, also known by his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

, was a Japanese screenwriter who wrote many films for

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

studios. Kimura scripted several films for director

Ishirō Honda was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 46 feature films in a career spanning five decades. He is acknowledged as the most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki and one of the founders of modern disaster film, wit ...

, including '' Matango'', '' Frankenstein vs. Baragon'', ''

The War of the Gargantuas is a 1966 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Referred by film historian Stuart Galbraith IV as a "quasi–sequel" to '' Frankenstein vs. Baragon'', the film was a Japanese-American co-production; ...

'', ''

King Kong Escapes is a 1967 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film was a Japanese– American co-production between Toho and Rankin/Bass, and stars Rhodes Reason, Linda Miller, Akira Takarada, Mie Hama, E ...

'', and ''

Destroy All Monsters is a 1968 Japanese epic ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects directed by Sadamasa Arikawa and supervised by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film, which was produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, is the ninth film in the ''G ...

''. He was a member of the

Japanese Communist Party The is a communist party in Japan. Founded in 1922, it is the oldest political party in the country. It has 250,000 members as of January 2024, making it one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party is chaired ...

whose screenplays often included political themes. His scripts are frequently contrasted with those written by

Shinichi Sekizawa was a Japanese screenwriter noted for his immense contributions to several films by Ishirō Honda, including several classic Godzilla films. He also contributed material to the original ''Ultraman'' series and several Tōei Dōga films such as ...

, whose scripts for

kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...

films typically had a more lightweight, "fun" tone. Kimura considered the screenplay for

's '' Matango'' to be his best work, and he considered all of his scripts from ''Frankenstein Conquers the World'' onward to be merely work for hire. Kimura was known for having a dark and gloomy personality, and he was reportedly never very close to any of his fellow Toho employees. He died from a throat obstruction in his

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

apartment in 1987.

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1912 births 1987 deaths Writers from Osaka Kansai University alumni 20th-century Japanese screenwriters {{Japan-writer-stub