Toho Godzilla Suit (1954) Creation of Design

The original on-screen Godzilla design began when producer Tomyuki Tanaka wanted to create a giant monster project; however, time and budget were a problem. As a solution, he got in contact with Ajit Sububaya, also known as the Father of Japanese special effects at Toho Studios. They discussed concept ideas, finding inspiration in the special effects by Willis O’Brien’s film King Kong (1933), which combined model animation and live film; however, they had to create this idea with half the time and budget. A suit soon became the final idea, filming a man in a suit but downsizing everything else creating a giant monster illusion. But now that they had the idea and how to capture it, they needed a creature design. 

Artists from all over Japan submitted designs for the project, but one that stood out was an illustration done by cartoon artist Kazuyoshi Abe; the art pictured a somewhat aquatic and reptilian shaped head, that was very different and unique from other designs that had been submitted. The staff had a more dinosaur looking monster concept, combining a Tyrannosaurus and Iguanodon, and adding backplates like a Stegosaurus; however wanting to make sure viewers could differentiate it from a real creature, three rows of backplates were added to keep it unrealistic, yet also a highly recognizable design. 

Once the image of the monster was decided on, it was translated into a sculpture by japanese sculpture Taso Toshimitsu, who had recently worked on art for japanese war films, he created many versions depending on the concept ideas, the first model heavily resembled an aquatic tyrannosaurus rex, the second model shrank the head and took away the more reptilian parts of the design and created a more bulky bottom half (also known as the Warthy Godzilla), and the third and final model was named Alligator Godzilla, it had ideas from the Warthy Godzilla and the original model, it was agreed and approved as the final look for Godzilla. 

The Suit design was built by brothers Kanzi and Yasu Yagi; the inside was carved out and filled with thin wires and bamboo for support, then covered in fabric and cushions, then the skin was melted and formed into latex, and finally it was painted charcoal grey. Wearing the suit was quite the challenge. The design was created so that the actor's head would fit inside godzilla's neck, where small holes were cut through so the actor could see and breathe, the suit sat at 2 meter, however the suit had issues, once inside the suit it was incredibly hot and hard to move, and the latex had become solid, and not able to move, and with the total weight of the suit being a little over 220 pounds, it became impossible for filming. 

The second suit was made with bamboo, cotton, and urethane foam, and covered with liquid plastic; the weight was still over 200 pounds. This suit was more human like, and had a more upright posture and a rounder face, giving a more dragon-like expression, with small pupils, leaving the creature almost expressionless.