Bridge Walker: Director BUTTGEREIT, Godzilla and Japan's Monsters

Every Japanese probably knows Godzilla, there is not only the Shōwa-Godzilla series (1954 - 1875), but also the Heisei series (1984 - 1995) and even the Millennium series (1999 - 2994). In Germany, there was a big boom of Japanese Godzilla movies in the 1960s and 70s, but today the Hollywood version is better known. In this post, our former colleague FUJINO Akiko introduces a director who loves Godzilla with all his heart.

On the occasion of the 160th anniversary of Japanese-German diplomatic relation, we or our friends and partners, on the initiative of SEKIKAWA Fujiko (Head of Language Services at JDZB), present in this column people from both countries who have filled or are still filling the partnership relations between our two countries with life. In a joint publication by the Japanese-German Society Tōkyō and the JDZB, "Bridge Builders - Pioneers of Japanese-German Cultural Exchange" (2005, IUDICIUM Verlag), many people who have actively shaped German-Japanese relations have already been honored. This is where this column picks up. In addition to famous personalities, also those who are less in the media-spotlight will be introduced. Stay curious!

Unfortunately, this article is not translated into English. Please refer to the Japanese or German language version.

FUJINO

Akiko

About the author

Graduated from Rikkyō University and Freie Universität Berlin (Film Studies). Former staff member of the Japanese-German Center Berlin. Freelance interpreter/translator. She never found a correct answer to the question "Why did you learn German?" Possibly it was because of the manga "Tōma no Shinzō" (The Heart of Thomas) (Hagio Moto, 1974).