The Birth of Japan (日本誕生, Nippon Tanjō?, lit. Japan Birth) is a 1959 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Toho Company Ltd. It was released to Japanese theaters on November 1, 1959.
Plot
The Birth of Japan retells the story of the Yamata no Orochi legend, and features the great adventure of Susano as he fights the legendary serpent Orochi, in order to save the maidens of a village in the newly-formed Japanese country.
Staff
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki
- Written by Ryûzô Kikushima and Toshio Yasumi
- Produced by Sanezumi Fujimoto and Tomoyuki Tanaka
- Executive producing by Katsutaro Kawakami
- Music by Akira Ifukube
- Cinematography by Kazuo Yamada
- Edited by Kazuji Taira
- Production design by Kisaku Ito and Hiroshi Ueda
- Assistant directing by Teruo Maru
- Special effects by Hidesaburo Araki, Eiji Tsuburaya, and Akira Watanabe
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Toshirô Mifune as Yamato Takeru/Susanoo
- Yôko Tsukasa as Princess Oto Tachibana
- Akihiko Hirata as Kibino Takehiko
- Kyôko Kagawa as Princess Miyazu
- Takashi Shimura as Elder Kumaso
- Setsuko Hara as Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess
- Kumi Mizuno as Azami
- Misa Uehara as Princess Kushinada
- Kinuyo Tanaka as Princess Yamato
- Akira Kubo as Prince Iogi
- Akira Takarada as Prince Wakatarashi
- Ganjirô Nakamura as Emperor
- Eijirô Tôno as Ōtomo no Takehi
- Jun Tazaki as Ōtomo no Kurohiko
- Ken'ichi Enomoto as God of Yaoyorozu
- Hideyo Amamoto as Spectator at Gods' Dance
- Shizuko Muramatsu as Goddess Izanami
- Kichijirô Ueda as Kume no Yahara
- Akira Sera as Anazuchi
- Minosuke Yamada as Okuri of Kunizo
- Michiyo Tamaki as Ehime
- Haruko Sugimura as Narrator
- Kakuko Murata as Obaki's mother
- Chieko Nakakita as Tenazuchi
- Nobuko Otowa as Goddess of Anenouzume
- Ikio Sawamura as Gods of Yaoyorozu
- Hajime Izu as Prince Oousu
- Bokuzen Hidari as God Amenominaka
- Yû Fujiki as Okabi
- Ichirô Arishima as Gods of Yaoyorozu
- Jun'ichirô Mukai as Moroto
- Kôzô Nomura as Ootomo Makeri
- Hisaya Itô as Ootomo Kodate
- Kô Mishima as Yakumo
- Norihei Miki as Gods of Yaoyorozu
Appearances
Monsters
Gallery
Main article: The Birth of Japan/Gallery.
Soundtrack
Main article: The Birth of Japan (Soundtrack).
Alternate Titles
- Age of the Gods (Alternate Title)
- Japan Birth (Literal Japanese Title)
- Japan Is Born
- The Three Treasures (United States)
- The Three Treasures (Les Trois Trésors; France)
- Three Treasures (Tres Tesoros; Spain)
Theatrical Releases
- Japan - November 1, 1959 [view poster]
link=http://godzilla.wikia.com/wiki/The Birth of Japan/Gallery#Posters?file=The_Birth_of_Japan_Poster.jpg - United States - December 20, 1960 [view poster]
link=http://godzilla.wikia.com/wiki/The Birth of Japan/Gallery#Posters?file=The_Three_Treasures_(The_Birth_of_Japan)_American_Poster.jpg - Spain - 1972 [view poster]
link=http://godzilla.wikia.com/wiki/The Birth of Japan/Gallery#Posters?file=The_Birth_of_Japan_Spanish_Poster.jpg - France [view poster]
link=http://godzilla.wikia.com/wiki/The Birth of Japan/Gallery#Posters?file=The_Birth_of_Japan_French_Poster.jpg
Videos
Trivia
- This is the only film where Orochi resembles a serpent, as opposed to a dragon.
- The Birth of Japan is one of Toho's longest kaiju films, with a runtime of just over three hours.
- In 1994, The Birth of Japan was loosely remade by Toho as Yamato Takeru.
