TOKYO, Nov 10 (Kyodo/APP): Filmmaker Eiji Tsuburaya (1901-1970), the founder of a production company that created the Ultraman superhero franchise, has been inducted into the U.S. Visual Effects Society’s Hall of Fame, becoming the first Japanese to receive the honor, the company said.
Tsuburaya Productions Co. said its president, Masayuki Nagatake, attended the award ceremony Friday in Los Angeles. Tsuburaya, known as the “father of tokusatsu (special effects),” joins other Hall of Fame inductees including Walt Disney and Stanley Kubrick.
The society said in a press release that Tsuburaya, Glenn Campbell (1956-2024) and Mabel Normand (1893-1930) were inducted “for their pioneering contributions that advanced the art, science and technology of VFX (visual effects).”
Tsuburaya Productions said in a statement that his induction “signifies that his achievements have been recognized by the global film industry as a ‘pioneer who laid the foundation for VFX.'”
In his speech at the ceremony, Nagatake said the induction “honors his legacy not only as a technical achievement, but as a universal source and enduring tradition of visual effects that transcends time and borders, inspiring future generations of creators.”
After entering the movie industry in 1919 as an assistant cameraman, Tsuburaya, a native of Fukushima Prefecture, became a frontrunner in the use of visual effect techniques such as miniature models, multiple compositions and character costumes.
He gained a worldwide recognition through his visual effect work in the 1954 film “Godzilla,” the first of the long-running monster series directed by Ishiro Honda.
In 1963, he established Tsuburaya Special Effects Productions, which was later renamed Tsuburaya Productions, and went on to create the Ultraman series including the television programs Ultra Q, Ultraman and Ultraseven.
The Visual Effects Society, with over 5,000 members from more than 50 countries, is the entertainment industry’s only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners, according to the society.