Japanese Monster Vinyl Figures on Display at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens Author: James Bonney Official Site: Kaiju! Monster Invasion!
Fans of the kaiju tokusatsu, or rather, their plastic counterparts in South Florida are in for a treat. The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is hosting a brand new exhibit showcasing the various figures from the world of Japanese kaiju film and television entitled KAIJU! MONSTER INVASION! I attended the exhibit on an early Saturday, a perfect escape from my resident state`s notorious heat and humidity, and what a treat it was. The exhibit is located right in front, past the lobby in a large room. Adorning the walls are mounted enclosures showcasing some of the more obscure characters from series such as KAMEN RIDER and BAROM-1 (Choujin Barom-1, 1972), along with a mounted flat screen television looping episodes of Tsuburaya Productions classic 1966 series ULTRAMAN (Urutoraman). The floor has four enclosures with a large, figure-riddled fifth enclosure in the center. The items on display are mostly from the various Ultraman series with several Godzilla figures included. Unfortunately the only Gamera item on display was a lone Nitto (or Marusan reissue) Guiron figure that was easy to overlook among the loads of Tsuburaya and Toho kaiju. At the base of each display there were placed information cards for whatever random figure was selected, including one for special effects pioneer Eiji Tsuburaya (in vinyl form) himself!
Although I went with my wife and son, several other friends of mine have attended the exhibit and were completely unaware of the high caliber merchandising these franchises had received throughout the years. One Attendee, John Hazard, was explaining to me how he knows of the nuclear allegory that was present in the original GODZILLA but was shocked to see that the idea had been driven to the point of giant eyeballs and turkeys. I explained to him that by the time shows like INAZUMAN (1973) and IRON KING (1972) hit the market, the intention was to simply have fun with the characters and story and give little afterthought to a message (which of course has it`s exceptions). The same can be said for their soft vinyl representations and their wacky Hawaiian color variants. For experts, they may notice that a lot of these figures are reproductions. But for a collector who has, for the most part, been afraid to venture out of Bandai`s protective and financially sensible arms (and I know I am not the only one!), seeing these figures, especially grouped together, is nothing short of breathtaking. The exhibit, which opened June 1st, runs until October 17th. Grab the family, pick out your favorite Godzilla shirt and head out to support kaiju fandom!
KAIJU! MONSTER INVASION!
June 1 – October 17, 2010 The Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens 4000 Morikami Park Road Delray Beach, FL 33446 (561) 495-0233 Tuesday - Sunday, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Closed Mondays and major national holidays Museum Admission Prices: • $12.00 Adults • $11.00 Seniors (age 65 and over) • $7.00 Children (ages 6 - 17) • $7.00 College Students (college ID required) • Children under age six are free Please visit Morikami.org for more information.