Tsuburaya Productions Partners With Sukagawa City, Birthplace of Eiji Tsuburaya

Sukagawa City Mayor Katsuya Hashimoto and Tsuburaya Productions Chairman and CEO Takayuki Tsukagoshi at the April 12th signing ceremony. Photo courtesy of Tsuburaya Productions.

Source: Tsuburaya Productions press release
Official Site: https://m78-sukagawa.jp/ (Japan)

Tsuburaya Productions Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Chairman and CEO: Takayuki Tsukagoshi) have signed a partnership agreement with Sukagawa City, Fukushima Prefecture, the hometown of company founder Eiji Tsuburaya. The signing ceremony was held on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, the 60th anniversary of Tsuburaya Productions.

This agreement extends and expands upon an initiative launched in May 2013 that named Sukagawa City as the sister city to Ultraman's homeland, the Land of Light in Nebula M78 and had Tsuburaya supporting reconstruction of the area ifollowing the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. Tsuburaya Productions and Sukagawa City will now continue their joint efforts for urban development and more progressive activities to create a city that nurtures the "power of imagination."

At the signing ceremony held at the Sukagawa Community Center, Sukagawa City Mayor Katsuya Hashimoto and Tsuburaya Productions Chairman and CEO Takayuki Tsukagoshi took the stage in the presence of city officials who have endorsed and cooperated in the past activities. After signing the letter of intent, each delivered a speech in which they expressed their commitment to the project.

Comments from Katsuya Hashimoto, Mayor of Sukagawa City
Aiming for "Community Development" and "Human Development" Utilizing the "Power of Imagination"

It is a great honor for us to enter this affiliation agreement on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Tsuburaya Productions.

This partnership agreement is intended to deepen and further develop the ties established through the sister city affiliation with the "M78 Nebula: Land of Light," home of Ultraman, through joint efforts in "community development" and "human development."

Director Eiji Tsuburaya, known as the "god of special effects," was an amazing engineer and artist who created things that did not exist through the "power of imagination."

Ultraman, created from the "power of imagination" of director Eiji Tsuburaya, has continued for more than 50 years and has become a culture. We believe that this culture will remain for future generations.

We would like to make use of the "power of imagination" in "community development" and "human development," and together with our citizens, we would like to make further progress.

Comments from Takayuki Tsukagoshi, Tsuburaya Productions
The Power of Imagination Drives All of Tsuburaya Productions' Activities

Since assuming the position of president of Tsuburaya Productions in 2017, the more I came into contact with and learned about the legacy of our predecessors in various ways, the stronger I felt the mission to carry on the will of our founder, Eiji Tsuburaya. At that time, I was deeply moved by Mayor Hashimoto's words, "Ultraman is culture," at the opening ceremony of the Sukagawa Tokusatsu Archive Centerin 2020.

It all started when director Eiji Tsuburaya was born and raised in Sukagawa City.

Carrying on the "power of imagination" genes of director Eiji Tsuburaya drives everything Tsuburaya Productions does.

This partnership agreement was realized with the support of Sukagawa City to further deepen its efforts over the past 10 years and to utilize the "power of imagination" in Sukagawa City's "community development" and "human development."

We believe that this return to our roots will give us strength for the future.

Together with the people of Sukagawa City, we would like to create a new culture and share it with the world.

Please look forward to our future activities and keep an eye on us.

Specific future activities will be announced as they become available. Please stay tuned.

In addition, Tsuburaya Productions are pleased to announce that they will hold "Letters to Ultraman" (ウルトラマンへの手紙, Urutoraman e no Tegami), a cooperative project with the city for the third consecutive year, starting on Friday, April 28. Details will be announced later.

Photo courtesy of Tsuburaya Productions.

About Tsuburaya Productions

Tsuburaya Productions, creator and copyrights owner of the superhero ULTRAMAN series was founded in 1963 by Eiji Tsuburaya, world-renowned special effects wizard also known for his special effects work on the Godzilla series. With more than fifty years’ experience, it is one of Japan’s oldest and most respected independent film and television production houses. Its popular Ultraman TV and film series which premiered in 1966 has been seen in over 100 territories worldwide and has spawned over 3,000 licensed products. In addition to production, the company also handles character licensing and program distribution and staging live stage shows both domestically and internationally.