Eiji Tsuburaya, the founder of Tsuburaya Productions Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President Masayuki Nagatake), has been selected for the VES (Visual Effects Society) Hall of Fame, and the Honors Celebration was held today in Los Angeles. Film directors inducted into the Hall of Fame in the past include Walt Disney, Stanley Kubrick, and Georges Méliès; Eiji Tsuburaya is the first Japanese person in history to be inducted. 

Ultraman and Alien Baltan also arrived at the Honors Celebration and enlivened the venue. The following is the content of the speech by the President of Tsuburaya Productions, Masayuki Nagatake.

Speech of Masayuki Nagatake, President of Tsuburaya Productions Co., Ltd.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, Ultraman.

I am Masayuki Nagatake, President of Tsuburaya Productions.

It is a great honor to stand before you today on this historic occasion of Eiji Tsuburaya’s induction into the VES Hall of Fame. Representing Tsuburaya Productions, which Eiji Tsuburaya founded more than 60 years ago, I extend my heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to his family, the VES, and everyone involved.

Eiji Tsuburaya always sought to deliver a simple yet powerful message through his works: “to spark imagination, provide hope for the future, and cultivate kindness.”

To realize this vision, his “Power of Imagination” became a groundbreaking form of visual expression that made the impossible possible—what we know today as tokusatsu, or special effects. From the the 1954 film Godzilla and the Ultraman series that continues today, his creations have inspired countless filmmakers and creators around the world.

Today’s 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.

Once again, congratulations on this remarkable honor.

Thank you very much.

About VES 

The Visual Effects Society (VES) is a global professional honorary society and the entertainment industry’s only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners. VES’ over 5,000 members in more than 50 countries worldwide contribute to all areas of entertainment – film, television, commercials, animation, special venue, games and new media. In February of this year, actor and film director Hiroyuki Sanada received the “VES Award for Creative Excellence” and Director Takashi Yamazaki received the “VES Visionary Award,” which became a topic of discussion in Japan. 

VES Official Website: https://www.vesglobal.org/

About the Hall of Fame 

The “Hall of Fame” awarded by VES is the most prestigious award, honoring the great pioneers who have had a lasting impact on the VFX industry. Past inductees include Walt Disney, Stanley Kubrick, and Georges Méliès. Eiji Tsuburaya’s induction into the Hall of Fame, as the first Japanese person, signifies that his achievements have been recognized by the global film industry as a “pioneer who laid the foundation for VFX.”

Eiji Tsuburaya (1901-1970) 

Eiji Tsuburaya, known as the “Father of Tokusatsu” (special effects), started his film career in 1919 as an assistant cameraman. 

In 1923, when he was promoted to cameraman, he explored the most advanced filming techniques of the time and created Japan’s film industry’s first iron filming crane. Around this time, Eiji, inspired by the film King Kong (1933) with visual effects by fellow VES Hall of Famer Willis O’Brien, began to aim for creating works that maximized the use of special filming techniques. Subsequently, when Toho was established through the merger of J.O. Studio, etc., where he was working, the research and development of special effects technology flourished there. He became a pioneer of special filming techniques such as miniature work, multiple composition, screen process, suitmation (a method of having an actor wear a creature suit), matte painting, and optical composition. Director Kajiro Yamamoto’s epic film The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya (1942), which recreated the attack on Pearl Harbor, was a huge hit in Japan and the possibility of Tokusatsu expression became widely recognized. Eiji continued his career after the war, and in 1954, he became known worldwide for the special effects in Godzilla, directed by Ishirō Honda and produced by Toho. Godzilla laid the foundation for the longest-running Godzilla series as a theatrical film in history and is recognized as one of the greatest monster movies of all time. He energetically worked on training his successors and passing on his techniques, and in 1963, he established his own company, Tsuburaya Special Effects Productions (now: Tsuburaya Productions). 

There, he launched the Ultraman series, including the TV programs Ultra Q, Ultraman, and Ultraseven. The “power of imagination” of the founder, Eiji Tsuburaya, is still inherited today as the source and foundation of Tsuburaya Productions’ corporate activities.