1940s , Honda, and
Senkichi Taniguchi with their mentor
Kajirō Yamamoto, late 1930s|left Honda returned to work at
Toho as an assistant director. In 1946, he worked on two films:
Motoyoshi Oda's
Eleven Girl Students and Kunio Watanabe's
Declaration of Love. In 1947, he worked on three films,
24 Hours in an Underground Market (jointly directed by
Tadashi Imai,
Hideo Sekigawa, and Kiyoshi Kusuda) and
The New Age of Fools Parts One and Two, directed by
Kajirō Yamamoto. Due to a
labor dispute at Toho, many stars and employees split off and formed
Shintoho. Kunio Watanabe tried to convince Honda to join Shintoho, with the promise of Honda becoming a director quicker, however, Honda chose to remain neutral and stayed at Toho. Despite struggling at Toho, Honda worked on a handful of films produced by Film Arts Associates Productions. Between September and October 1948, Honda was on location in Noto Peninsula working on Kajirō Yamamoto's
Child of the Wind, the first release from Film Arts. From January to March 1949, Honda worked with Yamamoto again on
Flirtation in Spring. Prior to being promoted to a feature film director, Honda had to direct documentaries for Toho's Educational Films Division. Toho sometimes used documentary projects as tests for assistant directors due to become directors. Honda's directorial debut was the documentary
Ise-Shima, a twenty-minute highlight reel of
Ise-Shima's cultural attractions. It was commissioned by local officials to boost tourism to the national park. The film covers a brief history of the Ise Grand Shrine, the local people, the economy, and pearl farms. The film is also notable for being the first Japanese film to utilize underwater photography successfully. Honda originally wanted to use a small submarine-like craft but the idea was scrapped due to budget and safety concerns. Instead, professional divers assisted with the production. Honda had commissioned a camera technician colleague who designed and built an air-tight, waterproof, metal-and-glass housing for a compact 35-millimeter camera. The documentary was completed in July 1949 and became a triumph for Toho. The documentary was then sold to multiple European territories. It disappeared for a long time until it resurfaced on Japanese cable television in 2003. Between July and September 1949, shortly after finishing
Ise-Shima, Honda reunited with his friend
Akira Kurosawa on
Stray Dog and began working as a chief assistant director on the film. Honda mainly directed
second unit photography, all of the footage pleased Kurosawa and has stated to "owe a great deal" to Honda for capturing the film's post-war atmosphere.
1950s In 1950, Honda worked on two films by Kajirō Yamamoto:
Escape from Prison and
Elegy, the last film produced by Film Art Associations. Honda had also worked as an assistant director on
Senkichi Taniguchi's
Escape at Dawn. Between working on films as an assistant director, Honda began pre-production on
Newspaper Kid, which would have been his feature directorial debut. However, the project was canceled. Instead, he began working on another documentary titled
Story of a Co-op (also known as
Flowers Blooming in the Sand and
Co-op Way of Life)
Story of a Co-op was a documentary about the rise of consumer cooperatives in post-war Japan. It was also written by Honda, with the production overseen by Jin Usami and with the support of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Some records indicated that some animation was used to explain the functions of co-ops but these reports have been unconfirmed. The film was completed on 6 October 1950 and has since been lost. However, Honda recalled that the film was successful enough to convince Toho to assign Honda his first feature film. Between filming the documentaries, Toho had offered Honda the chance to develop and direct a war film titled
Kamikaze Special Attack Troop. Toho then chose not to proceed with the project after finding Honda's script, which openly criticized leaders of World War II, to be too grim and realistic. Honda recalled that the studio felt it was "too soon after the war" to produce such a film. Had the project proceeded, it would have been Honda's first directorial feature. The script has since been lost. At the age of 40, Honda completed his first feature film
The Blue Pearl. Released on 3 August 1951, it was one of the first Japanese feature films to utilize underwater photography and the first studio film to be shot in the Ise-Shima region. Honda initially chose not to direct war films, but changed his mind after Toho offered to have him direct
Eagle of the Pacific, a film about
Isoroku Yamamoto, a figure with whom Honda shared the same feelings regarding the war. It was the first film where Honda collaborated with
Eiji Tsuburaya.
Eagle of the Pacific was a box-office hit and reportedly was Toho's first postwar film to earn over (approximately ). Subsequently, Honda would direct another war film, entitled
Farewell Rabaul, which was released on February 10, 1954. (center) on the set of
Godzilla (1954) A month after the release of
Farewell Rabaul, Honda met assistant director Kōji Kajita to commence production on a film titled
Sanshiro the Priest. Possibly connected to Kurosawa's 1943 film
Sanshiro Sugata;
Hideo Oguni, one of Kurosawa's frequent collaborators, wrote the script for the film. Authors Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski stated that the project never came to fruition because Oguni and Honda "couldn't see eye to eye about the screenplay". According to Kajita, the film would have been about a priest and a
judo expert. Following the cancellation of a highly anticipated drama film titled
In the Shadow of Glory, producer
Tomoyuki Tanaka quickly converted the idea of a
giant monster film. He was influenced by reports of a nuclear test in the Pacific that caused a
Japanese fishing boat to be exposed to
nuclear fallout, with disastrous results, and had heard of a recently released American monster film
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Honda accepted the offer to direct the film after planned
In the Shadow of Glory director Taniguchi declined the assignment. Honda and screenwriter Takeo Murata confined themselves in a three-week secluded residence at an
inn in Tokyo's
Shibuya ward to write the screenplay for this film, entitled
Godzilla. The film was Honda's first
kaiju film, the genre for which he would become most famous. The simple story, about a giant monster that rises near Odo Island and attacks Tokyo causing catastrophic destruction, is a metaphor for a
nuclear holocaust. Principal photography for
Godzilla began on August 2, 1954, and wrapped in late September, taking 51 days. It became a box office success in Japan and was nominated for two Japanese Movie Association awards: winning an award for best special effects but losing to Kurosawa's
Seven Samurai for best picture. Because of the film's success in Japan, it spawned a
multimedia franchise, being recognized by
Guinness World Records as the longest-running film franchise in history. Two years later, a heavily localized version of
Godzilla was released in the United States as
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!. Honda's next film was
Lovetide, based on
Hidemi Kon's story
Blow, River Wind and adapted by screenwriter Dai Nishijima. Toho promoted the film by calling it a "gorgeous love melodrama with Toho's best cast, meant for all the woman fans". The film's stars
Mariko Okada and
Chieko Nakakita (Tanaka's wife) also played in
Mikio Naruse's film
Floating Clouds, featuring a similar plot and released around a week after
Lovetide. Tanaka had stated that if he had not made Honda predominantly direct science-fiction films, he would have become "a director like Mikio Naruse." During the start of production on
Motoyoshi Oda's
Godzilla Raids Again, Honda began filming
Half Human in the
Japanese Alps. Upon his return to Tokyo, Tsuburaya was working on
Godzilla Raids Again. Thus, production on
Half Human was halted and Honda moved on to shooting a drama film titled
Mother and Son. Principal photography for
Half Human recommenced in June, and the film was released on August 14, 1955, around a month after filming concluded.
Half Human has been infrequently seen following its release. Ryfle and Godziszewski noted this is possibly due to Toho fearing the mountain tribe, described by
Nobuo Nakamura's character as "mysterious
buraku", is depicted in the film as "an uncivilized, primitive colony of subhuman freaks", could enrage
burakumin's rights groups such as the
Buraku Liberation League. Some sources suggest it was aired on television in the 1960s or early 1970s and was screened at a film retrospective in Kyoto in 2001. Toho has never released the complete film in any home video format. In 1956, Honda directed four films. The first,
Young Tree, concerns a young girl who moves to Tokyo and endures the rivalries between other high school girls of varying economic and cultural backgrounds. The second, entitled
Night School, was his solo film ever directed outside of Toho and was among the first films about night schooling. The third, titled
People of Tokyo, Goodbye, follows young lovers who try to listen to their hearts despite their parents' interjections. The fourth,
Rodan, was Honda's first-ever film shot in color and depicted a winged monster named Rodan wreaking havoc in Japan after its awakening by nuclear bomb testing. Although Japanese cinema is known for its
samurai films, Honda did not show any interest in directing a
jidaigeki film since his stage was contemporary Japan. Nonetheless, in May 1956, Kurosawa reported that he would produce three
jidaigeki films beginning that September, with Honda directing
Throne of Blood, Hideo Suzuki directing
The Hidden Fortress, and Hiromichi Horikawa directing
Revenge (became
Yojimbo). Kurosawa would eventually direct all three of these films; now regarded as some of his best films. The year 1957 marked a turning point in Honda's directing career, as he directed five films, with his first,
Be Happy, These Two Lovers, filmed by Hajime Koizumi, who would work on 21 of his films thereon. Ryfle and Godziszewski called his camera work "the perfect complement to Honda's conservative, risk-averse style of composition". His next film, ''
A Teapicker's Song of Goodbye'', was the second in Honda's trilogy of films starring
enka singer
Chiyoko Shimakura (the first film was
People of Tokyo, Goodbye). The third film in the trilogy, entitled
A Farewell to the Woman Called My Sister, was released the month after ''A Teapicker's Song of Goodbye
. A Rainbow Plays in My Heart'', a black-and-white two-part film based on Seiichi Yashiro and Ryunosuke Yamada's radio drama of the same name, was released on July 9, 1957 (a week after ''A Teapicker's Song of Goodbye
). The film is notable for being the third and final film featuring Godzilla'' stars
Momoko Kochi and
Akira Takarada in leading roles. Honda's only
tokusatsu film of 1957,
The Mysterians, was released just over a year after
Japan joined the United Nations and features affairs reflecting the Japan's return to global politics. The story concerned a young scientist (
Kenji Sahara) who becomes involved in a globally threatening alien invasion. The film was shot on an enormous budget of and was his debut movie to be filmed in
Toho Scope.
Song for a Bride, released in February 1958, is regarded as one of the director's best films of the 1950s. It is a comedy-drama film that explores the clash between traditional and modern ethics among Japanese youth. Following its release, Honda would direct two science fiction films in the same year for the first time. His second film of 1958,
The H-Man, premiered on June 24, 1958 to mixed reviews. It is a distinctive Honda picture about a liquid creature who terrorizes Tokyo's gangland. Some scenes in the film were shot on the same sets used in Kurosawa's 1948 film
Drunken Angel. In May 1959,
Columbia Pictures released a shortened version of this film in the United States. Upon its release, U.S. critics erroneously believed it was a rip-off
Irvin Yeaworth's
The Blob, despite
The H-Man being released prior to
The Blob in Japan. The successful distributions of Honda's
Godzilla and
Rodan in the United States, lead Toho to seek further Hollywood connections. In 1957, the company agreed to co-produce a
made-for-television film with AB-PT Pictures (who would go bankrupt during production). This project would eventually become a black-and-white theatrical feature film directed by Honda, entitled
Varan the Unbelievable, released in 1958. Considered his "weakest effort", it is a simple story about scientists who unintentionally awake a giant monster dubbed
Varan while seeking scarce species of butterfly in
Tōhoku region.
An Echo Calls You, his twenty-third feature film, centers on an uneducated
bus conductor, Tamako, who falls in love with Nabeyama, her bus driver after she fails to have a relationship with a man from
Kōfu's wealthiest family. Featuring
Ryō Ikebe in his fourth major role in a Honda movie, and with a possibly
Hideko the Bus Conductor-inspired screenplay by
Gorō Tanada, the film premiered in January 1959 to generally positive reviews from critics. Honda quickly moved on to his next project,
Inao, Story of an Iron Arm. It is a
biographical film based on the life of
professional baseball pitcher Kazuhisa Inao, featuring Inao portraying himself as an adult. Additionally, it features
Godzilla actors
Takashi Shimura as his father and Ren Yamamoto and
Sachio Sakai as his older brothers. The film was released in March 1959 and was later screened in honor of Inao following his death in 2007.
1960s and 1970s In 1962, Honda returned to directing
Godzilla films, beginning with
King Kong vs. Godzilla, a film which would go on to be his most successful. Honda would go on to direct five additional Godzilla films during the 1960s:
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964),
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964),
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965),
Destroy All Monsters (1968), and
All Monsters Attack (1969), the latter which Honda also served as director of special effects. His other
tokusatsu films during the 1960s include:
Mothra (1961),
Matango (1963),
Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965),
The War of the Gargantuas (1966), and
King Kong Escapes (1967). While Honda managed to retain a job directing for Toho during the 1960s and 1970s, the studio did not renew his contract near the end of 1965 and was instructed to speak with Tanaka about employment on a film-by-film basis. In 1967, Honda began occasionally directing for television, since it had become more popular than the film industry in Japan. Between 1971 and 1973, Honda directed several episodes for the television series
Return of Ultraman,
Mirrorman,
Emergency Command 10-4, 10-10,
Thunder Mask, and
Zone Fighter, and would only direct two films during the 1970s:
Space Amoeba (1970) and
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975); Honda would temporarily retire following the release of the latter film.
Final works and last years (1979–1993) Collaborating with Akira Kurosawa (1979–1992) Despite retiring in 1975, Honda was persuaded by Akira Kurosawa to return to filmmaking, and collaborate on
Kagemusha (1980). Honda would subsequently work on Kurosawa's last five films. His positions in these films included: directorial advisor, production coordinator, and creative consultant; he also made uncredited writing contributions to
Madadayo (1993). There is a misconception that Honda directed "The Tunnel" sequence of Kurosawa's 1990 film
Dreams. In the early 1980s, Honda was approached to potentially direct a reboot of
Daimajin reboot. While Honda expressed interest, the project never materialized and Honda was already involved with
Kagemusha.
Declining health and death (1992–1993) In late 1992,
Akira Kurosawa hosted a party for the cast and crew of
Madadayo following the completion of
principal photography. Honda appeared to be suffering from cold symptoms at the party and contacted his son Ryuji in
New York. Ryuji believed Honda was drunk and thought it strange that he called him. Then, in mid-February 1993, Kurosawa, Honda, and Masahiko Kumada, the unit manager, attended a screening of
Agantuk, Indian filmmaker
Satyajit Ray's last film, at an art-house cinema. After watching the film, Kurosawa invited Honda to his house for dinner and drinks, but Honda felt sick and went home. Honda was declared healthy following a checkup in December 1992, and no major illnesses were suspected. Although his cough kept getting worse, his family doctor diagnosed him with a common cold. Initially, Honda stayed in bed for a week, but after he lost his appetite, he underwent X-rays and blood tests. Honda was immediately told to seek hospital treatment following the results. Knowing something was wrong with his health, Honda had already packed his bags. Within ten minutes of leaving home, he was taken to Kono Medical Clinic, a 19-bed facility in Soshigaya. Because the major hospitals were full, he was placed in a tiny room. A room in a bigger hospital was about to be assigned to Honda, so his friends could visit him. In the following days, Honda contracted
pleurisy, a condition that causes difficulty breathing, and on February 27, just after returning home from visiting hours, Kimi and Takako received an urgent call: his vital signs had suddenly deteriorated. Honda died from
respiratory failure at 11:30 pm on February 28, 1993. A memorial service was held at Joshoji Kaikan, an assembly hall in
Setagaya, for Honda's friends, family, and colleagues on March 6. Honda's funeral reunited Akira Kurosawa and
Toshiro Mifune, an actor who had starred in both Honda's and Kurosawa's early films.
The Nikkei reported that Mifune was among the mourners at the funeral: "[Kurosawa and Mifune] made eye contact and hugged in tears at the funeral for their mutual friend." Honda's cremated remains were buried at
Tama Cemetery, the largest municipal cemetery in Japan. His family later moved the grave to Fuji Cemetery. ==Filmography==