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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiju

Origins

There are no traditional depictions of kaiju or kaiju-like creatures in Japanese folklore but rather the origins of kaiju are found in film. Gojira (translated to Godzilla) is regarded as the first kaiju film and was released in 1954. Tomoyuki Tanaka, a producer for Toho Studios in Tokyo, needed a film to release after his previous project was halted and upon seeing how well American Hollywood monster movie genre films King Kong and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms had done in the box offices of Japan, as well as personally being a fan of the films, Tomoyuki Tanaka set out to make a new movie based on those American monster movies and created Godzilla. . This meant the original Godzilla movie, and the entire kaiju genre is heavily influenced by Hollywood monster movies. Tomoyuki Tanaka aimed to combine Hollywood monster movies with the re-emerged Japanese fears of atomic weapons, which came about due to the Daigo Fukuryū Maru fishing boat incident, and so he put a team together and created the concept of a radioactive giant creature emerging from the depths of the ocean which would become the iconic monster Godzilla Godzilla was initially met with commercial success in Japan, inspiring an entire genre that came to be known as kaiju movies . Kaiju movies are not uniquely Japanese as other countries produce them, but to a much lesser extent.

Terminology

Kaiju

Translates to strange beast. A science fiction creature that often takes the role of either antagonist, protagonist, or force of nature.

Daikaiju

Translates to giant or great strange beast. The literal translation is about a size difference between a kaiju and a daikaiju however, the implications are that the daikaiju is a greater beast. The exact definition of what determines a kaiju from a daikaiju is debated.

Tokusatsu

A Japanese live action film or television show that focuses on special effects. Tokusatsu is highly popular in Japan, but not well known outside of Asia.

Suit-mation

A technique that was developed to portray the kaiju. An actor plays the part of the kaiju while in an articulated costume.

Monster techniques

Eiji Tsubaraya was in charge of the special effects for Gojira developed a technique to animate the kaiju that became known colloquially as a suit-mation. . Where Western monster movies often utilized a technique known as stop motion to animate the monsters, Tsubaraya decided to attempt to create suits, now referred to as creature suits, for a human to wear and act in . This was combined with the use of miniature models and scaled down city sets to create the illusion of a giant creature in a city. Due to the extreme stiffness of the latex or rubber suits often filming would be done at double speed, so that when the film was shown the monster was smoother and slower than the original shot. . Kaiju films also utilized a form of puppetry interwoven between suit-mation scenes which served to have shots that were physically impossible for the actor to preform in the suit. Later CGI was used for certain special sequences and monsters, but over all the suit-mation technique has been present in an overwhelming majority of kaiju films produced in Japans of all eras. American produced kaiju films strayed from this however, and began to focus on CGI in recent releases such as the 2016 release of Godzilla. These suit-mation techniques were adapted by almost all kaiju films, and continue even in modern Japanese kaiju films and tokusatsu although more stop motion and CGI are utilized.

Notable Examples of Kaiju or Daikaiju:

Godzilla

The first kaiju. A giant bipedal, amphibious, dinosaur like kaiju that emerges from the depths of the ocean. Godzilla’s role in film changes depending on the era of the film and is either a protagonist or a destructive force of nature. One of the san daikaiju, the three great kaiju.

King Ghidorah

A giant three headed dragon like kaiju who often does battle against Godzilla. King Ghidorah has been an antagonist in every film appearance he has made .

Gamera

A giant turtle like kaiju with large fangs that emerges from the depths of the ocean. Gamera has been a protagonist in every film appearance, as Gamera is portrayed as a hero of children .

Mothra

Depending on the stage of life Mothra is in she is either a large caterpillar like larva or a giant moth like kaiju that often does battle against or alongside Godzilla. Mothra is always portrayed as a benevolent guardian deity of humans. One of the san daikaiju, the three great kaiju .

Rodan

A giant Pteranodon kaiju. Rodan is either a force of nature or an antagonist. One of the san daikaiju, the three great kaiju