114th-birthday-224624 |title=Eiji Tsuburaya Google Logo Celebrates Godzilla Co-Creator On His 114th Birthday |last=Gesenhues |first=Amy |date=July 7, 2015 |website=[[Search Engine Land]] |publisher=Third Door Media, Inc. |access-date=April 5, 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405041529/https://searchengineland.com/eiji-tsuburaya-google-logo-celebrates-godzilla-co-creator-on-his-114th-birthday-224624/ |archive-date=April 5, 2023 }}</ref> with biographer August Ragone claiming that Tsuburaya's cinematic importance is on par with [[Akira Kurosawa]].{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=14}} ''[[The Independent]]'''s Doug Bolton wrote that even "people not familiar with [[Japanese science fiction]] will easily recognise {{sic}} the legacy of Tsuburaya's work".<ref name="TheIndependent" /> ''The Tokusatsu Network'' said that Tsuburaya was "possibly the most influential figure in the Japanese film industry" and stated that his legacy "lives on to this day through his creations and has had a large enough impact for him to be compared to [[Walt Disney]]."<ref name="BriefHistory">{{Cite web |last=Xeno |first=Rex |date=July 9, 2021 |title=A Brief History of Eiji Tsuburaya |url=https://tokusatsunetwork.com/2021/07/a-brief-history-of-eiji-tsuburaya/ |access-date=January 31, 2023 |website=The Tokusatsu Network |language=en-US |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319201257/https://tokusatsunetwork.com/2021/07/a-brief-history-of-eiji-tsuburaya/ |archive-date=March 19, 2023}}</ref>

Numerous people in the entertainment industry have spoken of their appreciation for Tsuburaya's work or cited it as an inspiration on their own work, including [[Steven Spielberg]],{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=14}} [[George Lucas]],{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=14}} [[Martin Scorsese]],{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=180}} [[Brad Pitt]],{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=235}} [[Quentin Tarantino]],{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=235}} [[Stanley Kubrick]],{{sfn|Baxter|1997|p=200}} [[John Carpenter]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hermanns |first=Grant |date=November 1, 2020 |title=John Carpenter Interview: Masters of Monsters & More |url=https://screenrant.com/masters-of-monsters-john-carpenter-interview/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112112132/https://screenrant.com/masters-of-monsters-john-carpenter-interview/ |archive-date=November 12, 2022 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |website=[[Screen Rant]] |language=en}}</ref> [[Shinya Tsukamoto]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Balmont |first=James |date=January 24, 2022 |title=Cyberpunk icon Shinya Tsukamoto on his black sheep horror ''Hiruko the Goblin'' |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/film-tv/article/55131/1/cyberpunk-icon-shinya-tsukamoto-on-his-black-sheep-horror-hiruko-the-goblin |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124105329/https://www.dazeddigital.com/film-tv/article/55131/1/cyberpunk-icon-shinya-tsukamoto-on-his-black-sheep-horror-hiruko-the-goblin |archive-date=January 24, 2022 |access-date=May 12, 2023 |website=[[Dazed]] |language=en}}</ref> [[Hideaki Anno]],{{sfn|Higuchi|1999|p=4}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haddick |first=Alicia |date=May 13, 2023 |title=''Shin Ultraman'' is the culmination of a career indebted to a pop culture icon |url=https://lwlies.com/articles/shin-ultraman/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513080310/https://lwlies.com/articles/shin-ultraman/ |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |access-date=April 25, 2023 |website=[[Little White Lies (magazine)|Little White Lies]] |language=en}}</ref> [[Will Smith]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inverse.com/article/34439-ultraman-english-dub-movies-release|title=Three 'Ultraman' Movies Are Coming Stateside, in English|last=Francisco|first=Eric|work=[[Inverse (website)|Inverse]]|date=July 20, 2017|access-date=March 7, 2023|url-status=live|archive-date=December 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212054852/https://www.inverse.com/article/34439-ultraman-english-dub-movies-release}}</ref> [[Chris Kirkpatrick]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Kelley |first=Shamus |date=May 1, 2017 |title=When Ultraman Met *NSYNC |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/when-ultraman-met-nsync/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200827103910/https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/when-ultraman-met-nsync/ |archive-date=August 27, 2020 |access-date=March 7, 2023 |website=[[Den of Geek]]}}</ref> [[Guillermo del Toro]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2013/07/01/guillermo-del-toro-on-classic-kaiju-and-why-pacific-rim-doesnt-feature-robo|title=Guillermo Del Toro On Classic Kaiju And Why ''Pacific Rim'' Doesn't Feature Robots|last=Faraci|first=Devin|work=Birth.Movies.Death|date=July 1, 2013|access-date=March 7, 2023|url-status=live|archive-date=December 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212055922/https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2013/07/01/guillermo-del-toro-on-classic-kaiju-and-why-pacific-rim-doesnt-feature-robo}}</ref> [[Shinji Higuchi]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Whittaker|date=January 7, 2023|first=Richard|url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/screens/2023-01-07/mystery-switches-and-other-hidden-secrets-of-shin-ultraman/|title=Mystery Switches and Other Hidden Secrets of ''Shin Ultraman''|work=[[The Austin Chronicle]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230107122104/https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/screens/2023-01-07/mystery-switches-and-other-hidden-secrets-of-shin-ultraman/|archive-date=January 7, 2023|access-date=March 17, 2023}}</ref> [[Shunji Iwai]],{{sfn|Higuchi|1999|p=4}} [[Kazuo Miyagawa]],{{sfn|Watanabe|1997|p=55}} and ''[[Attack on Titan]]'' creator [[Hajime Isayama]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 28, 2011 |title=「僕はまだ、思春期を こじらせている」『進撃の巨人』諫山創 |trans-title="I'm still complicating puberty" Hajime Isayama of ''Attack on Titan''|url=http://gendai.ismedia.jp/articles/-/1980 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216222937/https://gendai.ismedia.jp/articles/-/1980 |archive-date=December 16, 2021 |access-date=March 7, 2023 |website=Modern Business |language=Japanese}}</ref> During the early 1970s, Lucas visited [[Toho]] when looking for a company to produce the special effects for ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' (1977) since Tsuburaya had established the company as a powerhouse for producing special effects.{{Sfn|Ragone|2014|p=181}} Spielberg stated that Tsuburaya's ''Godzilla'' was the "most masterful of all the dinosaur movies, because it made you believe that it was really happening."{{Sfn|Ragone|2014|p=181}} His work has also been cited as the inspiration for the music video of [[Beastie Boys]]' song "[[Intergalactic (song)|Intergalactic]]", the series ''[[Power Rangers]]'' and the film ''[[Pacific Rim (film)|Pacific Rim]]'', among other projects.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnet.com/culture/eiji-tsuburaya-kaiju-king-co-creator-of-godzilla-celebrated-by-google/ |title=Eiji Tsuburaya, kaiju king and co-creator of Godzilla, celebrated by Google
 |last=Trenholm |first=Richard |date=July 7, 2015 |website=[[CNET]] |access-date=April 5, 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208022215/https://www.cnet.com/culture/eiji-tsuburaya-kaiju-king-co-creator-of-godzilla-celebrated-by-google/ |archive-date=February 8, 2023 }}</ref>

===Tributes===
Tsuburaya had intended to work on Honda's ''[[Space Amoeba]]'' (1970), but he died shortly after filming began. While the film was completed in Tsuburaya's honor and was his last project to be involved in, Toho executives refused to grant him a dedication in its opening credits.{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|p=143}}{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=260}}

A script for a project entitled ''Princess Kaguya'' was written by Tsuburaya shortly before he died in [[Izu, Shizuoka|Izu]].{{R|name=Founder}} Motivated by his father's desire to work on another adaptation of the tale, Hajime Tsubruaya attempted to produce ''[[The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter|Princess Kaguya]]'' into a film for Tsuburaya Productions' 10th anniversary. In the preface of Hiroyasu Yamaura's script for the film, Hajime said he had taken "great pains to incorporate the strengths of various folk tales and fairy tales into a work that children around the world would honestly enjoy".<ref>{{harvnb|Yamaura|1972|loc=preface|p=1}}</ref> Despite his tireless efforts, he died on the morning of February 9, 1973, before director [[Yoshiyuki Kuroda]] was scheduled to begin production that evening. Thus, production on the project was canceled.{{Sfn|Shiraishi|2006|p=299}} In 1987, producer [[Tomoyuki Tanaka]] turned Eiji Tsuburaya's lifelong ambition into a live-action movie titled ''[[Princess from the Moon]]'', which featured effects directed by Tsuburaya's protégé [[Teruyoshi Nakano]].<ref name=":1" />

In 2001, two toy companies distributed figures of Tsuburaya in honor of the 100th anniversary of his birth.{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=185}} In celebration of the 114th anniversary of his birth, [[Google]] artist Jennifer Hom and her colleagues made an animated [[Google Doodle|doodle]] of his work in special effects on July 7, 2015.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cavna |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Cavna |date=July 7, 2015 |title=Eiji Tsuburaya: Google Doodle artists spotlight a film legacy as towering as Godzilla |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/07/07/eiji-tsuburaya-google-doodle-artists-spotlight-a-film-legacy-as-towering-as-godzilla/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320033648/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/07/07/eiji-tsuburaya-google-doodle-artists-spotlight-a-film-legacy-as-towering-as-godzilla/ |archive-date=March 20, 2023 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> The doodle allowed users to create a scene from one of Tsuburaya's key monster movies and television shows.<ref name="TheIndependent">{{Cite web |last=Doug |first=Bolton |date=July 7, 2015 |title=Godzilla creator Eiji Tsuburaya celebrated in Google Doodle |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/eiji-tsuburaya-s-114th-birthday-monster-movie-pioneer-honoured-interactive-google-doodle-10370174.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230212658/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/eiji-tsuburaya-s-114th-birthday-monster-movie-pioneer-honoured-in-interactive-google-doodle-10370174.html |archive-date=December 30, 2022 |access-date=July 8, 2021 |website=[[The Independent]] |language=en}}</ref>

On January 11, 2019, after construction over a period of five years, the Eiji Tsuburaya Museum opened in his hometown of [[Sukagawa, Fukushima|Sukagawa]], a tribute to his life and work in film and television.<ref name="SFJ">{{Cite web |author=Holland, Edward L. |date=February 19, 2019 |title=Tribute to Legendary Director Eiji Tsuburaya Opens in Fukushima |url=http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2019/02/19/tribute-to-legendary-director-eiji-tsuburaya-opens-in-fukushima/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026120739/http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2019/02/19/tribute-to-legendary-director-eiji-tsuburaya-opens-in-fukushima/ |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |access-date=September 2, 2021 |work=SciFi Japan}}</ref> During the museum's opening ceremony, Mayor Katsuya Hashimoto stated that the museum is "an archival center that will disseminate Japanese special effects to the world."<ref name="SFJ"/> Later that year, filmmaker [[Minoru Kawasaki (film director)|Minoru Kawasaki]] began filming ''[[Monster Seafood Wars]]'', a ''kaiju'' film loosely based on his unmade film prior to production of ''Godzilla'' about a giant octopus that attacked Tokyo.<ref name="SFJ2">{{Cite web|author=Aiken, Keith|date=September 16, 2019|title=MONSTER SEAFOOD WARS — First Look at Upcoming Kaiju Movie|url=http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2019/09/16/monster-seafood-wars-first-look-at-upcoming-kaiju-movie/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303164902/https://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2019/09/16/monster-seafood-wars-first-look-at-upcoming-kaiju-movie/|archive-date=March 3, 2021|work=SciFi Japan}}</ref>

In commemoration of 120 years since his birth, the [[National Film Archive of Japan]] held a celebratory event in Sukagawa in cooperation with Tsuburaya Productions from August to November 2021. In September 2021, the first screening of ''[[Princess Kaguya (1935 film)|Princess Kaguya]]'' since its original 1935 release was held at the event (However, it was in shortened form since the original print is still believed to be lost).<ref name="Eiga" />

On July 10, 2022, a screening of ''[[Shin Ultraman]]'' (2022) was held at the City Cultural Center in Sukagawa as a tribute to Tsuburaya and his series ''Ultraman'' (1966-1967), on which the film was based. The screening was attended by an estimated 950 people, with ''Shin Ultraman'' director Shinji Higuchi and star [[Takumi Saitoh]] discussing the legacy of Tsuburaya's work afterward.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 1, 2022 |title=「円谷監督の原風景ここに」 斎藤工さんがつなぐウルトラマン文化 |trans-title="At director Tsuburaya's original landscape": Ultraman culture connected by Takumi Saitoh |url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASQ707L36Q7CUGTB00K.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801151605/https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASQ707L36Q7CUGTB00K.html |archive-date=August 1, 2022 |access-date=March 20, 2023 |website=[[Asahi Shimbun]] Digital |language=ja}}</ref>

Filmmaker and visual effects artist [[Takashi Yamazaki]] paid homage to Tsuburaya's work in his acclaimed 2023 film ''[[Godzilla Minus One]]''.<ref name="p1">{{Cite web |last=Yonehara |first=Norihiko |date=October 29, 2023 |title=ゴジラ映画とは「終われない神事」である 山崎貴監督が語る"神様兼怪物"の本質 |url=https://dot.asahi.com/articles/-/204841?page=1 |access-date=December 4, 2023 |website=[[Aera (magazine)|AERA dot.]] |page=1 |language=ja}}</ref>

===Portrayals===
Many actors have played Tsuburaya in television dramas and programs. For his portrayal in the 1989 television drama ''{{Ill|The Men Who Made Ultraman|ja|ウルトラマンをつくった男たち 星の林に月の舟}}'', an unidentified renowned [[Toho]] actor who had been starring in many of the company's box office hits since before ''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' (1954) was initially cast as Tsuburaya. However, the famed actor declined the offer, believing he lacked resemblance in appearance to Tsuburaya and therefore was replaced by actor [[Kō Nishimura]].{{Sfn|Shiraishi|2011|pp=262–263}} In 1993, filmmaker [[Seijun Suzuki]] played Tsuburaya in the television drama ''{{Ill|I Loved Ultraseven|ja|私が愛したウルトラセブン}}''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tatsuya |first=Masuto |date=February 23, 2017 |title=追悼：鈴木清順監督と松竹映画 |trans-title=In Memoriam: Director Seijun Suzuki and Shochiku Films |url=https://cinema.ne.jp/article/detail/38835/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201193232/https://cinema.ne.jp/article/detail/38835/ |archive-date=February 1, 2023 |access-date=February 1, 2023 |website=CINEMAS+ |language=Japanese}}</ref> For ''{{Ill|The Pair of Ultraman|ja|ふたりのウルトラマン}}'', a 2022 television documentary on the two screenwriters behind ''Ultraman'', he was portrayed by {{Ill|Toshiki Ayada|ja|綾田俊樹}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ふたりのウルトラマン |trans-title=The Pair of Ultraman |url=https://www.nhk.jp/p/ts/PN3P16XW6Y/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201201641/https://www.nhk.jp/p/ts/PN3P16XW6Y/ |archive-date=February 1, 2023 |access-date=February 1, 2023 |publisher=[[NHK]]}}</ref>

==Selected filmography==
{{Main|Eiji Tsuburaya filmography}}

Because he worked on roughly 250 films over his five-decade career,<ref name="TheIndependent"/><ref name="siliconrepublic"/> the following is only a selection of significant productions, and a more comprehensive list, including most of the media that featured his contributions, is covered in a [[Eiji Tsuburaya filmography|separate article]].

===Films===
{{div col|colwidth=20em|content=
*''[[A Page of Madness]]'' (1926)
*''[[Princess Kaguya (1935 film)|Princess Kaguya]]'' (1935)
*''[[Across the Equator]]'' (1936)
*''[[The Daughter of the Samurai]]'' (1937)
*''[[The Abe Clan (1938 film)|The Abe Clan]]'' (1938)
*''[[Moyuru ōzora|The Burning Sky]]'' (1940)
*''[[The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya]]'' (1942)
*''[[Ahen senso|The Opium War]]'' (1943)
*''[[Ano hata o ute|Fire on that Flag!]]'' (1944)
*''[[Kato hayabusa sento-tai|General Kato's Falcon Fighters]]'' (1944)
*''[[Minshū no Teki|An Enemy of the People]]'' (1946)
*''[[A Thousand and One Nights with Toho]]'' (1947)
*''[[Gate of Flesh#Other versions|Gate of Flesh]]'' (1948)
*''[[The Invisible Man Appears]]'' (1949)
*''[[Akatsuki no Dassō|Escape at Dawn]]'' (1950)
*''[[Listen to the Voices of the Sea]]'' (1950)
*''[[The Lady of Musashino]]'' (1951)
*''[[The Skin of the South]]'' (1952)
*''[[The Man Who Came to Port]]'' (1952)
*''[[Anatahan (film)|Anatahan]]'' (1953)
*''[[Eagle of the Pacific]]'' (1953)
*''[[Farewell Rabaul]]'' (1954)
*''[[Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto]]'' (1954)
*''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' (1954)
*''[[The Invisible Avenger]]'' (1954)
*''[[Godzilla Raids Again]]'' (1955) 
*''[[Half Human]]'' (1955)
*''[[Rangiku monogatari|The Maiden Courtesan]]'' (1956)
*''[[The Legend of the White Serpent (film)|The Legend of the White Serpent]]'' (1956)
*''[[Rodan (film)|Rodan]]'' (1956)
*''[[Throne of Blood]]'' (1957)
*''[[The Mysterians]]'' (1957)
*''[[The H-Man]]'' (1958) 
*''[[Varan the Unbelievable]]'' (1958)
*''[[The Hidden Fortress]]'' (1958)
*''[[Monkey Sun]]'' (1959)
*''[[Submarine I-57 Will Not Surrender]]'' (1959)
*''[[The Three Treasures]]'' (1959) 
*''[[Battle in Outer Space]]'' (1959) 
*''[[The Secret of the Telegian]]'' (1960)
*''[[Storm Over the Pacific]]'' (1960)
*''[[The Human Vapor]]'' (1960) 
*''[[The Story of Osaka Castle]]'' (1961)
*''[[Mothra (film)|Mothra]]'' (1961)
*''[[The Last War (film)|The Last War]]'' (1961) 
*''[[Gorath]]'' (1962)
*''[[The Big Wave (film)|The Big Wave]]'' (1962)
*''[[King Kong vs. Godzilla]]'' (1962)
*''[[Chūshingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki|Chūshingura]]'' (1962)
*''[[Attack Squadron!]]'' (1963)
*''[[The Love Eterne]]'' (1963)
*''[[Legacy of the 500,000]]'' (1963)
*''[[Matango]]'' (1963) 
*''[[The Lost World of Sinbad]]'' (1963)
*''[[Atragon]]'' (1963)
*''[[Whirlwind (1964 film)|Whirlwind]]'' (1964)
*''[[Mothra vs. Godzilla]]'' (1964) 
*''[[Dogora]]'' (1964) 
*''[[Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster]]'' (1964)
*''[[None but the Brave]]'' (1965) 
*''[[Frankenstein vs. Baragon]]'' (1965) 
*''[[Crazy Adventure|The Crazy Adventure]]'' (1965)
*''[[Invasion of Astro-Monster]]'' (1965)
*''[[The War of the Gargantuas]]'' (1966)
*''[[Ebirah, Horror of the Deep]]'' (1966)
*''[[King Kong Escapes]]'' (1967)
*''[[Ultraman: Monster Movie Feature]]'' (1967)
*''[[Son of Godzilla]]'' (1967)
*''[[Destroy All Monsters]]'' (1968)
*''[[Admiral Yamamoto (film)|Admiral Yamamoto]]'' (1968)
*''[[Samurai Banners]]'' (1969)
*''[[Latitude Zero (film)|Latitude Zero]]'' (1969)
*''[[Battle of the Japan Sea (film)|Battle of the Japan Sea]]'' (1969)
*''[[All Monsters Attack]]'' (1969)
}}

===Television===
{{div col|colwidth=20em|content=
*''[[Mighty Atom (TV series)|Mighty Atom]]'' (1959–1960)
*''[[Ultra Q]]'' (1966)
*''[[Ultraman (1966 TV series)|Ultraman]]'' (1966–1967)
*''[[Kaiju Booska|Booska the Friendly Beast]]'' (1966–1967)
*''[[Ultraseven]]'' (1967–1968)
*''[[Mighty Jack]]'' (1968)
*''[[Mighty Jack#Fight! Mighty Jack|Fight! Mighty Jack]]'' (1968)
*''{{Ill|Operation: Mystery|ja|怪奇大作戦}}'' (1968–1969)
*''[[Horror Theater Unbalance]]'' (1973){{efn|name=Unbalance|Produced in 1969, the year prior to Tsuburaya's death.{{sfn|Matsuda|2001|p=149}}}}
}}

== Awards and honors ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Award
!Category
!Nominated work
!Result
!{{abbr|Ref(s)|Reference(s)}}
|-
|1940
| rowspan="2" |{{ill|Japanese Society of Cinematographers|ja|日本映画撮影監督協会}}
|Special Technology Award
|''[[Moyuru ōzora|The Burning Sky]]''
| rowspan="12" {{won}}
| rowspan="2" |{{Sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=541}}
|-
|1942
|Technical Research Award
|''[[The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya|The War at Sea from Hawaii<br>to Malaya]]''
|-
|1954
|8th Japan Technical Awards
| rowspan="3" |Special Skill
|''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]''
| rowspan="3" |<ref name=":3"/>
|-
|1957
|11th Japan Technical Awards
|''[[The Mysterians]]''
|-
| rowspan="2" |1959
|13th Japan Technical Awards
|''[[The Three Treasures]]''
|-
| 4th {{ill|Movie Day|ja|映画の日}}
| Special Award of Merit
| {{N/A}}
| {{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=541}}{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=56}}
|-
|1963
|17th Japan Technical Awards
| rowspan="3" |Special Skill
|''[[The Lost World of Sinbad]]''
| rowspan="3"|<ref name=":3" />
|-
|1965
|19th Japan Technical Awards
|''{{ill|Retreat from Kiska|ja|太平洋奇跡の作戦 キスカ}}''
|-
|1966
|20th Japan Technical Awards
|''[[Invasion of Astro-Monster]]''
|-
| rowspan="2" |1970
| {{N/A}}
|4th Class Medal of the [[Order of the Sacred Treasure|Order of<br>the Sacred Treasure]]
| rowspan="2" {{N/A}}
| rowspan="2" |{{sfn|Ragone|2014|p=175}}
|-
|Japanese Society of Cinematographers
|Honorary Chairman Award
|-
|2025
|[[Visual Effects Society]]
|Hall of Fame
| {{N/A}}
| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.awn.com/news/ves-inducts-jon-favreau-and-tim-sweeney-honorary-members|title=VES Inducts Jon Favreau and Tim Sweeney as Honorary Members|publisher=Animation World Network|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251008211244/https://www.awn.com/news/ves-inducts-jon-favreau-and-tim-sweeney-honorary-members|archive-date=October 8, 2025|access-date=October 8, 2025}}</ref>
|-
|}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}
===Sources===
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{cite book|title=大特撮―日本特撮映画史|trans-title=Large Special Effects: Japanese Tokusatsu Film History|year=1985|publisher=[[Asahi Sonorama]]|isbn=978-4257031888|language=Japanese|ref={{harvid|Asahi Sonorama|1985}}}}
*{{cite book|last=Baxter|first=John|author-link=John Baxter (author)|title=Stanley Kubrick: A Biography|url=https://archive.org/details/stanleykubrickbi00baxt|url-access=registration|publisher=[[Carroll & Graf Publishers]]|year=1997|isbn=0-7867-0485-3}}
*{{cite magazine|title=''None but the Brave'' Set For February Premiere|magazine=[[Boxoffice Pro|Boxoffice]]|date=January 25, 1965|ref={{harvid|''Boxoffice''|1965}}}}
*{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AB9R2NnFrMsC|title=Volume 76|magazine=Boxoffice|year=1960|via=[[Google Books]]|ref={{harvid|Boxoffice|1960}}}}
*{{cite book|last=Buck|first=Pearl S.|author-link=Pearl S. Buck|url=https://archive.org/details/bridgeforpassing0000unse|title=A Bridge for Passing|url-access=registration|year=1962|publisher=[[John Day Company]]|isbn=9781480421240}}
* {{cite book |last=Camara|first=Anthony|editor-last1=Hutchinson |editor-first1=Sharla |editor-last2=Brown|editor-first2=Rebecca A.|title=Monsters and Monstrosity from the Fin de Siecle to the Millennium: New Essays |publisher=McFarland |date=2015 |isbn=978-1476622712 }}
*{{cite book|title=ゴジラの超常識|trans-title=Super Common Knowledge of Godzilla|year=2016|publisher=[[Futabasha]]|isbn=978-4-575-31156-3|language=Japanese|ref={{harvid|Futabasha|2016}}}}
* {{cite AV media|first=Stuart|last=Galbraith IV|title=Monster Zero Audio Commentary|type=DVD|publisher=[[DreamWorks Classics#History|Classic Media]]|year=2007}}
* {{cite book |last=Galbraith IV |first=Stuart |author-link=Stuart Galbraith IV|title=The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography|year=2008 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=9781461673743 }}
*{{cite magazine|last=Harrington|first=Clifford V.|title=Japan's Master of Monsters|url=https://archive.org/details/american-cinematographer-1960-08-cbz/|magazine=[[American Cinematographer]]|publisher=[[American Society of Cinematographers]]|date=August 1960}}
* {{cite book |last=Higuchi |first=Naofumi |title=黒澤明の映画術 |trans-title=Akira Kurosawa's Film Techniques |publisher=[[Chikuma Shobō]] |date=August 1999 |isbn=978-4480872982 |language=Japanese }}
* {{cite book |last=Ichikawa |first=Shinichi |title=円谷英二 ウルトラマンをつくった映画監督 |trans-title=Eiji Tsuburaya: The Film Director Who Created Ultraman |date=September 13, 1996 |publisher=[[Shogakukan]] |isbn=978-4092701076 |language=Japanese}}
* {{cite book|last1=Iwabatake|first1=Toshiaki|last2=Ono|first2=Kōichirō|title=ゴジラvsモスラ (講談社ヒットブックス) |trans-title=Kodansha Hit Books: Godzilla vs. Mothra|year=1992|publisher=[[Kodansha]]|isbn=978-4061777309|language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book|title=テレビマガジン特別編集 誕生40周年記念 ゴジラ大全集|trans-title=TV Magazine Special Edition: 40th Anniversary of the Birth of Godzilla Complete Works|last=Iwabatake|first=Toshiaki |date=September 1, 1994 |publisher=Kodansha|isbn=4-06-178417-X|language=Japanese}}
* {{cite book |last=Kabuki |first=Shinichi |title=ゴジラ映画 40年史ゴジラ・デイズ |trans-title=Godzilla Days: 40 Years of Godzilla Movies |publisher=Shueisha |year=1993 |isbn=4087810917 |language=Japanese}}
* {{cite book |last=Kalat|first=David|year=2010|title=A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series|edition=2nd|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|isbn=978-0-786-44749-7}}
*{{Cite book|title=東宝特撮全怪獣図鑑|trans-title=Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia |edition=1st|last1=Kaneda|first1=Masumi|last2=Oishi|first2=Shinji|last3=Konuta|first3=Kenji|last4=Eguchi |first4=Mizuki|last5=Maruyama|first5=Takeshi|publisher=Shogakukan|date=July 28, 2014|isbn=978-4-09-682090-2|language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book|title=全怪獣怪人|trans-title=All Kaiju Kaijin|publisher=Keibunsha|date=March 24, 1990|volume=1|isbn=4-7669-0962-3|language=Japanese|ref={{harvid|Keibunsha|1990}}}}
*{{cite book|last=Kawakita|first=Koichi|author-link=Koichi Kawakita|title=特撮魂 東宝特撮奮戦記|trans-title=The Soul of Tokusatsu: Toho Tokusatsu Battle Record|date=January 8, 2010|publisher=Yosensha|language=Japanese|isbn=978-4862485151}}
* {{cite book|title=キネマ旬報ベスト・テン85回全史 1924→2011|trans-title=Kinema Junpo Best Ten 85 Times Full History 1924→2011|publisher=[[Kinema Junpo|Kinema Junposha]]|year=2012|language=Japanese|isbn=978-4873767550|ref={{harvid|Kinema Junposha|2012}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Kishikawa |first=Osamu |year=2020 |title=東宝特撮 公式ヴィジュアル・ブックvol.51 大ダコ1962-1966 |trans-title=Toho SFX Movies Authentic Visual Book Vol. 51: Giant Octopus (1962-1966) |url=https://godzilla.store/shop/g/gGSG0620073/ |publisher=Dai Nippon Publishing |language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book|title=ぼくらが大好きだった 特撮ヒーローBESTマガジン |trans-title=Beloved Favorite Tokusatsu Hero BEST Magazine |date=April 22, 2009 |publisher=Kodansha |chapter=手塚治虫と特撮テレビ |trans-chapter=Osamu Tezuka and Tokusatsu TV |isbn=978-4-06-375707-1 |language=Japanese |ref={{harvid|Kodansha|2009}}}}
*{{cite book|title=ゴジラ&東宝特撮 OFFICIAL MOOK|trans-title=Godzilla and Toho Tokusatsu Official Mook |publisher=Kodansha|type=[[Mook (publishing)|mook]]|date=December 21, 2022|isbn=978-4-06-530223-1|language=Japanese|ref={{harvid|Kodansha|2022b}}}}
* {{cite book|title=ULTRAMAN HISTORICA ウルトラQからシン・ウルトラマンまで|trans-title=ULTRAMAN HISTORICA: From Ultra Q to Shin Ultraman|date=June 28, 2022|publisher=Kodansha|type=mook|language=Japanese|isbn=978-4-06-528129-1|ref={{harvid|Kodansha|2022a}}}}
*{{cite book|title=テレビマガジン特別編集 ウルトラ特撮マガジン 2020|trans-title=TV Magazine Special Edition: Ultra Tokusatsu Magazine 2020|date=August 31, 2020|publisher=Kodansha|isbn=978-4-06-520743-7|language=Japanese|ref={{harvid|Kodansha|2020b}}}}
*{{cite book|title=ウルトラマン|trans-title=Ultraman|date=July 28, 2020|publisher=Kodansha|isbn=978-4-06-519603-8|language=Japanese|ref={{harvid|Kodansha|2020a}}}}
*{{cite book|title=ウルトラ特撮 PERFECT MOOK vol.06 ウルトラQ|trans-title=Ultra Special Effects PERFECT MOOK vol. 06: Ultra Q|type=mook|date=September 26, 2020|publisher=Kodansha|isbn=978-4-06-521105-2 |language=Japanese|ref={{harvid|Kodansha|2020c}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Lie|first=John|author-link=John Lie (professor)|title=Multiethnic Japan|date=March 2004|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|isbn=9780674265448}}
*{{cite magazine|title=「ゴジラ」などの特撮監督、円谷英二さん――邸内の研究室で、長男の一さん、次男の昇さんと竜を撮影する円谷さん|trans-title=Mr. Eiji Tsuburaya, the special effects director of ''Godzilla'', etc. Mr. Tsuburaya shoots a dragon with his eldest son Hajime and second son Noboru in the laboratory of his residence.|magazine=The Mainichi Graphic|date=September 20, 1959|publisher=[[Mainichi Shimbun|The Mainichi Newspapers]]|url=https://photobank.mainichi.co.jp/kiji_detail.php?id=P20121213dd1dd1phj964000|access-date=March 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013528/https://photobank.mainichi.co.jp/kiji_detail.php?id=P20121213dd1dd1phj964000|archive-date=March 14, 2023|url-status=live|language=Japanese|via=Mainichi Photobank|ref={{harvid|''The Mainichi Graphic''|1959}}}}
*{{cite book|editor-last=Matsuda|editor-first=Takehisa|title=日本特撮・幻想映画全集|trans-title=Complete Collection of Japanese Special Effects and Fantasy Movies|year=1997|publisher=Keibunsha|language=Japanese|isbn=9784766927061}}
*{{cite book|editor-last=Matsuda|editor-first=Takehisa|title=円谷英二特撮世界|trans-title=Eiji Tsuburaya's World of Tokusatsu|date=August 10, 2001|publisher=Keibunsha|language=Japanese|isbn=4-7669-3848-8}}
*{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/00040-00041_202008 |title=ゴジラファイナルウォーズ超全集 |trans-title=Godzilla: Final Wars Super Complete Works |edition=2nd |editor-last=Matsui |editor-first=Satoshi |date=March 1, 2005 |publisher=Shogakukan |isbn=4-09-101498-4 |language=Japanese}}
* {{cite book|last1=Motoyama|first1=Sho|last2=Matsunomoto|first2=Kazuhiro|last3=Asai|first3=Kazuyasu|last4=Suzuki|first4=Nobutaka|last5=Kato|first5=Masashi|title=東宝特撮映画大全集|trans-title=Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works|publisher=villagebooks|year=2012|isbn=978-4-864-91013-2|language=Japanese}}
* {{cite book |last=Morton |first=Ray |title=King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson |publisher=Applause Theatre & Cinema Books |year=2005 |isbn=978-1557836694}}
* {{cite book|last=Murayama|first=Minoru|title=不滅のヒーロー ウルトラマン白書|trans-title=Immortal Hero: Ultraman White Paper|date=December 1982|publisher=Asahi Sonorama|isbn=978-4257033226|language=Japanese}}
* {{cite book |last1=Nakamura |first1=Tetsu |last2=Shiraishi |first2=Masahiko |last3=Aita |first3=Tetsuo |last4=Tomoi |first4=Taketo |last5=Shimazaki |first5=Jun |last6=Maruyama |first6=Takeshi |last7=Shimizu |first7=Toshifumi |last8=Hayakawa |first8=Masaru |title=ゴジラ東宝チャンピオンまつりパーフェクション |trans-title=Godzilla Toho Champion Festival Perfection |date=November 29, 2014 |publisher=[[Kadokawa Corporation|ASCII MEDIA WORKS]] |isbn=978-4-04-866999-3 |language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book|last1=Nakano|first1=Teruyoshi|author-link1=Teruyoshi Nakano|last2=Someya|first2=Katsuki|title=特技監督 中野昭慶|trans-title=Special Effects Director: Teruyoshi Nakano|publisher=Wides Publishing|year=2014|isbn=978-4-89830-280-4}}
*{{cite book|last1=Nishimoto|first1=Tadashi|last2=Yamada|first2=Kōichi|last3=Yamane|first3=Sadao|title=香港への道 中川信夫からブルース・リーへ|trans-title=Road to Hong Kong: From Nobuo Nakagawa to Bruce Lee|publisher=Chikuma Shobō|date=October 2004|isbn=9784480873163|language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book|last1=Ōishi|first1=Shinji|last2=Eguchi|first2=Mizuki|last3=Shimazaki|first3=Jun|last4=Mamiya|first4=Naohiko|title=円谷プロ全怪獣図鑑|trans-title=Tsuburaya Pro All Monster Encyclopedia|publisher=Shogakukan|date=March 2013|isbn=978-4-09-682074-2|language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book|last=Qiū|first=Shū Tíng|title=アジア映画ネットワークのルーツを探る|trans-title=Exploring the Roots of the Asian Film Network|publisher=[[University of Tokyo Press]]|date=September 2007|isbn=9784130860369|language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book|last=Ragone|first=August|title=Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters|edition=hardcover|date=November 1, 2007|publisher=[[Chronicle Books]]|isbn=978-0-8118-6078-9}}
**{{cite book|last=Ragone|first=August|title=Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters|edition=paperback|date=May 6, 2014|publisher=Chronicle Books|isbn=978-1-4521-3539-7}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ryfle|first1=Steve|last2=Godziszewski|first2=Ed|url=https://archive.org/details/ishiro-honda-a-life-in-film-from-godzilla-to-kurosawa|title=Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa|publisher=[[Wesleyan University Press]]|year=2017|isbn=9780819570871}}
*{{cite book|last=Ryfle|first=Steve|title=Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G|publisher=ECW Press|year=1998|isbn=1550223488 |url=https://archive.org/details/japansfavoritemo0000ryfl|url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book|title=ウルトラマンシリーズ 大解剖 ウルトラQ・ウルトラマン・ウルトラセブン 編|trans-title=Ultraman Series: Great Anatomy Ultra Q, Ultraman, and Ultraseven Compilation|series=Large Anatomy Series Sanei Mook|type=mook|publisher=SAN-EI|date=July 1, 2022|isbn=978-4-7796-4604-1|language=Japanese|ref={{harvid|SAN-EI|2022}}}}
*{{cite book|last=Shiraishi|first=Masahiko|title=円谷一 ウルトラQと"テレビ映画"の時代|trans-title=Hajime Tsuburaya: Ultra Q and the era of "TV movies"|publisher=Futabasha|date=July 20, 2006|isbn=978-4-5752-9907-6 |language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book|last=Shiraishi|first=Masahiko|title=飯島敏宏 「ウルトラマン」から「金曜日の妻たちへ」|trans-title=Toshihiro Iijima From "Ultraman" to "Friday Wives"|publisher=Futabasha|date=March 9, 2011|isbn=978-4-5753-0298-1 |language=Japanese}}
* {{cite book|last1=Takaki|first1=Junzo|last2=Matsunomoto|first2=Kazuhiro|last3=Nakamura|first3=Satoshi |last4=Motoyama|first4=Sho|last5=Tsuchiya|first5=Rieko|title=ゴジラ画報 東宝幻想映画半世紀の歩み|trans-title=The Godzilla Chronicles<!--Please do not change or remove this. While this isn't the translation of the Japanese title, it is the English title featured on the book cover.-->|edition=3rd|publisher=[[Takeshobo]]|year=1999 |isbn=4-8124-0581-5 |language=Japanese}}
* {{cite book |last=Takase |first=Masahiro |title=東宝砧撮影所物語: 三船敏郎の時代|trans-title=Stories from Inside Toho Studios: The Era of Toshiro Mifune |date=January 15, 2003 |publisher=[[Toho|Toho Publishing Business Office]] |isbn=978-4924609822 |language=Japanese }}
* {{cite book|editor-last1=Takeuchi|editor-first1=Hiroshi|editor-last2=Yamamoto|editor-first2=Shingo |title=円谷英二の映像世界|trans-title=Eiji Tsuburaya's Visual World|edition=2nd|publisher=[[Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha]]|date=May 7, 2001|publication-date=July 11, 2001|isbn=4-40839474-2|language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book|editor-last=Takeuchi|editor-first=Hiroshi|title=写真集 特技監督円谷英二|trans-title=Photo Collection: Special Effects Director Eiji Tsuburaya|date=June 30, 2001|publisher=Asahi Sonorama|language=Japanese|edition=2nd|isbn=978-4257036388}}
* {{cite news|last=Talmadge|first=Eric|title=Japan's Favorite Superhero Takes On America|date=July 22, 1989|newspaper=[[Star–Banner]]|publisher=[[Gannett]]}}
* {{cite book|last=Tanaka|first=Tomoyuki|author-link=Tomoyuki Tanaka|title=東宝特撮映画全史|trans-title=The Complete History of Toho Special Effects Movies|publisher=Toho Publishing Business Office|year=1983|isbn=4-924609-00-5|language=Japanese}}
<!--*{{cite book|author=Taylor, Al|title=The Man Who Made Godzilla Famous|work=Fantastic Films and Other Imaginative Media|date=January 1980|ref={{harvid|Taylor|1980}}}}-->
* {{cite news|last=Thomas|first=Bob|author-link=Bob Thomas (reporter)|title=Shock Films New Product of Japanese|newspaper=[[The Gettysburg Times]]|publisher=[[Sample News Group]]|date=February 21, 1961}}
* {{cite book|title=ゴジラ/ゴジラの逆襲/大怪獣バラン|trans-title=Godzilla/Godzilla's Counterattack/Giant Monster Varan|series=Toho SF Special Effects Movie Series|volume=3|publisher=Toho Publishing Business Office|date=May 1, 1985|isbn=4-924609-07-2|language=Japanese|ref={{harvid|Toho|1985}}}}
* {{cite book|title=ゴジラVSメカゴジラ|trans-title=Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla|series=Toho SF Special Effects Movie Series|publisher=Toho Publishing Business Office|date=December 11, 1993|isbn=4-924609-45-5 |language=Japanese |ref={{harvid|Toho|1993}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Watanabe |first=Hiroshi |title=映像を彫る 改訂版撮影監督宮川一夫の世界 |trans-title=Carving Pictures: The World of Kazuo Miyagawa, Director of Photography, Revised Edition|date=December 10, 1997|publisher=Pandora|isbn=978-4768477830|language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book|last=Yamaura|first=Hiroyasu|title=かぐや姫 ─竹取物語より─|trans-title=Princess Kaguya -From the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter-|type=screenplay|year=1972|publisher=[[Tsuburaya Productions]]|language=Japanese}}
* {{cite book |title=モスラ映画大全 |trans-title=Mothra Movie Encyclopedia |year=2011 |publisher=Yosensha |isbn=978-4-86248-761-2 |language=Japanese |ref={{harvid|Yosensha|2011}}}}
*{{cite book|title=特撮 円谷組 ゴジラと東宝特撮にかけた青春|trans-title=Special Effects: The Tsuburaya group, Godzilla and Youth in Toho Special Effects|publisher=Yosensha|date=October 9, 2010|isbn=978-4-86248-622-6 |language=Japanese|ref={{harvid|Yosensha|2010}}}}
*{{cite book|title=ゴジラとともに 東宝特撮VIPインタビュー集|trans-title=With Godzilla: Toho Special Effects VIP Interview Collection|date=September 21, 2016|publisher=Yosensha|series=Movie Treasure Collection|isbn=978-4-8003-1050-7|language=Japanese|ref={{harvid|Yosensha|2016}}}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|2}}
*{{cite book|last=|first=|title=素晴らしき円谷英二の世界|trans-title=The Wonderful World of Eiji Tsuburaya|publisher=[[:ja:中経出版|Chukei Publishing]]|date=July 9, 2001|isbn=4-8061-1499-5|language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book|last=Inoue|first=Hideyuki|title=検証・ゴジラ誕生|trans-title=Verification of the Birth of Godzilla|publisher=[[Asahi Sonorama]]|date=September 1, 1994|language=Japanese|isbn=978-4257033943}}
*{{cite book|last=Manabe|first=Koki|title=円谷英二の卓越化 特撮の社会学|trans-title=The Prominence of Eiji Tsuburaya: The Sociology of Tokusatsu|date=March 15, 2023|language=Japanese|publisher=Nakanishiya|isbn=978-4779517204}}
*{{cite book|last=Sagisu|first=Tomio|title=夢は大空を駆けめぐる 恩師・円谷英二伝|trans-title=Dreams Run Through the Sky: The Story of My Teacher Eiji Tsuburaya |language=Japanese |publisher=[[Kadokawa Shoten]]|date=December 1, 2001|isbn=4048836951}}
*{{cite book|last=Suzuki|first=Kazuyuki|title=大空への夢 特撮の神様 円谷英二伝|trans-title=A Dream in the Sky: Eiji Tsuburaya, the God of Tokusatsu|publisher=Ōtsuki Shoten|language=Japanese|date=January 17, 2019|isbn=978-4272612376}}
*{{cite book|last=Suzuki|first=Kazuyuki|title=特撮の神様と呼ばれた男|trans-title=The Man Who Was Called the God of Tokusatsu|publisher=[[:ja:アートン新社|Arton]]|isbn=4-901006-21-5|date=June 2001|language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book|last=Suzuki|first=Kazuyuki|title=ものがたり 円谷英二|trans-title=The Story of Eiji Tsuburaya|publisher=Rekishi Shunjūsha|year=2001|language=Japanese|isbn=9784897574400}}
*{{cite book|last=Taguchi|first=Shigemitsu|title=円谷英二 怪獣やヒーローを生んだ映画監督|trans-title=Eiji Tsuburaya: The Film Director Who Created Monsters and Heroes|publisher=Akane Shobo|language=Japanese|date=April 25, 2018|isbn=978-4251046147}}
*{{cite book|author-last=Tsuburaya|author-first=Eiji|editor-last=Takeuchi|editor-first=Hiroshi|title=定本円谷英二随筆評論集成 |trans-title=Standard Text Collection of Eiji Tsuburaya's Essays and Criticisms|publisher=Wise Publishing|language=Japanese|date=December 1, 2010|isbn=978-4-89830-249-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Tsuburaya|first=Hajime|author-link=Hajime Tsuburaya|title=円谷英二 日本映画界に残した遺産|trans-title=Eiji Tsuburaya: A Legacy Left in Japanese Cinema|date=June 1, 2001|publisher=[[Shogakukan]]|language=Japanese|edition=2nd|isbn=978-4096814215}}
*{{cite book|last=Tsuburaya|first=Hideaki|title=ウルトラマンが泣いているー円谷プロの失敗|trans-title=Ultraman Crying - Tsuburaya Productions' Failure|date=June 18, 2013|publisher=[[Kodansha]]|language=Japanese|isbn=978-4062882156}}
*{{cite book|last=Yagi|first=Takeshi|title=特撮黄金時代 円谷英二を継ぐもの|trans-title=The Golden Age of Tokusatsu|date=August 12, 2022|publisher=Rittorsha|isbn=978-4845637317|language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book|last=Yamada|first=Masami|title=大ウルトラマン図鑑|trans-title=The Pictorial Book of Ultraman|publisher=[[Hobby Japan]]|date=September 1, 1996|language=Japanese|isbn=978-4894251090}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{sisterlinks|wikt=no|commons=category:Eiji Tsuburaya|n=no|q=no|s=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|species=no|d=Q2466933|m=no|mw=no}}
*{{Official website}} {{in lang|ja}}
*{{IMDb name}}
*{{Jmdb name|id=0043090|name=Eiji Tsuburaya}}
*[https://www.city.sukagawa.fukushima.jp/shisei/city_profile/rekishi/jinbutsuden/1002511.html Eiji Tsuburaya] at [[Sukagawa, Fukushima|Sukagawa City]] {{in lang|ja}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160326145602/https://www.toho.co.jp/library/system/people/?620 Eiji Tsuburaya] at [[Toho]] {{in lang|ja}}
*[https://tsuburaya-prod.com/company/founder Eiji Tsuburaya] at [[Tsuburaya Productions]]
*[https://m-78.jp/company/eiji/ Eiji Tsuburaya] at Tsuburaya Station {{in lang|ja}}
*[https://s-tette.jp/museum/index.html Eiji Tsuburaya Museum] {{in lang|ja}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-bef|before=none}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of [[Tsuburaya Productions]]|years=1963–1969}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Hajime Tsuburaya]]}}
{{S-end}}


{{Portal bar|Film|Television|Japan|Biography|Speculative fiction}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsuburaya, Eiji}}
[[Category:Eiji Tsuburaya| ]]
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<!--[[Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from Buddhism]]-->
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[[Category:Japanese storyboard artists]]<!--Source: https://ascii.jp/elem/000/001/408/1408881/-->
[[Category:People expelled from public office]]
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[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 4th class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure]]
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