GODZILLA AND THE COLD WAR: JAPANESE MEMORY, FEAR, AND ANXIETY IN TOHO STUDIO'S GODZILLA FRANCHISE, 1954-2016 Daniel J. Durkin III A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS May 2021 Committee: Walter Grunden, Advisor Benjamin Greene © 2021 Daniel J Durkin III All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Walter Grunden, Advisor This thesis investigates the numerous installments of the Godzilla film franchise, created by Toho Studios from 1954 through the present day, that contributes to the overall historiography and understanding on a post-World War II Japan. This study complicates previous scholarship on these films and Japan as a whole, which asserts that these films were primarily geared towards children and rarely offer substantive socio-political messages. By examining the numerous films of this franchise, this study demonstrates not only that there were themes reflective of Japanese memory, fear, and anxiety throughout the franchise, but that these films aim to bring about changes in society as a whole. All of these films display to some degree uncomfortable memories of the Second World War and mounting fears of the Cold War, both of which many Japanese people saw their country at the mercy of. The films captured the Japanese zeitgeist and transformed these attitudes and emotions into thematic elements, openly displaying them on screen in the hopes of involving great societal change within Japan and the international sphere. Ideas such as fears of thermonuclear devastation, worry over the spread of Communism and Communist regimes, the growth of science and technology, musings over man’s place in nature and the world and many others are openly present throughout the Godzilla franchise. The efforts of the numerous filmmakers to display these ideas and invoke societal change throughout the franchise led to many national and international policy changes towards bettering Japan’s place in a growing world. As a result, the Godzilla franchise contributes to a better understanding of the Japanese zeitgeist during and after the Cold War and how the moods and emotions of a people can be openly displayed on screen. iv For Elizabeth C. “Betsy” Beile v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe a great debt to my thesis committee, Dr. Walter Grunden and Dr. Benjamin Greene, for their tireless efforts to guide me through the research and writing process for this thesis. Their feedback and guidance has shaped my academic career at Bowling Green State University, and their endless support allowed me to be part of the accelerated BA to MA program, for which I am eternally grateful. The opportunities that these two professors have provided me can never be fully repaid. I would also like to thank the entire Undergraduate and Graduate staff of the BGSU History Department that I have had the great fortune of learning with the past five years. Their invaluable assistance in aiding my research and writing has been greatly appreciated and I cannot thank the many staff members enough for their support. Additionally, I would like to thank my colleagues and fellow Historians in the Graduate program, notably Robyn Perry and Kyle Rable, for their support with my writing and their friendship. I also owe thanks to John Ruffin, who provided me with high quality images of the final script for Gojira (1954). Without his help in acquiring these images, this project could not have been completed as it were. Additionally, I would finally thank my parents, Cynthia and Daniel Durkin, Jr. Without their constant love and continued support, such a project as this could never have come to fruition and I would have never had the opportunity to pursue this topic. And lastly, although there are many friends and family that aided me in my endeavor to write this thesis, I need to give my eternal gratitude to Lily Claire Kramer for her love and patience during my writing process. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION….. .............................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER ONE A POSTWAR MONSTER: GODZILLA IN THE EARLY SHŌWA PERIOD…………….. .............................................................................................................. 13 CHAPTER TWO A COLD WAR MONSTER: GODZILLA IN THE LATE SHŌWA PERIOD…………….. .............................................................................................................. 36 CHAPTER THREE A NEW WORLD MONSTER: GODZILLA IN THE HEISEI PERIOD…………….. .............................................................................................................. 78 CHAPTER FOUR A NEW MONSTER: GODZILLA IN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY101 CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 131 BIBLIOGRAPHY…… ............................................................................................................. 137 APPENDIX A. TIMELINE OF TOHO STUDIO’S GODZILLA FRANCHISE ..................... 143 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 Cover of final script for Gojira (1954), Toho Studios, courtesy of personal collection of John Ruffin.................................................................................................................... 16 2 Godzilla from the original Gojira (1954) attacking Tokyo........................................... 18 3 Godzilla battling the monstrous Hedorah...................................................................... 61 4 An American advertisement for Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972).......................................... 64 5 Godzilla’s new size and appearance in the 1980s.......................................................... 76 6 A Japanese advertisement for Godzilla vs. Destroyah (1995)...................................... 98 7 Godzilla’s new appearance in Godzilla 2000 (1999)..................................................... 105 8 A Japanese advertisement depicting Godzilla in its final form in Shin Godzilla (2016). ............................................................................................................................. 124 1 INTRODUCTION Resolving the Second World War by forcing a Japanese surrender, the dropping of atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945 brought forth the Cold War era. While still hotly debated by contemporary historians, a highly contributing factor to the use of the atomic weapons on Japan was the desire by the United States to prevent the Soviet Union’s interference in Japan’s surrender.1 As the Soviet Union was able to dictate Nazi Germany’s surrender in Europe, thereby splitting the country between occupying forces, the United States wanted to prevent this from happening in Japan. To do so, the United States detonated two nuclear weapons over Japan, the first in Hiroshima on August 6 and the second in Nagasaki on August 8, 1945. The destructive power of the bomb brought the capitulation of Imperial Japan and an end to the Second World War.2 Despite the use of such a powerful weapon against Japan, the US formulated much of its foreign policy in Asia after World War II on a partnership with its former enemy. This was done to encourage free trade and enterprise in the previously authoritarian state and to discourage the spread of Soviet influence. Although the US government maneuvered to prevent the spread of communism throughout the postwar world, China fell to the communist forces of Mao Zedong in 1949. In an effort to rebuild the war-shattered Japanese economy and maintain a stable presence in East Asia, the US invested heavily in economic aid and recovery. The nation that brought about Japan’s ascent into the modern age beginning in 1853 found itself again assisting a similar ascent into a postwar boom.3 1 Matthew Jones, After Hiroshima: The United States, Race, and Nuclear Weapons in Asia, 1945-1965 (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2010), 23. 2 Andrew J. Rotter, Hiroshima: The World’s Bomb (Oxford, Oxford Univ. Press, 2008), 206-207. 3 John W. Dower, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999), 19-22. 2 Often called Japan’s “American Interlude,” the occupation of the nation by its previous enemy and subsequent benefactor led to economic growth. This, however, was not without criticism from the Japanese people.4 The American occupation brought with it a clash of cultures and customs, and there occurred numerous tragic and violent incidents perpetrated by US service personnel. Accused of assault, theft, rape, and many other crimes, American servicemen were tried in courts martial and by their own government, not by local courts.5 This angered many Japanese people, who were frustrated at such a mismanagement of justice and judgement. Furthermore, these crimes often went unreported in Japanese and American newspapers and were buried under rules of censorship enforced in Japan by the occupier. Desiring the ability to govern themselves and break free of this occupying force, many Japanese looked towards the Americans with contempt. To combat this, future Secretary of State John Foster Dulles began to draft a peace treaty that allowed Japan to achieve democratic self-governance, while still maintaining the beneficial alliance that both nations desired.6 The treaty, which emancipated Japan from American control and allowed trade and military access to occur between the two, was enacted in 1951, restoring sovereignty to Japan and also allowing America to focus