Who's ready for another post full of scanty info and blurry photos?
I've recently become aware of something that I'm deeming the OG G-Fest: "Japan Special Effects Fan Club G", a tokusatsu fan club in Japan that has held a gathering called "Latitude G Operation" every year (when not canceled by record snowfall) since 1981. The formation of the fan club coincided with the first Amateur Union Special Effects Tournament, held at Nakano Public Hall in August of 1981. There as guests were Ishirō Honda and Akihiko Hirata.
I'd read that Hirata was active in fan conventions a few years before his death but I wasn't sure about the specifics of that. I don't have a lot of information about the tournament as a whole, so I’m mostly making this post to throw up some rare photos that you otherwise would not be able to find without Googling some incredibly specific keywords.
First off here's his autograph on a pamphlet from the event. This evidently sold at online auction for about ¥18,500/$120USD.
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| that sure is a signature |
Here are some photos from the event, cribbed from a pamphlet. I'm really sorry these are in such terrible quality, but that's all I got. They apparently also screened the '54 Godzilla as part of this event.
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| we REALLY need someone to upload better scans of these. like, that's only two of the most important people in tokusatsu, no big deal |
Honda was also a guest of the 2nd tournament in 1982; I don't believe Hirata was there, but check out this pamphlet featuring a little Serizawa doodle:
The reason why he wasn't there may have been because he was at the Toho Half-Century Masterpieces Fair, hanging out with Godzilla & company (NB Tanaka and Godzilla tenderly holding hands):
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| cool guys club L-R: Kenji Sahara, Tomoyuki Tanaka, Gigantis the Fire Monster, Ishirō Honda, Akihiko Hirata, Hiroshi Koizumi |
I have even less information about the Toho Half-Century event than the SFX competitions, but it's pretty much what it sounds like: a gigantic film festival that ran from December 4th to the 17th commemorating Toho's many major hits. I'm not sure if this was the same early-'80s re-screening of Godzilla that Hirata attended dressed as Dr. Serizawa, but I don't believe it was.
Little bit sad to think that the only person from the above photo who is still alive is Kenji Sahara. And Godzilla, of course. Godzilla never dies.
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image sources:
1: https://www.funbid.com.hk/yahoojp/auctions/item.php?aID=s1071122042&p=
2-3: https://aucview.com/yahoo/p622130522/
4: https://ameblo.jp/gara999/entry-12510107657.html (very interesting blog post in general, I recommend translating it)
5: https://aucfree.com/items/h441525946
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