Sculptor Makes Kaiju Out of Newspaper, Gets Museum Exhibit

Danica Davidson June 7, 2021

Eito Hara has been obsessed with kaiju monsters since he was a kid, when he got a Godzilla toy. As an adult he got a job at Kaiyodo Co., which makes figurines. While there he made all sorts of figurines, including ones of anime characters, but he concentrated on kaiju sculptures. As a worker, he created about 50 different kaiju figurines. Some of his work can be seen on a poster for 1984’s The Return of Godzilla.

Now Hara is 65 and has a museum exhibit of some of his new work at the Hashima Movie Museum in Hashima, Gifu Prefecture. But he’s not using clay or other more common artistic materials . . . his kaiju figurines are created from newspapers and cardboard!

“Kaiju had been seen as kid stuff, but now they have become art,” Hara remarked about the museum exhibit. “Kaiju are really cool.”

Source: The Asahi Shimbun

____

Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, and its sequel, Manga Art for Intermediates, with professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.