Ultramen by Two Contrasting Writers: How Okinawa-born Screenwriter Shozo Uehara Tackled Taboos (Okinawa Times, March 27th, 2016)

Original article: 対照的な２人のウルトラマン　沖縄出身の脚本家・上原正三さんが挑んだタブー | 沖縄タイムス＋プラス (okinawatimes.co.jp)

　It has been exactly 50 years since the late Tetsuo Kinjo, a scriptwriter from Okinawa, created "Ultraman." Shozo Uehara, 79, a native of Okinawa, who worked sharing joy and pain with Kinjo, who was one year younger than him, at Tsuburaya Productions, a special effects company. Uehara later went freelance and worked on "The Return of Ultraman," the third in the Ultraman hero series.

　The two Ultraman characters are in stark contrast. While Mr. Kinjo depicted Ultraman as a near-future fantasy, "The Return of Ultraman" is set in Tokyo in 1971, the time of the broadcast. The smoggy skies, factory zones, and sludgy sea became the battlegrounds, and the darkness of the human heart, sometimes more terrifying than the monsters, also became a thesis.

　Mr. Uehara has left a significant mark on the Tokusatsu world. It is surprising to learn that he was involved in the birth of Kamen Rider, a Tokusatsu hero that ranks alongside Ultraman. We asked him to talk about how he came to Tokyo from U.S.-occupied Okinawa to become a scriptwriter, his wishes for "The Monster User and the Boy," one of the most unique works in the Ultra series, and his thoughts on his hometown, Okinawa. (Interviewer: Nao Isono)

Evacuated Ships and The Taste of Ketchup

-You were born and raised in Kume, Naha City.

　My father, Keiwa, was a policeman, and I was the third of five children. The Kumoji River was wider and cleaner than that of today, and I used to catch gazami(miers crab.)

　-What was your war experience?

　When Saipan fell in July 1944, the Japanese military encouraged the Okinawan residents (of Okinawa) to evacuate because they(the residents) would slow down the fighting. But the Uchinanchu (Okinawan people) were reluctant to move from the land of their ancestors. So the military said, 'The families of government officials should go first,' and around September 1944, I left my father behind and headed for Taiwan with my mother Fumiko and six other members of my family.

　A month later, I boarded a ship scheduled to arrive in Naha on October 10, hoping to return to Okinawa. On the way, a typhoon suddenly hit and while we were evacuating to Iriomote, Naha was destroyed in an air raid(Azuro note: possibly 10/10 Naha Air Raid.) Our ship was lost, and we were adrift at sea for about two weeks.

　-Did you thought that would be your death?

　When we went to sleep, the six of us tied our wrists together with string. My mother would only say, 'Don't get separated from your family,' but even at seven years old, I was prepared to die. All around us were adults with hopeless faces; you could see it in their eyes. The U.S. military took control of the airspace, and submarines were probably everywhere. Miraculously, however, I arrived in Kagoshima and was evacuated to a temple in Kumamoto called Enman-ji until the end of the war.

　During the two weeks we were adrift, we had no food, so I licked only ketchup. That's why I can't eat ketchup even now, at the age of 79.

　-Your father experienced the ground battle in Okinawa.

　As chief of the Itoman police station, he was said to have fled everywhere in the southern part of the island with the local residents in tow. He was hiding in a turtleback tomb(*亀甲墓kamekoubaka Okinawa's traditional, large tomb) with the residents and was kicked out by the Japanese military. He had no idea where or how he escaped, and was captured as he was dying in Mabuni(Azuro note: a region around the most southern cape of the Okinawa island. Known for many casualties during the war.) After the war, he never talked about any of his experiences. He had lost all hearing in his left ear. But since our family believed the announcement of the Imperial Headquarters in Kumamoto, which only said 'victory', it never occurred to me that my father and his family were running away in the miserable battlefield.

　-In 1946, you returned to the U.S.-occupied Okinawa.

　After the war, my father became chief of the Ishikawa police station, and after spending a few months in Ishikawa City (now part of Uruma City), I entered the third grade at Momona Elementary School (now part of Nanjo City). Even though I was a cop's kid, I was a bad boy who would sneak into the U.S. military base after school and repeat my war-fruit agiyaa(*someone who steals foods and goods from the US military to survive)."

　-How did you first encounter film?

　When I was a student at Naha High School, I watched movies from morning till night. I was so impressed by "Shane" that even though I was in high school, I couldn't get enough of the dikirannu ("those who have poor skills" in Ryukyuan) playing fast and loose with the audience, so I wanted to make one myself. My classmates made fun of me, saying, 'How can you write a scenario if you don't even know standard Japanese?' But after graduation, I headed for Tokyo in high spirits.

Going to Tokyo - so this is the "No Ryukyuans Allowed"?

　-In 1955, discrimination against Okinawans on the mainland Japan was blatant.

　When I was in my first year of high school, I found out that my relatives living in Tokyo said to others that they were from Kyushu. They even moved their legal domicile to Tokyo. I thought I had to find out what was going on. When I arrived in Tokyo with the spirit of 'I am a Ryukyuan,' my relatives did not welcome me. They didn't want candy, chocolate, Lipton tea, and other souvenirs that were only available at the base. After that, they wouldn't rent me a room either. I learned that this was a 'no Ryukyuans allowed' policy."

　-Still, you weren't feeling defeated?

　My thesis (of life) is to "live in Yamatu (mainland Japan) while advocating myself as "Uchinanchu" (Okinawan)." I decided that I would see with my own eyes what kind of race the Yamatonchu, who discriminate against Okinawa, are. Sixty years have passed since I harbored such a youthful sense of justice.

　-After ronin in Tokyo, you entered Chuo University.

　But I didn't attend classes; I spent my days at the film institute or movie theaters. As an amateur, I never wrote a screenplay on a thesis other than the Battle of Okinawa or bases. If I don't tell the story, who will?

　-How did you meet the late Tetsuo Kinjo, who was one year younger than you?

　After graduation, I wrote a screenplay for a coterie magazine in Tokyo, but I  contracted pulmonary tuberculosis and returned to Okinawa at the age of 25. While recuperating in Naha, I wandered around the base town of Koza and the Kadena Air Base area looking for a thesis. One day, a friend of my mother told me, 'There is a movie buff like you,' and I went to see him, and that was Kinjo. I went to see him, and that was Kinjo. He was editing a film called "The Story of Chiru Yoshiya" at the time.

　-What was your impression of him?

　When I was thinking of making a film about the reality of Okinawa, Kinjo was making a tragic love story about a Yuujo(sex worker.) When I made up my mind to live as a Ryukyuan, he was doing extracurricular activity at Tamagawa Gakuen creating the 'Society to Shake Hands with Venusians.' The scale of his idea is just so big.

　-Then Mr. Kinjo joined Tsuburaya Productions, a special effects company.

　In 1963, Kinjo invited me to Tokyo to meet the god of special effects, Eiji Tsuburaya, and his eldest son, Hajime. Hajime advised me, 'If you want to become a professional scriptwriter, first get an award.'

　So I returned to Okinawa and wrote "Shukotsu(collecting bones)" on the thesis of the Battle of Okinawa. I received an honorable mention in the TV script category of the national 64th Arts Festival. In January 1965, I went to Tsuburaya Productions with a big smile on my face. Tsuburaya Productions was in the midst of producing its first special effects TV drama, "Ultra Q," and Kinjo held a screening just for me. I saw the pre-aired space monster Namegon (episode 3, "Gift from the Universe") and the giant monkey Goro (episode 2, "Goro and Goro"), and I was just stunned... I was surprised by "The Tale of Chiru Yoshiya," but I was really surprised by the tokusatsu monster stuff.

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"Okinawa is taboo. You can't do it on TV."

　-How did Mr. Hajime Tsuburaya, then an ace director at TBS, evaluate "Shukotsu(collecting bones)"?

　When I met him again at Tsuburaya Productions, he was pleased that I received the award, but he said, "Okinawa is a taboo. It's politics. You can never do it on TV…" TBS's dramas were superior to those of other stations, but when they made anti-war masterpieces such as "I'd Rather Be a Shellfish" they were attacked by right-wingers. TV stations were tense about political topics. Instead, Mr. Hajime suggested that I write "Ultra Q."

　So I wrote "Oil SOS," a story about a monster that is born from sludge and grows to a giant size after being sucked onto an oil tank. I couldn't make episodes about the Battle of Okinawa, so I decided to tackle Minamata disease as a thesis. Hajime-san gave me the go-ahead. When I visited the oil company, they said, 'please use us for the location.' I felt like I was in heaven when I saw the view from the top of that tall oil tank. I was happy that even if I couldn't tackle the Okinawa issue, I could expose the pollution problem.

　But in the end, the oil company refused to let us shoot the film on location, and the stuffed monster Bostang that I had ordered had already been made, so I hurriedly wrote a story called "Space Command M774," which became the 21st episode of "Ultra Q." I was thrilled when the screen in the screening room was filled with images. This was my professional debut.

　-Mr. Kinjo invited you to become an employee of Tsuburaya Productions.

　Kinjo was the head of the Planning and Literature Department, and I was the deputy head. "Ultra Seven," which started in October 1967, was also a hit, although not as much as "Ultraman," but it did get good ratings. Kinjo's writing was truly excellent, especially for "Ultraman," for which he was the main writer, and the final episode of "Ultra Seven" are his masterpieces.

(Photo)Shozo Uehara during his Tsuburaya Productions days, circa 1967 (courtesy of Mr. Uehara)

-But the monster boom soon went away.

　Tsuburaya Productions' first one-hour program, "Mighty Jack," began in April 1968, but ratings were poor and losses accumulated. Tsuburaya Productions demoted Kinjo and cut him loose. The company cut a man who had done so much for the company. It was visible that Kinjo had lost all motivation.

　In the midst of all this, during the production of "Operation Kai-Ki" (September 1968-March 1969), Kinjo once announced to TBS producer Yoji Hashimoto that he would write a scenario based on the Tsushima Maru Incident, but of course he didn't end up writing it. Kinjo fled the southern front with his family during the Battle of Okinawa. His mother lost one of her legs in a naval bombardment. It was too harsh, too graphic.... In the end, he died without writing anything about the Battle of Okinawa, but I would have loved to have seen it.

　Kinjo wrote a few more scripts after that, but they were soulless. In February 1969, he returned to Okinawa with his wife and three children in a broken heart. The company wanted me to stay on, but I said, 'Tsuburaya without Kinjo has no appeal,' and I quit and went freelance. It was right before I got married, but if I had stayed, I wouldn't be where I am today. I left the company in February 1969. Yet I married my wife Mitsuyo in May and lived on unemployment insurance for six months. I told my wife that we could be happy even if we didn't have any money, like in the movie "The Glenn Miller Story," and 47 years have passed.

The Birth of Kamen Rider and the Return of Ultra

　-I heard that you were involved in the birth of "Kamen Rider" when you became a freelancer.

　In the planning stage, Shotaro Ishinomori, the original creator, had a dispute with the TV station. The TV station was expecting a hero like Ultraman, and didn't like the character because Ishinomori created and proposed a character based on a grasshopper motif, and both sides were at odds.

　At the time, I was working on "Judo Itchokusen" (June 1969 - April 1971) when I was asked to "enter their discussions and defend Ishinomori." So I went to the meeting together with another scriptwriter, the late Shinichi Ichikawa. When I was shown a picture of "Kamen Rider" in the waiting room, I honestly exclaimed, "Oh no, is this happening?" Still, at the meeting, I stressed how wonderful Ishinomori's idea was.

　I would make a speech like, 'You can't just copy Ultraman. Meanwhile, this character has a future,' Ichikawa would join in next to me and say, 'Yes, that's right.' At the time, Ichikawa and I were becoming known as scriptwriters for children's TV programs, so the TV station was like "if you two say so…" and reluctantly accepted our proposal. So they asked me to start "Kamen Rider" as it was, and we proceeded with the preparations. Hiroshi Fujioka, who played the lead role, and Yoko Shimada, the heroine, came to greet me.

　-But then Tsuburaya Productions invited you again.

　I received a call from TBS producer Hashimoto saying, 'Come back because we're going to do Ultraman one more time.' The monster story had gone downhill at one time, but when 'Ultraman' and 'Ultra Seven' were rebroadcast, it had regained popularity. So they decided to make a new one, and I left 'Kamen Rider.'

-On January 25, 1970, in the midst of the project, Eiji Tsuburaya passed away.

　His eldest son, Hajime, quit TBS to become president of Tsuburaya Productions, and he said enthusiastically, "I'm going to mourn my father with a new Ultraman." I became the main writer of "The Return of Ultraman" (April 1971-March 1972), as though I was being handed the reins. Tsuburaya Productions brought in Inoshiro Honda of "Godzilla" fame to direct the first two episodes. He was a master. It was a true sign of Tsuburaya Productions' determination and enthusiasm for mourning Hajime's father. But I was overwhelmed, wondering what I should write.

Two Ultramen

　-What is Mr. Kinjo's Ultraman?

　The weather that is clear and windless. There is not a cloud in the sky. Full of vitality, that is his Ultraman. He looked straight at things, had a minority's point of view, but kept it under control and contained it in a fantasy. There have been many heroes in the past, but none of them have surpassed the original Ultraman.

　In the 30th episode of the first Ultraman, "Phantom of Snow Mountains," a young girl vehemently criticizes the Science Special Search Party for attacking the monster Woo, who lives deep in the mountains. I think Kinjo also had that kind of anti-war attitude, a rebellion against the use of overwhelming force to conquer someone. Both Kinjo and I are Uchinanchu, so even subconsciously we have a minority viewpoint.

　But Kinjo is a cheerful man. He consciously kept such topics out of the foreground and kept them in check. There is a theory that he projected Okinawa into the "Nonmalt's Messenger." (Episode 42) of "Ultra Seven," but I don't think he was that conscious of it. The great thing about Kinjo's Ultraman films is that they are firmly anchored in fantasy.

(photo) Shozo Uehara (left) and the late Tetsuo Kinjo (right) filming "Kaiju Busca" around 1967 (courtesy of Uehara)

　-What was Mr. Uehara's Ultraman?

　Kinjo's Ultraman is a completed form. There is no point in copying him. Instead of a hero that we look up to like his Ultraman, I made a story about an older young man who works in a local factory and grows up as he encounters difficulties. The program is set not in the near future, but in Tokyo in the 1970s, when pollution was serious, and we worked hard to achieve a sense of reality. For example, when a monster destroys a building, I create a scene in which people are trapped under the rubble. This is an idea that Kinjo did not have, but I did and made it happen.

　The first Ultraman and Hayata, who transforms into Ultraman, are one and the same, but it is unclear which one has the will. So I set my Ultraman to have the will of Hideki Go, who transforms. Also, the image of the first Ultraman is that of a man we look to, but I tried to lower my Ultraman to a child's perspective.

　So, "The Return of Ultraman" has me and various other writers doing whatever we wanted to do. The story did not have the sense of translucence(purity) of the first Ultraman, and more critical/stepped back view of the story became many people's main goal.

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-"The eleventh episode of "The Return of Ultraman," "Poison Gas Monster Appears," was written by Kinjo.

　When Kinjo came to Tokyo, Hajime had him write it. It was about the storage of poison gas at the Chibana ammunition depot (in Okinawa), which was a big problem at the time, but it was too straightforward an accusation and lacked the pliability that is Kinjo's real forte. He must have bent himself to write it. In the end, that was Kinjo's last script for the Ultra series. It must have been tough for him. I wanted him to write "The Return of Ultraman" without a single cloud of doubt.

　-When the series was broadcast in 1971, Okinawa was just before the reversion to Japan.

　One day, I was told at the filming site, 'congratulations on your return to Japan.' Is there anything to congratulate about it? Okinawa's demand for the removal of bases, which we had demanded so much, was ignored. I thought that the 'reversion' would only result in a double rule by Japan and the U.S., instead of a centralized control by the U.S.

　If things continue as they are, Okinawa will continue to be trifled with. Hajime's comment, "Okinawa is a taboo," has always stuck with me, and I had been thinking that one day I would confront issues of discrimination and minorities head on. The program was now in its third season and had entered a period of stability. Now was the time to do it..."

The Dark Side of the Human Mind Questioned in "The Monster User and the Boy"

　-So, we have Episode 33, "The Monster User and the Boy," which is about a boy from Esashi, Hokkaido.

　The boy is an Ainu from Esashi, Hokkaido. And the earthling, a disguise of Alien Mates, I had him take the surname "Kanayama," which is a common last name among Zainichi Koreans living in Japan. After the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, false rumors spread quickly that "Koreans threw poison into wells" and "Korean riots broke out." Good people on the street believed them, and together with the military and police, they massacred many Koreans. Some were killed because of their 'strange pronunciation' or 'strange use of language. I, a Ryukyuan, would have been killed if I had been there. This is not just about other people(it involves us, too.)" (*Azuro note: some Ryukyuans were actually killed during the Kanto massacre, it's just not known well.)

　-The film is so vivid even now that I wonder how they were able to broadcast it.

　Hashimoto, a producer at TBS, knew what I was going to do from the very beginning, because I showed him the plot at the beginning. The producer's authority is absolute, but if he says no, the project will not go through. But he told me to write it.

　Shohei Tojo was the director of that episode. He understood what I meant, and he intensified the expression of direction as time went on. For example, the captain's line, 'Japanese people have hands that make beautiful flowers, but once they hold a blade in their hands, they commit the most atrocious acts...' was not in my script, but Tojo added it. In that sense, it was made by young men around 30 years old with a lot of hot blood flowing through their veins.

　-Did you get the film on the air without any trouble?

　No. In the screening room, TBS made a fuss that it could not be broadcast. Producer Hashimoto said, 'Let us broadcast it because it contains Uehara's (genuine) thoughts and feelings. As punishment, let Uehara and Tojo be expelled from the program." and persuaded them to air it.

　But at first, the Alien Mates were killed by the crowd with bamboo spears. This was also not my scenario, but a part Tojo changed in his direction. But they said this scene was too graphic and beyond the scope of a children's program... So the scene was reshot and replaced with a pistol, and the program went on the air. In the end, I was forced to quit as the main writer, but I have nothing but gratitude to Mr. Hashimoto.

　-The final episode 51, "The 5 Ultra Oaths," was written by Mr. Uehara.

　I was allowed to write this as a courtesy.. There is a rule that the writer who wrote the first episode writes the last episode.

-It has been 45 years since the broadcast.

　Hate speech, for example, I think Japan is in worse state than it was 45 years ago. There is nothing more frightening than an adherent crowd. That is why I have continued to make children's programs in the hope that they will grow up to see things with their own eyes, think about how they should live, and stand on their own feet.

I have Jana Oyakata(Ueekata) in my heart.

　-Did you ever think of writing an adult drama instead of a children's program?

　"At one point,  Shinichi Ichikawa said to me, 'Why don't you graduate from children's programming and write for the Toshiba Sunday Theater?' Then, would they let me do "Shukotsu(collecting bones)," which depicts the Battle of Okinawa? No, you absolutely can't do it. That said, even if I, a Ryukyuan, were to write about the way of life of the people of Yamato, I would not be able to produce a good work. Instead, I decided to work on children's TV programs that needed me. The producers of "Secret Sentai Gorenger" (April 1975-March 1977), for example, were worried by producers at first. I convinced them that it would be a hit, and as a result, it became the precursor of the Sentai Hero series that continues to this day.

　-What do you think about the relationship between Okinawa and Japan?

　The time has come to reset the relationship, and seriously consider what to do about it, including independence. The aggression of 400 years ago, when the Ryukyu Kingdom was occupied with the invasion by Satsuma, continues to this day. The government's attitude of imposing bases without regard for the will of the (Okinawan) people is proof that it sees Okinawa only as a colony. This is discrimination.

　My ancestor was Jana Oyakata(*Oyakata means master) (a minister of the Ryukyu Kingdom), who was captured during the invasion by Satsuma and imprisoned for two years before being executed for refusing to be loyal to Satsuma. 60 years have passed since I came to Tokyo at the age of 18, proud to be a Ryukyuan, and Jana is always in my heart.

　-You wrote a scenario for "Ultra Seven" called "Revenge of 300 Years," which was never filmed.

　I wrote a story about friendly aliens who give up their weapons and come to Earth and try to befriend humans, but are all killed because they have 'red hair.' This was inspired by the invasion of Ryukyu by Satsuma. The Satsuma army, armed with guns, attacked the Ryukyu Islands, which had no weapons. It would have been a one-sided massacre, like twisting the hand of a baby.(*twisting the hand of a baby=an idiom meaning "very easy.")

　-Why was this not made into a film? Was this because it was "too political," after all?

　No, it was simply a budgetary problem, because it would have cost too much to make it into a film. Television didn't like to portray social issues in a straightforward manner, but at the time you could do/get away with a lot of different things if you used monsters.

　-What kind of work do you want to do for the rest of your life?

　 When Kinjo returned to Okinawa, he invited me to come back with him and start a company to produce films from Okinawa. I was still a novice and turned him down, and he passed away at the age of 37. I am now trying to do what Kinjo tried to do. I am planning to create a character-based TV program speaking Shimakutuba("Language of the Isle") and a hero from Okinawa that will be able to be broadcasted all over the world.

　A people deprived of their language loses their identity and tends to become submissive. This is a common practice of invaders. I hope Okinawan children can study Uchinaaguchi(Ryukyuan Language) while enjoying the program. That, for me, is what Ryukyu's independence means: we need to regain the identity and language that was taken away from us 400 years ago, in 50 to 100 years. I want to plant those seeds and die as a tanmei (grandfather in Ryukyuan)."

　-Does that mean fulfilling the promise you made to Mr. Kinjo?

　That would be too beautiful a story. With this character, I will definitely surpass Kinjo's first Ultraman. Right now, both Japan and Hollywood are looking backward and only copying. The writers have too little spirit.

Profile: Born February 6, 1937 in Kume, Naha City, Uehara Shozo graduated from Chuo University and made his professional debut in 1966 with "Space Command M774", the 21st episode of "Ultra Q". In 1964, "Shukotsu" received an honorable mention in the TV script category of the Art Festival, and in 1966, he made his professional debut with "Space Command M774," the 21st episode of "Ultra Q." After working for Tsuburaya Productions, he went freelance in 1969, "The Return of Ultraman," "Ganbare! Robocon," "Secret Sentai Goranger," "Ganbare! Red Vickies," "Space Detective Gabin," the "Getter Robot G" cartoon, and many other children's programs, for which he served as the main writer. Author of "Tetsuo Kinjo Ultraman Shimauta(Song of the Isle)" and "Shozo Uehara Scenario Selection Collection."