Author: Oki Miyano Official Site: facebook.com/inouetokusatsu (Japan)

A special exhibit of late production designer Yasuyuki Inoue will be held at the Ebina Civic Art Gallery in the city of Ebina from March 25 to April 2. Ebina is a 45 minute train ride from Shinjuku (Tokyo). Inoue is originally from Fukuoka but moved to Ebina in the early 1970’s and live there until his passing in 2012. He was a production designer who specialized in special effects. He mainly worked for Toho Studios and created miniature sets for well-known monsters such as Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra and also designed creatures like Ebirah and Hedorah. He also worked for American films such as THE BIG WAVE (1961) and Frank Sinatra`s NONE BUT THE BRAVE (1965). Inoue created the Midway sea battle in miniature for Toho’s I BOMBED PEARL HARBOR (1960) and the footage was later used for MIDWAY (1976). The exhibit will display Inoue’s original artworks including many never before seen by the public. The admission is free and open to the public. The Gallery is located at: 2-9-50 Cyuou Ebina-shi Kanagawa-ken 243-0432 A rare film screening of THE RETURN OF GODZILLA (???, Gojira, 1984) -- Inoue`s final Godzilla film -- is also scheduled during the exhibit at Ebina Culture Center on March 25 at 12:00 pm. The guest speaker is Toshio Miike, one of the leading production designers / special effect directors in Japan. The admission is 500 yen. A fridge magnet (see the photo below) will be provided as a ticket. The Culture Center is located at: 476-2 Kamigo Ebina-shi Kanagawa-ken 243-0434