Hoseki Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (1946) winning
Shigeru Kayama
かやま しげる
Kayama Shigeru
Aliases:
Yamada Koji
Pen Names:
Shigeru Kayama（Pen name formed from readings of his real name (Yamada Kōji); used after resigning from the Ministry of Finance.）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1904-07-01 （Kagurazaka, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan）
- Died
- 1975-02-07 （Yamaguchi Hospital, Kamiyacho, Minato, Tokyo, Japan） age 70
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Kagurazaka, Shinjuku, Tokyo (birthplace) → Kamiyacho, Minato, Tokyo (deathplace)
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, tanka poet, screenwriter
- Active Years
- 1946-1975
- Influenced By
- Mokichi Saito, Hyakken Uchida
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosei University | Faculty of Economics | Department of Economics | — | 在籍後中退（在籍期間不詳） | Japan |
Hosei University
Faculty of Economics
/ Department of Economics
Period:
在籍後中退（在籍期間不詳）
Country:
Japan
Left before graduation and joined the Ministry of Finance
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Japan Detective Writers Club Award — Newcomer Prize | Kaimaunsō Kidan (Sea-Eel Lodge Strange Tale) | — | Japan Detective Writers Club | winner |
Japan Detective Writers Club Award — Newcomer Prize
1948
Work:
Kaimaunsō Kidan (Sea-Eel Lodge Strange Tale)
Organization:
Japan Detective Writers Club
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Mystery Writers of Japan Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (1948) newcomer award
Works
Major Works
Godzilla
1954 Novel / Science fiction / AdventureKayama provided an original story draft for Toho's film project that became Godzilla; he later published a novelization based on that original material. The film and novelization marked a starting point for Japanese kaiju fiction, though the novel sold poorly at the time.
monstersnuclear fearconflict between humans and nature
Adaptations
- [Film] Godzilla / 本多猪四郎 (Ishirō Honda) (1954)
Island of Terror
1948 Adventure / Lost-world explorationOne of the long novels in the Hitomi Jūkichi series; an adventure featuring lost-world exploration and strange creatures.
lost realmsadventureunknown creatures
The Revenge of Oran Pendek
1947 Short story / Fantasy & horrorA short story that won a prize in the magazine 'Houseki'; one of Kayama's representative early short works.
horrorrevengefantasy
Bibliography
- Godzilla (Iwatani Shoten, 1954)
- Kaimaunsō Kidan (short story, 1947)
- The Revenge of Oran Pendek (short story, 1947)
- Island of Terror (novel, 1948; book ed. 1955)
- Hitomi Jūkichi series (1946–1961)
Adaptations
- Godzilla (film, 1954)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- fantastic and lyrical imageryfast-paced adventure storytelling
- Recurring Motifs
- monsters / kaijulost realms / lost civilizationsancient creatures / dinosaurs
Health
-
heart failure1975年（最期）Died of heart failure in February 1975 at age 70.
Legacy
Contributed significantly to postwar Japanese adventure, fantasy and kaiju fiction. His provision of the original story for Godzilla left a lasting impact on film culture and popular/cult media.
Archives
- Nakano City Central Library — holdings and related materials
In Popular Culture
- Frequently cited and valued as an origin point for the Godzilla series
Quotes
-
A great novelist of adult fairy tales
Source: Kazuo Shimada (Genei-sho memorial issue, 1975) (1975)
Trivia
- Noted for his very thin physique — at one point said to be among 'the world's three thin people' alongside Gandhi and Honinbo Hideya.
- Provided the original story draft for Godzilla, though his novelization reportedly sold poorly at the time.