Takeo Murata Interview

This is the third interview that was included in my Toho Tokusatsu Eiga Series book. Takeo Murata co-wrote the screenplay for Godzilla '54 with Ishirō Honda, based on the work by Shigeru Kayama. Murata has a small but highly distinguished oeuvre compared to a lot of the other Godzilla crew, and largely stopped working in film after the late 1950s. His tokusatsu credits, in addition to Godzilla, consist of Half Human and Rodan. Murata was also responsible for directing and writing Japan's first 3D film.

While translating this, I realized something: my goodness, Murata talks a lot. This is not a bad thing, because I enjoy learning all the details about the people who made Godzilla, but... well, you'll see. He does go on. If you like early Japanese film history you have just hit your motherlode.

As always, a disclaimer: this is a machine translation, assisted ("assisted") at times by my paltry Japanese knowledge and ability to read kana. I've fixed things that tend to get garbled when machine-translating from Japanese, such as pronouns and past/present tense, to make this more readable; when a passage was completely indecipherable, I've elected to omit it entirely rather than risk printing something inaccurate that doesn't make sense. This obviously will not be as good as a translation by someone fluent in and familiar with the language. I've inserted TL notes within the text where appropriate instead of making extensive footnotes. I would also usually say here that I use official English titles for all films mentioned within the interview, but the majority of things they bring up do not have official English titles.

   - The original story for Godzilla (1954) was written by Shigeru Kayama, a famous detective novel writer. After reading [it], what did you think?

Murata: Yes, that was a work that could only have been done by Mr. Kayama. I think Tomoyuki Tanaka is an excellent producer. I asked a wonderful person to write the original story. At first I called it "G Work".

   - The letter G?

Murata: Yes. I [didn't] know what I could do, but... that's what I called it, tentatively. So, I holed up at an inn with the director, Ishirō Honda. We had a hard time figuring out how to make the most of the original work in a cinematic way. Mr. Eiji Tsuburaya and Mr. Tanaka came over and asked, "What do you think?" Tanaka is a producer, so he said, "I don't want it to cost too much money." [laughs] Mr. Tsuburaya said "That's fine, I think so. Please write it exactly as it appears," and gave me a lot of encouragement. When I said, "I wonder if something like this is possible," Mr. Tsuburaya said, "Well, I'll think about it." Then the next day, he came and praised me and said "You could do it this way. That was an interesting idea." That's how I worked hard to write it, and this is what I ended up with.

   - What did you like about the original work?

Murata: After all, [it] is against atomic and hydrogen bombs. That is the theme. I think that because of that theme, the characters have come to life so vividly. However, [the] doctor played by Takashi Shimura...

   - Yamane. Dr. Yamane.

Murata: That's right. In Mr. Kayama's original work, the doctor is a somewhat mysterious man wearing dark glasses and a black cloak. There are people who are always in an old Western-style building and have no idea what they are doing. [TL: Not sure if this is supposed to be "we have no idea what they are doing".] [...] character who often appears in Edogawa Ranpo's works. Godzilla itself is a bit of a monster, but if the character, [Yamane], was like that, it would just be a no-brainer. So, for me, the doctor is a normal person, not to mention he also has a daughter. His wife has passed away and he lives with his daughter. The girl has a boyfriend. So, when I told Mr. Kayama that [Yamane] really needed to live the life of a commoner, he was a great person after all. He said, "Okay, please characterize it that way." Mr. Shimura said "Please leave it to [me]," and Mr. Shimura became that kind of person.

   - So you tried to keep it real.

Murata: We went through a war - you probably don't know this, but we suffered a huge air raid. Really, Tokyo was a burnt-out area and people were hurting, and Godzilla appeared as a recreation of that. Everyone was hurt, they were admitted to the hospital, and when they turned to the Geiger counter, it screamed, and the child died... Emiko, the doctor's daughter, was watching this and told the young scientist [that this was] no good...

   - Serizawa. That's Dr. Serizawa.

Murata: [He] named it Oxygen Destroyer. [They] asked [him] to use that. However, [Serizawa] did not allow it to be used because [he] feared it would become a second hydrogen bomb. I thought it was a tough play, that part. In the end [Serizawa] decided to use it and burned all the documents, but as long as [he] was alive, they might be used again. By the power of money or some other power. That's why he decided he had no choice but to die, so he died along with Godzilla.

   - You co-wrote the [screenplay] with director Honda. What was the process for working on it?

Murata: [I went] to the inn first. I read the original work, wrote it down in roughly the same order as I wanted to do it this way and that way, and to a certain extent, I created things like this because humans are like this.

   - So you made a box. [TL: This is an accurate translation as far as I can tell because they are saying "hako" (box), but I don't know what it means. Maybe this is an idiom that isn't translating well?]

Murata: There's a certain box there. So when [Tanaka], the director, Kayama, and all the staff got together, I said, "This is how I think about it". After that, we had various discussions and the general idea was decided. So I met up with Mr. Honda and we went to an inn together, and while we talked about various things, I [said] "Okay, I'll write first," and handed it to him. What he wrote, I corrected later.

   - So it's like a game of catch.

Murata: At that time, it was. Since we were cooped up together, it wasn't like I had written everything and then handed it over.

   - At the end of the movie, Dr. Yamane says "I can't believe that Godzilla was the last one." I've heard that was [your] idea.

Murata: Yeah, I guess so [laughs]. I don't think Mr. Kayama wrote [that] down. I didn't intend for [there] to be a sequel. I thought that if we continued to test hydrogen bombs, Godzilla would definitely show up, and we would be in trouble for another tragedy like this. I think that's why the line came out like that. Then the movie hit the jackpot. So the promoters and movie theater owners [asked] "Please let us pretend that [Godzilla] is still alive", and they said, well, there was another one alive. [Kayama] apologized for the inconvenience[...]

   - What made you enter the film industry?

Murata: I saw my father as a shareholder in a movie theater.

   - You were born in Shingawa.

Murata: Yes, I was born in Shinagawa. You know me very well [laughs]. There was an "entertainment center" there. My father  became a shareholder. Shareholders receive tickets.

   - Oh, a complimentary ticket.

Murata: If you bring it with you, the admission will be free. So when my father went out, I would often accompany him, ever since I was a child. So, back then, there was time for adults and time for children. There was an announcement that children should go home because it was adult time from now on. Then, the children couldn't help it, so they all went home. I hid it under a chair when I was in elementary school.

   - [Did] the entertainment center specialize in Japanese movies or foreign movies?

Murata: No, back then we were doing Western movies and Japanese movies all together. So, after a long time, I decided that I would like to write a scenario somehow. Then, I realized that the person my sister married was a man named Shigemune.

   - Tsutomu Shigemune (Kazunobu).

Murata: Yes, she married that person. He is the younger brother of the president of Meidensha, [TL: Very old company specializing in water treatment, industrial products, infrastructure, real estate, etc.] so he has money. He joined Shochiku Cinema's Kamata studio and became the director. That's when I decided that I wanted to join the film industry. Back then, you couldn't get a script.

   - Yes.

Murata: What I would do is [say] "I want to study..." so I would go to the movie theater, and it would be pitch-black, but I would grab my notebook and watch [movies].

   - To watch adult movies.

Murata: I was wondering what [to do]. The light suddenly came on, so [I would] hide. In the evening, movies for adults began. So, when I watch it, I don't think "Wow." That's not the case. [...]

   - So there are no more nerve-wracking scenes than there are now.

Murata: There [were] no bed scenes. I thought they were going to kiss, but then they suddenly cut off. There's nothing suspicious about it in the slightest. Also, there was a series of action dramas in foreign countries. I think it's called Tiger's Claw. [TL: I don't know what this is.] This is how it turned out, and yes, there are dangers.

   - [...] And then next week...

Murata: I'd go and see it again next week. That kind of thing is interesting, and I've been involved with movies since I was a child.

   - Yes.

Murata: While watching the movie, I thought to myself, "This is how the scene goes..."

   - So you transcribe the lines and such.

Murata: Yes, at that time [it was silent films with dialogue cards], and it wasn't any "talkies". I wondered how many titles there were for the lines, and what the scene would be like if A and B met. [I'd write] something about it, go home... so outsiders would wonder, "What is this guy doing?" I had no choice but to study alone. Because there [was] no printing. Such a scenario is out of our hands.

  - Yes.

Murata: So, I see, this is how this movie is structured, and I was wondering how much should I include in the [card]?

   - When should [you] put it in?

Murata: Something like that. It would be bad if the [card] was too long, so I was wondering how long it should be and how many characters it should be. Before long, my brother-in-law Shigemune received the scenario that Shochiku had used. Ah, I thought, "This is what the real thing is like". If you think about it, people today are blessed. You can get the script, you can just lie down and watch TV.

   - I agree.

Murata: And eventually Shigemune was taken over by Nikkatsu. At that time, all of his assistant directors and staff came with him. So, I was asked if I would like to join Nikkatsu, because there was such an opportunity. When I joined Nikkatsu, I actually wanted to try directing, but they told me to study scriptwriting as well, so I ended up in the scriptwriting department. At that time, there were many people like Hideo Oguni, and although they didn't teach me directly, I read what others had written, and learned things step-by-step on my own. In the meantime, Shigemune decided to start his own company called "Tokyo Voice Film Works", and this time, he started pulling companies out of Nikkatsu.

   - Tokyo Vocalization was established in March 1935. 

Murata: Yes. We pulled actors like Haruyo Ichikawa from Nikkatsu, Yumeko Aizome and Den Obinata. Also, Shirō Toyoda from Shochiku Kamata. And Mr. Abe... Yutaka.

   - Yutaka Abe, yes.

Murata: After that happened, I finally reached [my 30s?], and I wonder what year it was... the war was getting more and more intense, and I [was involved with Mr. Toyoda's films] Ōhinata-mura (1940) and Okumura Ioko (1940). I was part of team B and went to Manchuria to film. Of course, Mr. Toyoda edited it. I once went to a shoot with someone like Shingenza's Chojuro Kawarazaki. After that, I worked on a few films, but the first feature film I worked on was Daichi ni inoru.

   - It was 1941.

 Murata: [Daichi ni inoru] was a story about a military nurse, so there were a lot of actresses like Sachiko Chiba. But most of all, actresses - this is a secret [laughs] - I think when you're around a lot of people, you can't help but feel a little bit about yourself. They try to keep it clean. Well, I'm sorry, but I'll say it: "What do you think? [You're] a military nurse who goes to the battlefield and takes care of the wounded. You'll get in trouble if you look that pretty. Please take off your lipstick." I told her, "I don't want [your] hair to be that clean. I want it to be more fluffy. Please go to the [makeup?] department and get some [product?] off your head." Everyone seemed surprised.

   - As expected, it's a trend in that work.

Murata: That's right. Even though there are people here who are hurt, if a beautiful [female] nurse comes along, it's not good.

   - So your director for [Daichi ni inoru] was Shirō Toyoda?

Murata: That's right. Mr. Toyoda is a very strict person. If you watch a performance and say it's really bad, you close your eyes. When I asked him, "What do you think?" he told me, the assistant director, to complain. I couldn't help it, so I said to the actors, "It's not working right now." That's why some famous actors cried because they were talked about so much. Because I worked for such a director, even in works where girls often appear, such as Jogakusei-ki (1941), when he plays an acharaka [TL: This is a type of comedy play that was popular in the early Shōwa period], he will criticize me harshly. When that happens, young girls [cried]. You're in trouble. However, I say this because I think that in order to make the work better, we shouldn't be too lenient. At that time, I would say "Let's take a break, let's take a lunch break," and give everyone a break, and kindly explain to the girl "I'm sorry, but this is how it is here." Well... it's difficult to use girls. [TL: Yikes.]

   - To put it very simply, there are two types of movies: those that are shot in a realistic manner, and those that are relatively fanciful, and take many leaps and bounds. I think there are two ways to do it, but when it comes to directing or writing scripts, which one do you think [you are] better at?

Murata: I'm a very strict person after all. To a certain extent, I think I have to portray humans somehow, even if I'm not very good at it.

   - In that case, even for a work like Godzilla, which features [monsters] that would never exist in real life, the  fact that [you] wrote a solid scenario still lies in the depiction. Was the underlying idea that there was no such thing?

Murata: I guess that kind of thing exists. So, I repeat, even if something like Godzilla appears, it's just in imagination. But in fact, they were conducting an atomic bomb test, and that's why [Godzilla appears]. I think it won't touch the heart of the viewer unless it touches on how humans must fight and deal with what has happened. That's why in [Daichi no inoru], when [the main character] came to Nanjing as a military nurse, [she] happened to find her own father injured. When [she] said "Dad!" and told him [she] would go over and take care of him, [her] father said, "You can't just take care of me. You're a nurse for everyone. Don't bother me." And [his] daughter cried a lot. [She] walked away while holding back what  [she] wanted to do. I feel like a person has to hold onto something to a certain extent.

   On a different topic, I also wrote the TV show Tokubetsu kidō sōsa-tai [Special Mobile Investigation Unit] (1961-1977). [About] why humans and evil people were forced to do evil. Maybe society is at fault, but I feel like we need to look at it from various angles. Even now, such things still exist. So, back to the topic of [Tokyo Vocalization]...

   - Yes.

Murata: While all this was going on, the Pacific War was intensifying, and film was the raw material for gunpowder, [TL: Nitrate film.] and the military needed film for themselves. Therefore, filming an entertainment movie would have been contrary to national policy. Thanks to Mr. Toyoda and Mr. Abe's hard work, Tokyo Voice has produced a number of works that are in the top ten [TL: I'm 99% certain he is talking about Kinema Junpo's "Best Ten".] including [Spring on Leper's Island] (1940). However, no matter how many masterpieces you create, you still end up in the red. "But it's okay", he said. "Isn't it our job to leave behind masterpieces rather than boring ones?" I was working on it as if I were a young man working on a movie, but the small production companies were integrated under the orders of the military I just mentioned. Therefore, Tokyo Voice was also acquired by Toho in 1942. However, the lack of film was fatal, and even famous directors could not shoot without film. Akira Kurosawa was also trying to become a director, but he was unable to do so. Me too - well, [here is where] Mr. Iwao Mori comes in - Mr. Mori said, "I'm sorry, but could you bear with me as an assistant director? I'll show you the light of day soon," he said. Shigemune, who I mentioned earlier, is also a benefactor to me, but I consider Mr. Mori to be a great benefactor.

   During the war, I was hired by the army aviation headquarters to take pictures of how Japanese planes were destroyed on the battlefields.

   - [Sigh...] [TL: Literally "haa..."]

Murata: Anyway, [I was] told to go to the site and take pictures of how [it] was doing. Although it was a small number of people, including cameramen and sound recorders, they were dispatched to the south. I went all around Singapore, Palembang, Java, etc., met people from the local air corps, decided what kind of film I would make, heard how the local people and [pilots] were struggling to make it happen.

   If you touch a Japanese military plane, it'll move around a lot. It looks like a cheap pot. It looks like a pot. I often thought that I could go there like this. When we arrived there, we found a confiscated Dutch plane. It [felt] solid to the touch, and there [was] a piece of iron behind the pilot...

   - Does it have a bulletproof plate?

Murata: Yes, [it does]. So even if you get shot, it's not dangerous [TL: Oh?] and the gasoline pipes are made of raw rubber or something, so oil won't leak. When I saw that, I thought it must be a big deal. When Japanese planes are shot, the pilot is killed, and the gasoline pipes leak.

   So, for the movie, I met a military leader and asked him to change the markings on the Dutch planes to American ones, and he said "Sure". I asked the Dutch prisoners to stand next to the thing, I showed them to the American plane. I filmed a scene where a Japanese [Hayabusa] rushes in and everyone scatters. There were a lot of planes lines up, and I asked, "Is it okay if I do this?" and they said "That's the purpose of the trip, so it's fine." I've even burned two or three of them. When I returned to Japan, Mr. Tsuburaya and Mr. Kajiro Yamamoto came to see it. I was just filming a movie about airplanes.

   - Is it [Colonel Kato's Flying Squadron]?

Murata: Maybe. Mr. Yamamoto said he had some great cuts and asked if he could give them to me. Since this was something that a senior person in the film industry told me, I have him one or two cuts, such as the scene where the [Hayabusa] sluggishly returns to the airfield with the palm trees. That's right.

   Eventually, the movie was completed, but alas, by that time the B29s had arrived and dropped a bomb. The airfield I was in charge of was destroyed. [...] I wasn't able to show you any of my other works. I think it was a shame.

   - The person who cooperated with the filming also passed away at that time?

Murata: He passed away quite a while ago. The person I met was Squadron Commander Yokoyama, and he was the commander of a squadron that was very successful in China. Yokoyama is a great pilot. My subordinates [were] also wonderful people. I had a recorder, so I asked the squadron commander to stand in front of the [Hayabusa]. I recorded a story where [someone] said "Everyone, the planes you send us are also destroyed, so please send us one or two planes."

   The next day or so, everyone left for New Guinea. We also filmed that. [...] So we got on the plane, and all the planes were circling over our heads. The reason I was going to new Guinea was because a major from the Air Headquarters had come to do an inspection. I was accompanying him as his bodyguard. Then, I didn't realize that there was an American plane coming from above. There's no radar. Radar is well-developed over there, so it suddenly came from above the clouds.  I later heard that Yokoyama had passed away there. Inland [Japan].

   The squadron commander said, "I'm sorry, but could you please send this and this to my wife and child?" since we were going back to the mainland first. One officer told me to buy these little leather shoes. "I think my child would be able to wear shoes like this, so could you please send them to [them]?" "Okay," I said, leaving as many things as I could with them and then returning home. Then, those people all died.

   So, I sent him a letter with the things I had kept. When the work was finally completed, I invited the bereaved family members for the preview screening. Everyone really cried. I even included in the [subtitles] that the voice that said "Please send us one or two planes" is no longer [alive]...

   - What is the title of the movie?

Murata: It's called [Ōzora no mitate]. We only did a preview screening and it didn't go to the box office. This was a movie that never made it into the world.

   - So you didn't go into the military, but after the war, you worked as an assistant director at Toho, right?

Murata: Rather than learning from others, I was writing my own scenarios. Once [they] were finished, I brought [them] to Mr. Mori.

   - I see.

Murata: There [were] times when it was interesting. Then he said, "Isn't that a promise? If it's fun, you'll do it."

   - [Directing], right?

Murata: That's what I'm saying [laughs]. But since we didn't have film, we decided it was impossible. However, Mr. Mori was a kind person and wrote reviews. He also didn't use manuscript paper. He wrote it on the back of the envelope and told me how frugal he was. I still have some of the things he wrote.

   - It seems that you were a very studious person.

Murata: At that time, Mr. Mori would call the [screenwriter] to the filming location about once a month. He treated me to lunch and told me about the current state of the film industry. At that time, movies were at an all-time high, and television was still scarce. However, Mr. Mori said, "Right now, the television world is going to get really big, and the film industry will be ruined." I was surprised and wondered, "Can something like that happen?" [Mori] had also gone overseas, so the structure of [his] mind was different.

   - When [were] you talking about this?

Murata: 1955... no, maybe even earlier. In the northern part of Japan, it snows in the winter, making it impossible to farm. Then, since farmers were losing their jobs, they'd decide to go see a movie, and the number of people going to the movies increased. However, with television, people would no longer flock to movie theaters. My post-war career involved making three-dimensional films.

   - Yes, ToVision's [Runaway Sunday] (1953).

Murata: That's another connection with Mr. Tsuburaya. I've known Mr. Tsuburaya for some time, and we've been strangely compatible. I think it was around the time of Ōzora no mitate, which I mentioned earlier, and I was wondering what kind of work Mr. Tsuburaya was doing. For example, [he] would draw clouds across the ocean in a horizontal line, or [he] would cut off the [?] for a moment. He taught me many things. That's when I learned that they were making 3D movies [overseas]. However, Toho was also secretly researching ToVision. I wanted to do something about that and release it quickly, before foreign films [did]. So, Mr. Mori called me. Anyway, it's one [reel]. As for why it's a single [reel], look, it's the glasses...

   - Polarized glasses are used to see in three dimensions.

Murata: If you wear them all the time, your eyes will get tired. So Shigeru Tajiri created another [film] called [Watashi wa nerawa rete iru]. We screened these two films. I've never seen ToVision, but it's a movie projector.

   - Because you can watch it at home...

Murata: Yes. That's what we said a long time ago. We really didn't even think about it. Right now, antennas [are] erected directly in the skies all over Japan. "Isn't the film industry in decline?" he said.

   - So, that's exactly what happened.

Murata: [TL: I'm not going to translate him explaining how 3D movies work.] So, Mr. Tsuburaya [gave] it a spin...

   - Oh, the camera?

Murata: Well, Mr. Tsuburaya was running the camera, and [he] and I were talking about various ideas and asking ourselves, "What would be interesting to make?" It was shot using two cameras, making use of a lot of movement, such as a young man and woman having fun at an amusement park. So, it was released, but it was only available at two theaters in Tokyo: Nichigeki and Asakusa Takarazuka.

   - The other [theaters with 3D facilities] are Osaka Theater and Nagoya Meiho Kaikan. Is the fact that there were only four [theaters with these facilities] a problem?

Murata: The equipment [was] difficult, [as well as] wearing glasses. Everyone seemed to be happy, making a lot of noise, saying that it had suddenly entered their eyeballs and that it was [...] So, I thought it would be possible to make a more interesting 3D film. I had in mind that I could make a shocking psychological thriller. When I said that, Mr. Mori said "Thank you for your hard work. Now, Toho will go down in movie history as the first to release a 3D film before America, so it's all good. It's fine." When I asked him "What happens next?" He said "No, you'll never make [one] again." I was disappointed when I was declined, and said "Thank you". That's it [laughs].

   - So ToVision ended with just those two products.

Murata: That's right. That's what happened, and now we're going to talk about Mr. Tsuburaya. Mr. Tsuburaya was also disappointed when he heard he would not be making any more. So, while we were drinking, Mr. Tsuburaya talked about something he had been thinking about for some time.

   - Didn't he drink too?

Murata: Yes, he liked it. Let's have a drink and talk. "Isn't there some interesting way to utilize special technology?" "There is, isn't there? Something like this..." The story is that there is a whale or something in Tokyo Bay, and what if the whale comes up to Tokyo, goes on a rampage, and destroys Tokyo? I said, "Oh, isn't that interesting!" I showed the proposal to Mr. Mori, but he said "Well, it's too early..." and didn't buy it. Then, by chance, a hydrogen bomb test happened.

   - Yes, in Bikini Atoll.

Murata: Because of the radioactivity, people couldn't eat fish, which caused a lot of trouble. The person who noticed this was Tomoyuki Tanaka. [He] had a lot of foresight, after all. When Mr. Tanaka told Mr. Mori about this, Mr. Mori had been doing a lot of research on special technology overseas, so he immediately said "Let's do it!" Then, we decided, who should do it. I said, "[I'm] good friends with Mr. Tsuburaya, and he often brings me scenarios. Okay, let's let him write them. So we approached him.

   - Mr. Tsuburaya's idea included the concept of a large octopus, right? Giant octopuses are said to be rampant in the Indian Ocean.

Murata: I also heard about the octopus.

   - What kind of story was that...?

Murata: No [laughs]. [...] In any case, an octopus-whale or something like that from the ocean floor comes out on land, and the rest is [special effects], and there are no characters involved. However, just as an idea, if something like that came up, I wondered how interesting it woul be.

   - Was there some kind of a plot?

Murata: It wasn't me, but Mr. Tsuburaya himself had several manuscripts.

   - Are there any left now?

Murata: No, I don't have [any].

   - Mr. Murata, have you seen King Kong (1933)?

Murata: Yes. It's wonderful. I wonder how something like that was created. I never thought that I'd make something like that later.

   - For Godzilla, there was a storyboard system called "pictorial sketch". The person who explained that was [you]?

Murata: Yes, that was my first time doing storyboards, too. I wonder how long it was... [TL: Clap your eyes on some Godzilla storyboards. More out there if you Google it.]

   - There are about 130 [frames].

Murata: They were all lined up on the wall. Mr. Mori said "Since you are in charge, please explain everything." The staff was all nervous, and I had the script in my head. At first, the ship came like this, and here it was special effects. Then, the special effects people would be taking notes on various things. We talked for a long time, and it took about an hour and a half. After I finished explaining, Mr. Mori said "There is no doubt that this was a success." So I said, "There's overlap here and there, so I guess it's okay to cut it." I [wanted to] hear everyone's opinions. When I asked Mr. Tsuburaya "Why did you [make Godzilla that size]?" he replied "Godzilla walked into Ginza, put his hands on Hattori Watch Shop [TL: Seiko House Ginza], and made a big splash. This is because it needs to be large enough to be crushed."

   - It was a big hit, and the sequel Godzilla Raids Again was released the following year. The director was Motoyoshi Oda. The script was written by [you] and Shigeaki Hidaka.

Murata: [I asked] Hidaka to help me. That time, in addition to Godzilla, a mysterious creature called Anguirus [appeared]. So we thought, if Godzilla comes, the bad guys will try to make money. Like robbing a bank. Because of Godzilla's rampage, people may lose their lives or be punished for their good or evil, and [we wanted to] include stories about prisoners who escape. I really wanted to make the most of people who do bad things at times like that, but unfortunately things didn't go as planned.

   - It's like what you would call a "fire thief". [TL: I'm guessing this is another idiom that isn't translating directly, but the meaning is kind of self-explanatory.]

Murata: Yes, that's right. I feel like if I had thought more about that, it would have been a much more interesting movie, so I can't help it.

   - When such an extreme situation arises, there will be people who will not only run away, but also take advantage of it.

Murata: There will also be bad women. It's about [depicting] humans. This was also the case with Godzilla. I think Mr. Kayama had also put a lot of thought into this. [At the end of the film] not knowing what to do with [Godzilla], they decided to take it north and bury it among icebergs. Do you look at that and think, "Ah, that was good..."? In Mr. Kayama's heart, he felt sorry for Godzilla and felt bad [that he came out]. I also heard that Mr. Kayama said "I don't want to write about Godzilla anymore". I myself felt sorry for Godzilla, and I'm really glad I buried him. There were times when children would ask me things like "Why did you kill Godzilla?" So, many people came forward to write Godzilla later, and some interesting scripts were created, but... well, that's the story of Godzilla.

   - After that was [Half Human] (1955). [Your] Yukio [TL: The adult snowman from Half Human's given name] and Kong Kong are different in size.

Murata: Although they are different, they are somehow similar. Even King Kong was dragged to New York and turned into a spectacle, and ended up falling off a building. I felt sorry for him. Why did you bring [him] to a civilized country? I don't know if Yukio exists or not, but it is true that there are footprints like that in the Himalayas. So, Mr. Kayama [came up with the idea that] Yukio lives with a child.

  - Next was [Rodan], the first color monster movie. This was a co-production with Takeshi Kimura.

Murata: In Ken Kuronuma's original work, there was only one Rodan. Let's make it two. [A] couple.

   - Ah, [were they] a couple?

Murata: Or rather, a female and a male. I thought there was only one, but I think it's surprising that there were two. Finally, during the Mt. Aso eruption, the female was killed and the male tried to save her, but in the end they both died.

   - Burned by lava.

Murata: It just so happened that I went to the filming location and they were working on that scene.

   - It [was] an open set for special effects.

Murata: Tsuburaya said "Ah, you've come to the right place". It's a great scene, really a mountain of steel on a set.

   - [Toho] used real molten iron as lava, right? [TL: This is true and it's also true of the volcano scene in The Three Treasures and it makes my palms sweat when I think about it.]

Murata: When the [liquid] is poured from above, the wood there gets really hot and burns up. Then the two hanging [Rodan props] fall and burn. When I saw that, it really touched my heart. I'm glad there were two instead of one.

   - Was it your idea to have two [snowmen]? [TL: They have shifted to talking about Half Human here.]

Murata: Yes. And, somehow, they coexisted and prospered together with the people of the mountain cave, or rather, the village.

   - [The people] did something like a tribute...

Murata: They did. Therefore, [the snowmen] did not destroy the village. However, when [Yukio's] child was killed by an unscrupulous showman, he became furious and ended up dying himself. It's a piece of work that left a deep impression on me. Mr. Kayama asked me, "What if you directed it?" But the director had already been decided.

   That was Mt. Aso. When [Shigeru] goes into [the coal mine], [he] encountered a lot of things, such as a big egg appearing [laughs]. It's not like Godzilla lands, rampages, and then disappears. Just as I thought it was in, it seemed to come out from somewhere. I was kind of scratching my head as I wrote that one.

   - As for fantasy, you also co-wrote Kajiro Yamamoto's Son Goku (1959) with director Yamamoto.

Murata: I read some of the Journey to the West books and thought, "I see". I was wondering how I could [do] it, so I thought of a Western movie.

   - Ah, it's a travelogue.

Murata: Well, when the stagecoach comes rushing by, the camera moves quickly and there are Indians on top of the mountain. That's amazing, isn't it?

   - This is a famous shot from John Ford's Stagecoach.

Murata: Yes, that's why I thought it would be great if, in some cases, [Piggsy] would come out and do something that was as good as that. [TL: I have seen this version of Son Goku and I'm not sure if it's the exact shot that Murata is talking about but Piggsy's first appearance in the film is genuinely one of the most unintentionally horrifying things I've ever seen.] Then, Mr. Yamamoto's case was a little different. 

[TL: The next line is very garbled but they're talking about Reiko Dan?]

Murata: That was a very interesting idea. We stayed at the Daiichi Hotel in Shinbashi or something and worked on the script while having discussions.

   - Did you see Son Goku (1940) as performed by Kenichi Enomoto before the war? It was also directed by Yamamoto.

Murata: I think I saw it.

   - As a fan of Toho's monster movies, I have a very simple question. Before Godzilla, there were no full-fledged monster movies like that. I can't help but wonder how [the actors] were able to imagine a scene where Godzilla rampages around without [seeing it?].

Murata: Well... well, things like deciding what to do on Ginza Street, or seeing a fire and heading there. When we were explaining the storyboard, Mr. Mori saw a [drawing] of Godzilla walking towards a birdhouse on the roof of a department store with birds roaming around inside, and he said, "Yes, this is good." "I can do it," he said. Ah, I think that's a different way of looking at it. It's not just rampaging, it's actually living things, the weak and the strong. When I was told that I could do it, I really felt that I had been accepted.

   - Did you like science novels?

Murata: Well, I'm a promiscuous reader.

   - Did you see the American movie The Atomic Monster Appears, which was released the same year as Godzilla? [TL: I'm not certain what this movie is, but it miiiight be Them!]

Murata: [I] may not have seen it.

   - Is Godzilla your favorite work?

Murata: Yes. I feel sorry for Godzilla. Also, I think that young scientist is also suffering. He is [young] and a very wonderful person. I like Emiko though.

   - When [Serizawa] defeats Godzilla, [he] dies too, but it feels like a suicide...

Murata: Yes, that's right. That's why I think it was difficult for Mr. Tsuburaya as well. Even though it was the ocean floor, it was not real water. [TL: Serizawa's final scene was filmed through a fish tank.] That's where the chorus [came] in.

   - "Prayer For Peace".

Murata: Mr. Kayama said he felt sorry for that[...] it seems like he cried.

   - Do you have any favorite actors?

Murata: Takashi Shimura is very good.

   - In the same year, [Shimura] appeared in Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai.

Murata: Well, I [spoke to?] Mr. Shimura once. In Seven Samurai, the way he holds the sword and holds it in front of him was amazing. I was very happy.

   - What is your relationship with Mr. Tsuburaya like?

Murata: Mr. Tsuburaya said he was going to do something called "WOO". [TL: Unmade Tsupro TV series that Murata would have worked on.]

   - [That was] a TV series by Tsuburaya Productions planned in 1963.

Murata: [Tsuburaya] said, "Could you help me with one thing?" I went to his house too. At that time... Kinjo-san?

 

   - [That's] [screenwriter] Tetsuo Kinjo.

Murata: He was there. So, I wonder what he was doing... planning... I don't think he was a [scriptwriter] back then. I helped out with a few stories about mysterious things like "WOO" appearing, but they never materialized (production stopped in 1964). In the end, production stopped and I could no longer work at Tsuburaya Productions.

   - How would you describe Mr. Tsuburaya's personality?

Murata: [...] He's never gotten angry, and he's always smiling. so, when [he] says something, they listen carefully. Also, when I [would tell him] "I don't understand something right now," he would explain it well. I really liked [him].

   - In the film industry, there aren't many people like that.

Murata: [TL: Here he says "No, that's not true", but I think it's more like "No, there aren't [people like that]"]

   - He was a relatively rare person, wasn't he?

Murata: I think so. I think he's a great person. I guess that's why he did so much work. I don't think he was a sloppy person. Even when we're talking, there's something special about using special techniques. It's like you're thinking, "Don't worry about it." Like this... [stirs his coffee cup] How about this? If left unchecked, it could be used to create a tornado or something. I think he's a wonderful person.

   - The only thing on [your] mind all the time was work. Was it worth it?

Murata: This is something I haven't told anyone, but I was once asked by a movie company, "Would you like to come over here?" By chance, at that time, there was talk about Godzilla. So when I read Mr. Kayama's original work, there was something that touched my heart. So, I turned down the transfer offer and accepted the role on Godzilla. We hoped that Toho would do everything they could to make this happen. It was my first time. I think the special effects were also difficult. [They] made some big, heavy stuffed animals. Well, just [moving its tail took] a lot of people pulling together in unison. I don't think critics praised it much, saying it was a bit of a joke. But it's amazing that [it] went overseas and had so many customers. It's been 30 years and he's still alive. It was fun. I really feel grateful to have been given the opportunity to do that job. Really.