Tohl Narita

Tōru "Tohl" Narita[1] (成田 亨, Narita Tōru, pronounced [nəˈriːtə]; September 3, 1929 – February 26, 2002) was a Japanese visual artist. He is best known for creating the characters and mechanics for the television programs in the Ultra series: Ultra Q, Ultraman, and Ultraseven.

Tohl Narita
Narita on the set of Godzilla Raids Again in 1955
Born
Tōru Narita

September 3, 1929 (1929-09-03)
Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan
DiedFebruary 26, 2002 (2002-02-27) (aged 72)
Alma materMusashino Art University
Occupations
  • Painter
  • sculptor
  • designer
  • art director
  • special effects director
  • author
SpouseRuri
ChildrenKairi
Websitetohlnarita.com
Signature

Biography

Childhood and education (1929–1954)

Narita was born on September 3, 1929, in Kobe City, Hyōgo, Japan. His family moved to Aomori shortly after his birth.[2][3] When he was eight months old, Narita suffered a burn on his left hand after grabbing charcoal from the hearth in his abode; his hand didn't heal even after having many surgeries.[4]

Narita began school in April 1936, at Aomori Municipal Furukawa Elementary School.[5] At eight years old, his family moved to Ōshō Village, Muko District, Hyōgo (presently Amagasaki), and was transferred to Ritsudai Sho Jinjo Elementary School (presently Amagasaki Municipal Osho Elementary School). Due to the school's separation, Narita completed the fourth grade at Ritsudai Sho Jinjo Second Elementary School (presently Amagasaki Nishi Elementary School, where he stayed six years until the age of fourteen. During his time in elementary school, he was bullied due to his language differences and the burn on his left hand. Narita also decided he wanted to become a painter in the future.[2]

After graduating from Aomori Junior High (now Aomori High School), Narita worked as a printer to save money, and in 1950 entered Musashino Art School (presently Musashino Art University).[2] Initially, he majored in Western painting but felt dissatisfied with the class[6] and moved to the sculpting department.[2]

Career (1954–1987)
Narita at his drawing table

After graduating from Musashino Art School, he made part of his income doing special effects production work on the 1954 film Godzilla.[7] He then began working as a Tokusatsu artist for Toei starting in 1960. In 1965 he began working for Tsuburaya Visual Effects Productions (later renamed Tsuburaya Productions).[3] In addition to working as a designer, Narita was also a sculptor, painter, and director of special effects. He is best noted for his work on the Ultra series, known in the vernacular as "Narita's Monsters". He went on to work in TV special effects for the shows, Assault! Human!!, Enban Sensō Bankid, and Mighty Jack. In 1968 he became a freelance artist and worked on films and movies including Children of Nagasaki, The Bullet Train, Mahjong horoki, and Men and War.[7][3]

He continued to create and exhibit his oil painting and sculptures throughout his life, including a public artwork, Demon Monument, located in Fukuchi City, Kyoto.[7] Narita's work was included in the Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture exhibition at the Japan Society in New York City. The exhibition featured his drawings "a favorite of otaku artists"; the series of drawings showed monsters transforming into buildings, stones and trees, and other inanimate objects.[8] His work was the subject of a major retrospective exhibition at the Aomori Museum in 2015 that included 700 pieces of his work.[9] The show traveled to the Fukuoka Art Museum.[10]

A monograph was produced on his work, entitled “Narita Toru Illustration Works 成田亨作品集” (400 pages).[11] It is held in the Library of Congress.[12]

Death (2002)

Narita died on February 26, 2002, at age 72, from multiple cerebral infarctions.[3]

Personal life

Narita's wife is named Ruri, with whom he had a son named Kairi.[13]

Filmography

Film

Television

Litigation

In his late life, Narita filed a lawsuit against Tsuburaya Productions.[14] Tsuburaya had claimed Narita's alien and kaiju designs to be entirely their creation, and was erasing Narita's name from his art.[15][14]

Legacy

Influence

Takashi Murakami has cited Narita as a significant influence on his work.[16] Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi were inspired by Narita's art for Ultraman when making Shin Ultraman.[16]

Collections

Narita's monster design prints are held in the permanent collection of the Aomori Prefectural Art Museum,[7] and the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art & Design.[17]

References

Citations
  1. "庵野秀明プロデュース「成田亨 複製絵画」受注制作販売のお知らせ" [News of order production and sales of "Recreation of Tōru Narita's Painting" produced by Hideaki Anno]. Anime Tokusatsu Archive Centre (in Japanese). Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  2. Narita 2014, p. 2.
  3. "The secrets behind the hero design for the movie Shin Ultraman Unveiled". Tsuburaya. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  4. Narita 2014, pp. 2, 381.
  5. Narita 2014, p. 381.
  6. Narita 1996, pp. 69–71.
  7. "Toru Narita-Fine Arts/Special Effects/Monsters 700 works on display! Largest retrospective in history". Aomori Museum of Art. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  8. Chin, Victoria. "More Than Just a Little Boy". UCLA International Institute. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  9. "700 points of Toru Narita art / special effects / monster – exhibition scores! A retrospective show". Art-it. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  10. "'Tohl Narita: Art/Special Effects/Monsters' Fukuoka Art Museum". Japan Times. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  11. Yonghow (22 December 2014). "Narita Toru Illustration Works Review". Halcyon Realms: Animation, Film, Photography. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  12. The art of Tohl Narita (Narita Tōru sakuhinshū /). Library of Congress. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  13. "ウルトラマン秘話 彫刻家成田亨が過ごした尼崎（下）" [Ultraman Secret Story: Amagasaki where sculptor Toru Narita lived (below)]. Hyogo Odekake Plus+ (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. December 21, 2016. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  14. Tsuburaya, Hideaki (June 18, 2013). ウルトラマンが泣いている [Ultraman is crying] (in Japanese). Kodansha Gendai Shinsho. pp. 119–120. ISBN 978-4062882156.
  15. "成田亨SPECIAL DESIGN WORK NO.21" [Tōru Narita SPECIAL DESIGN WORK NO.21]. B-CLUB (in Japanese). Bandai Publishing. September 1, 1986. ISBN 978-4891893903.
  16. "Tohl Narita, an Iconic 'Tokusatsu' Visual Artist". Pen Magazine International. 2022-05-16. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  17. "Collections: Toru Narita: Art, Special Effects, and Monsters – The Origins of Ultraman". Toyoma Prefectural Museum of Art & Design. Retrieved August 3, 2020.

Bibliography
  • Narita, Tohl (1996). 特撮と怪獣 わが造形美術 [My Tokusatsu and Monster Art] (in Japanese). Film Art. ISBN 978-4-845995-52-3.
  • Narita, Tohl (July 19, 2014). 成田亨作品集 [The Art of Tohl Narita] (in Japanese). Hatori Shoten. ISBN 978-4-904702-46-8.
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