is a 1959 Japanese

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by

Kajirō Yamamoto was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor who was known for his war films and comedies and as the mentor of Akira Kurosawa. The combined list of his efforts as a director for documentaries, silent, and sound films includes over 90 ...

, with special effects by

Eiji Tsuburaya was a Japanese special effects director, filmmaker, and cinematographer. A co-creator of the ''Godzilla (franchise), Godzilla'' and ''Ultraman'' franchises, he is considered one of the most important and influential figures in the history o ...

. The film was based on ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the Classic Chinese Novels, great Chinese novels, and has been described as arguably the ...

'' written by

Wu Cheng'en Wu Cheng'en (, c. 1500–1582Shi Changyu (1999). "Introduction." in trans. W.J.F. Jenner, ''Journey to the West'', volume 1. Seventh Edition. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. pp. 1–22. or 1505–1580), courtesy name Ruzhong (), was a Chines ...

and was the second adaptation of the novel by Yamamoto and Tsuburaya, after 1940's ''Enoken's Sun Wukong''. It has never been released in the United States or dubbed and subtitled in English.

Plot

The tale unfolds in

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

, capital of China during the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. People are suffering and dying from

floods A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

epidemics An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of Host (biology), hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example ...

, and

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

, and the Emperor believes he can save his country if he can obtain the holy script, San Tsang, from distant India. He discovers, however, that no one is willing to make the long journey because the roads to India are infested with savages and

devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...

s. The Emperor has a dream in which a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

appears and tells him that there is a brave boy, only 13 years old, by the name of Genjo who would be able to accomplish the mission. The Emperor summons the boy, gives him the name of San Tsang, after the name of the holy script, and sends him on the dangerous journey to India. San Tsang is first attacked by a band of savages and barely escapes death. When he is resting from exhaustion on the summit of a mountain, he hears strange music and notices a ray of light shining on him. Then appears Pon, messager of the

goddess of mercy Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

, who leads him to a cave where Sun Wu Kong has been confined for 500 years. The Monkey King becomes San Tsang's first

disciple A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

to protect him on his long journey. Later the duo are joined by Pa Chieh and Wu Ching. The four are attacked by devils and spiders disguised in various forms, but finally San Tsang and his faithful followers reach the top of a mountain where they see their destination, India. The morning sun is shining on the snow-covered

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

, and the sweet voice of Pon is heard from the valley below.

Cast

* Norihei Miki as

Sun Wukong Sun Wukong (, Mandarin pronunciation: ), also known as the Monkey King, is a literary and religious figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel ''Journey to the West''. In the novel, Sun Wukong is a monk ...

* Fukutaro Ichikawa as

Tang Sanzang Tang Sanzang is a Buddhist monk and pilgrim who is a central character in the 16th century novel ''Journey to the West'' by Wu Cheng'en. His birth surname name was Chen (), but having been found in a river as a baby--he was abandoned after bir ...

* Nobuo Chiba as

Zhu Bajie Zhu Bajie, also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three disciples of Tang Sanzang, along with Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing, and a major character of the 16th century novel ''Journey to the West''. ''Zhu'' means "swine" and ''Bajie'' means "eight pr ...

* Zeko Nakamura as

Sha Wujing Sha Wujing ( zh, t=沙悟淨) is one of the three disciples of the Buddhist pilgrim Tang Sanzang in the 16th century novel ''Journey to the West'' written by Wu Cheng'en in the Ming dynasty, although versions of his character predate the Ming n ...

Yū Fujiki , born , was a Japanese film and television actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1954 to 2005. Career Born in Tokyo, Fujiki graduated from Doshisha University and joined the Toho studio in 1954. He began by playing straight male leads, ...

as Swordsman Chikujin *

Shoichi Hirose , occasionally miscredited as Masakazu Hirose and nicknamed for his survival in the naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons, was a Japanese actor. Hirose portrayed Godzilla's archenemy King Ghidorah and King Kong in ''King Kong vs. Godzilla'', alon ...

as Native chief *

Hideyo Amamoto was a Japanese actor. He is best known for portraying Dr. Shinigami in the original ''Kamen Rider'' series as well as many other characters in ''tokusatsu'' films such as the ''Godzilla'' series. Amamoto also used the pseudonym of Eisei Amamoto ...

as Secretary-General *

Kaoru Yachigusa was a Japanese people, Japanese actress from Osaka Prefecture. From 1947 to 1957, she was a member of the Takarazuka Revue. After leaving the revue, she was active in film, television, and Dubbing (filmmaking), narration. She famously quit part ...

as Tsui Lan *

Reiko Dan , real name , was a Japanese actress. She appeared in multiple films between 1957 and 1974, such as ''Sanjuro'' and ''Red Beard is a 1965 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, in his last collaboration ...

as Pon *

Yoshio Kosugi was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 120 films from 1924 to 1967. Career First appearing on stage as a shingeki actor, he was initially recognized for his role as Yasha in ''The Cherry Orchard''. He made his film debut in the 1920s a ...

as Devil King

Release

''Monkey Sun'' was distributed theatrically in Japan by

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. ...

on April 19, 1959, as a

double feature The double feature is a Film, motion picture industry phenomenon in which theaters would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which the presentation of one feature film would be followed by various short subjec ...

with ''I Want to Be a Shellfish.'' Kinema Club released the film on mail-order VHS in 1999; a DVD release by Toho followed in 2021.

References

External links

* * 1959 films 1950s Japanese-language films 1950s fantasy action films 1959 action films Japanese fantasy action films Toho tokusatsu films Films directed by Kajiro Yamamoto Toho films 1950s Japanese films Films based on Journey to the West Films scored by Ikuma Dan Monkey King Films set in the Tang dynasty Films set in Xi'an Films about dreams Films set in the Himalayas {{1950s-Japan-film-stub