Jump to content
Welcome to Wikizilla! — Please log in to contribute.
NOTICE: Account creation has been temporarily disabled due to excessive spam.

Daimajin (1966)

From Wikizilla, the kaiju encyclopedia
Article
Gallery
Credits
Soundtrack
Daimajin media
← None
Daimajin
Return of Daimajin →
Daimajin
The Japanese poster for Daimajin
Alternate titles
The Great Devil (1966)
Majin, the Monster
of Terror (TV 1967)
See alternate titles
Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda
Producer Masaichi Nagata
Written by Tetsuro Yoshida
Music by Akira Ifukube
Special
effects by 		Yoshiyuki Kuroda
Production company Daiei Kyoto Studio
Distributor DaieiJP, AITVUS
Rating 12UK[1]
Budget ¥600,000,000
Running time 84 minutesJP
(1 hour, 24 minutes)
83 minutesUS
(1 hour, 23 minutes)
Aspect ratio 2.35:1JP
1.33:1US TV
Rate this film!
4.50
(16 votes)

“
The girl's tears moved the evil spirit, and with one blow, the huge rock wall and the castle gate were smashed to pieces! (少女の涙が魔神を動かした大岩壁も城門もその一撃で木ッ葉みじん！)
„ 

— Japanese tagline
“
SEE THE HORROR OF A VILLAGE CRUSHED BY THE REVENGE OF HELL
„ 

— International tagline
“
The restless fury of a violent warrior god is unleashed against the violators of his shrine
„ 

— American tagline

Daimajin (大魔神,   Daimajin, lit. "The Great Devil") is a 1966 tokusatsu historical fantasy film directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda and written by Tetsuro Yoshida, with special effects by Yoshiyuki Kuroda. Produced by Daiei Kyoto Studio, it is the first entry in the Daimajin trilogy. It stars Miwa Takada, Yoshihiko Aoyama, Jun Fujimaki, Ryutaro Gomi, Ryuzo Shimada, and Tatsuo Endo. The film was released to Japanese theaters by Daiei on April 17, 1966, on a double bill with Gamera vs. Barugon.

Plot

In Sengoku-era Japan, large tremors send villagers scattering, as they fear that an ancient spirit named Arakatsuma is beginning to wake up. The entire village then gathers at their shrine to pray that it will remain imprisoned. This torchlit ceremony, led by their priestess Shinobu, is observed by the local feudal boss, Lord Hanabusa, who respects the beliefs of his villagers, but does not believe in the Daimajin. Hanabusa then sends his chamberlain named Samanosuke down to the ceremony to provide a sense of security, but Samanosuke uses the distraction as a means of staging a coup. He kills Hanabusa and began to storm the castle.

A loyal vassal named Kogenta Sarumaru goes to protect Hanabusa's children, Tadafumi and Kozasa Hanabusa, and prepares to smuggle them out of the kingdom. They make their way to a stable with the help of some other vassals, but are cornered by Samanosuke's guards. They begin to burn the stable down, and the vassals make a vow to meet back in town in 10 years from that day. Kogenta and the children escape the building, but have to be cautious of guards as Kogenta takes them to his aunt Shinobu's house. They hide from the soldiers when they come to search the house, and when they are gone, Shinobu takes them up Majin's Mountain and leaves them in a cave that is believed to have once been the home of their god, on the assurance that Samanosuke's men will never look there.

Ten years later, Kogenta goes down from his mountain home and into the village. On the road, he encounters a patrol of Samanosuke's guards and is captured. On hearing this, Tadafumi goes into town to rescue him, and a young villager pleads to Shinobu to let him pray at the Idol of Arakatsuma to bring his wrath on Samanosuke who is using the villagers as slaves to build an impenetrable fortress. He is denied, but is assured that their god will hear his prayers and send him, but the boy runs from her house and up the mountain, where he mistakes Kozasa for a god.

In town, Tadafumi sneaked through the construction site where Kogenta was being dangled from a pole, but was himself captured, as Kogenta had been used as bait for him. After learning that neither had returned, Shinobu went to Samanosuke to warn him that his continued tyrannical acts would bring the wrath of Arakatsuma on him, which caused him to fire an unloaded gun in her face to test her faith before brutally murdering her with a sword. He then ordered that a group of soldiers be sent to Majin's Mountain to destroy the idol of Arakatsuma.

As the crew travels up the mountain, they capture Kozasa and the boy, and force them to take them to the statue. They try to destroy it with hammers, but see no results, which leads them to try to drive a chisel through the idol's head, which makes the statue bleed. An earthquake then creates a fissure that swallows the demolition team, but not Kozasa or the boy. Kozasa then tries to awaken Arakatsuma, and even goes as far as to offer her life to the god by throwing herself off a nearby waterfall, but is held back by the boy. She begins to cry on the statue, and that causes it to stand up and change into an organic form resembling a giant samurai. Kozasa then offers her prayer to the statue, and informs it that Lord Samanosuke is being unjust in the city. Arakatsuma then transports himself to the village and begins to destroy it in his attempt to reach Samanosuke. In the chaos, Tadafumi and Kogenta are able to escape their prison cell, and meet up with Kozasa. The three then watch as Arakatsuma reaches into the ruined palace and holds up the terrified Samanosuke. He then removes the chisel that was still in his head from the earlier attempt to destroy him, and impales him on a ruined wall of the palace.

Even after his mission is complete, Arakatsuma, being an immortal god of endless wrath, continues to destroy the village. Again Kozasa offers her life to Daimajin, but once again it is her tears that bring him to a stop. After the tears hit him, he transforms back into a statue before a ball of light flies out of him and disappears into the sky before the statue crumbles to dust.

Staff

Main article: Daimajin (film)/Credits.

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

Cast

Main article: Daimajin (film)/Credits.

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

  • Miwa Takada   as   Kozasa Hanabusa
  • Yoshihiko Aoyama   as   Tadafumi Hanabusa
  • Jun Fujimaki   as   Kogenta Sarumaru
  • Ryutaro Gomi   as   Samanosuke
  • Ryuzo Shimada   as   Tadakiyo Hanabusa
  • Tatsuo Endo   as   Gunjuro
  • Shosaku Sugiyama
  • Saburo Date   as   Ippei Cyjuma
  • Otome Tsukimiya   as   Shinobu, priestess
  • Keiko Kayama   as   Haruno
  • Eigoro Onoe   as   Gosaku
  • Gen Kimura   as   Mosuke
  • Hideki Ninomiya   as   Young Tadafumi
  • Shizuhiro Izoguchi   as   Take-bo
  • Yutaro Ban   as   Mondo
  • Hideo Kuroki   as   Magojuro
  • Akira Shiga
  • Jun Osugi
  • Jun Katsumura
  • Kazuo Moriuchi
  • Akira Amemiya
  • Shinjiro Akatsuki
  • Kanji Uehara
  • Masako Morishita   as   Young Kozasa
  • Hatsumi Yoshikawa
  • Chikara Hashimoto   as   Daimajin

ELDA English dub

  • Ted Rusoff   as   Tadafumi Hanabusa
  • Anthony La Penna   as   Samanosuke
  • Frazier Rippy   as   Tadakiyo Hanabusa
  • Robert Spafford   as   Gunjuro
  • Cicely Browne   as   Shinobu
  • Dan Sturkie   as   Mondo

Appearances

Monsters

Gallery

Main article: Daimajin (film)/Gallery.

Soundtrack

Main article: Daimajin (film)/Soundtrack.

Alternate titles

  • The Great Devil (literal Japanese title, used on continuity script)[2]
  • Majin (international title)[3]
  • The Hideous Idol Majin (extended international title)[4]
  • Fury of Mountain God (English Singaporean title)
  • Majin, the Monster of Terror (United States)
  • Vengeance of the Monster (Canada)
  • Majin, the Stone Samurai (Мадзин - каменный самурай; Russia)
  • Daimajín, the Evil God (Daimajín, El Dios Diabólico; Spain)
  • Daimajin - Frankenstein's Monster Awakens (Daimajin - Frankensteins Monster erwacht; Germany)

Theatrical releases

Foreign releases

A.D. Vision Daimajin VHS cover

U.S. release

For international distribution, Daiei retitled the film Majin (occasionally subtitled The Hideous Idol) and commissioned an English dub produced by the Rome-based English Language Dubbers Association (ELDA) and supervised by Bernard Lewis. Both the English dub and the Japanese version with English subtitles were screened in a few American theaters.[6] Majin was exhibited in Honolulu, Hawaii, on June 15, 1966, at the city's Kokusai Theater.[citation needed] The film was also screened in Japanese with English subtitles at the 55th Street Playhouse in New York City in August 1968.[citation needed]

In 1967, American International Television released Daimajin to television syndication as Majin, the Monster of Terror. AITV used the ELDA English dub for its syndication. The Japanese version of the film was released on VHS by A.D. Vision in 1999. The company later released the film on DVD in 2002 as part of The Complete Daimajin Trilogy DVD set, later releasing each film individually on DVD in 2005. Mill Creek Entertainment released all three films on its Daimajin Triple Feature Blu-ray set in 2012. Following Mill Creek's rights expiring, Arrow Video released The Daimajin Trilogy Blu-ray box set on July 27, 2021, with ELDA's English dub included.

United Kingdom release

Arrow Video released the Japanese version of Daimajin, along with the ELDA English dub, for the first time in the UK as part of The Daimajin Trilogy Blu-ray box set on July 26, 2021. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) classified the film 12 for "moderate violence, bloody images".[1]

Video releases

Daiei Video Disc LaserDisc (1984)

  • Region: NTSC
  • Discs: 1 (CLV, 2 sides)
  • Audio: Japanese (Analog Mono)
  • Notes: Pan and scan 4:3 transfer.

Pioneer LaserDisc (1990) [Daimajin Complete Works]

  • Region: NTSC
  • Discs: 3 (CLV/CAV, 6 sides)
  • Audio: Japanese (Digital Mono)
  • Special features: Image gallery (disc 2, side 2), trailers, 16-page booklet
  • Notes: Packaged with Return of Daimajin and Wrath of Daimajin.

Daiei Video Disc LaserDisc (1999)

  • Region: NTSC
  • Discs: 1 (CLV/CAV, 2 sides)
  • Audio: Japanese (Digital Mono)
  • Special features: Trailer
  • Notes: Transfer is identical to the 1990 disc.[7]

Rubbersuit DVD (2002) [The Complete Daimajin Trilogy]

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 3
  • Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono)
  • Special features: Trailers
  • Notes: Out of print. Packaged with Return of Daimajin and Wrath of Daimajin (whose titles are erroneously swapped). Reissued as a single disc in 2005.

Retromedia DVD (2006) [The Giant Majin Collection]

  • Region: 0
  • Discs: 1 (2 sides)
  • Audio: English (2.0 Mono)
  • Notes: Out of print. Cropped 4:3 16mm AITV version. Packaged with Return of Giant Majin.

Mill Creek Blu-ray (2012) [Daimajin Triple Feature]

  • Region: N/A
  • Discs: 2
  • Audio: Japanese (DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0)
  • Special features: Trailers for all three Daimajin films, interviews with cinematographer Fujio Morita on the making of each film (28, 31, and 28 minutes)
  • Notes: Out of print. Packaged with Return of Daimajin and Wrath of Daimajin (the latter titled Daimajin Strikes Again).

Arrow Video Blu-ray (2021) [The Daimajin Trilogy][8]

  • Region: A or B
  • Discs: 3
  • Audio: Japanese and English (Mono)
  • Subtitles: English
  • Special features: 100-page book with essays by Jonathan Clements, Keith Aiken, Ed Godziszewski, Raffael Coronelli, Erik Homenick, Robin Gatto, and Kevin Derendorf; audio commentaries by Stuart Galbraith IV (Daimajin), Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp (Return of Daimajin), and Jonathan Clements (Wrath of Daimajin); Daimajin introduction by Kim Newman; "Bringing the Avenging God to Life" video essay about the trilogy's special effects by Ed Godziszewski; AITV opening credits for Majin, the Monster of Terror and Return of Giant Majin; "My Summer Holidays with Daimajin" interview with Professor Yoneo Ota about the trilogy's production; "From Storyboard to Screen: Bringing Return of Daimajin to Life" comparison of storyboards and scenes from the finished film; interview with cinematographer Fujio Morita; Japanese and U.S. trailers for all three films (with the exception of a U.S. trailer for Wrath of Daimajin); image galleries; postcards

Kadokawa Blu-ray + DVD (2021)[9] [Daimajin Sealed Box]

Videos

Trailers

Japanese Daimajin trailer

Japanese newsflash for Daimajin and Gamera vs. Barugon

U.S. Majin, the Monster
of Terror TV trailer

U.S. The Monster
of Terror TV trailer

ADV Films Daimajin VHS trailer

Mill Creek Daimajin Triple
Feature Blu-ray trailer

Arrow Video The Daimajin Trilogy
Blu-ray teaser trailer

Miscellaneous

U.S. Majin, the Monster of Terror end title

Trivia

  • This films sets up several conventions that are followed over the course of the trilogy.
    • Daimajin is unleashed by people to solve feudal issues, which culminate in the toppling of an oppressive leader.
    • Daimajin does not appear until late in the film's plot.
    • Daimajin's alignment is often neutral, and he will attack anything which hinders him.

References

This is a list of references for Daimajin (film). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Daimajin". BBFC. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  2. ↑ Godziszewski, Ed. "Daiei`s Idol of Terror: DAIMAJIN, THE AVENGING GOD". SciFi Japan. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  3. ↑ Kuroda, Toyoji, ed. (July 1966). "Majin". UniJapan Film Quarterly. Vol. 9 no. 3. Association for the Diffusion of Japanese Films Abroad. p. 18.
  4. ↑ "1t673 HIDEOUS IDOL MAJIN export Japanese R1976 Daimajin, statue monster, crushed by revenge of hell!". eMoviePoster.com. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  5. ↑ "大魔神 (電影) - Wikipedia".
  6. ↑ "Of Dubs and Titles" by Keith Aiken, published in the booklet included in Arrow Video's The Daimajin Trilogy Limited Edition Blu-ray box set.
  7. ↑ "The Daimajin Trilogy Blu-ray". Arrow Films. 30 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "「大魔神封印函」4K修復版 Blu-ray BOX 【完全初回生産限定】". Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 10 June 2021.

 
Film
Monsters
Characters
Cast
Staff
Music

Films
 
Godzilla films
Showa era
Heisei era
Millennium era
Reiwa era
American films
Short films
Dream Challenge: Godzilla Appears in Sukagawa (2019) • Godzilla Appears at Godzilla Fest (2020) • Godzilla vs. Hedorah (2021) • Godzilla vs. the Tigers (2022) • Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex (2022) • Fest Godzilla 3: Gigan Attacks (2022) • Godzilla vs. Megalon (2023) • Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar (2023) • Fest Godzilla 5: All Monsters Showdown (2024) • 70 Years of Godzilla: A New Roar in Southeast Asia (2025) • Fest Godzilla II: Shinjuku Burning (2025) • Is Your Godzilla Collection Stop-Motion Ready? (2026)
Marketing
"Godzilla vs. Charles Barkley" (1992) • "The Faceless Star" (2019) • "The Impact of a Blue Day" (2021) • "GO YOUR WAY" (2023) • "Yours Ever" (2024)
Attractions
 
King Kong films
Live action
King Kong (1933) • Son of Kong (1933) • King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) • King Kong Escapes (1967) • King Kong (1976) • King Kong Lives (1986) • King Kong (2005) • Kong: Skull Island (2017) • Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) • Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) • Godzilla x Kong: Supernova (2027)
Animated
 
Other Toho films
Shōwa period
Ramayana (1940s) • Invisible Man (1954) • Half Human (1955) • Rodan (1956) • The Mysterians (1957) • The H-Man (1958) • Varan (1958) • The Three Treasures (1959) • Battle in Outer Space (1959) • The Secret of the Telegian (1960) • The Human Vapor (1960) • Mothra (1961) • The Last War (1961) • Gorath (1962) • Matango (1963) • Atragon (1963) • Dogora (1964) • Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965) • The War of the Gargantuas (1966) • The Killing Bottle (1967) • Latitude Zero (1969) • Konto 55: The Great Outer Space Adventure (1969) • Space Amoeba (1970) • Daigoro vs. Goliath (1972) • Submersion of Japan (1973) • Prophecies of Nostradamus (1974) • ESPY (1974) • The War in Space (1977) • Tokyo Earthquake Magnitude 8.1 (1980) • Magnitude 7.9 (1980) • Bye-Bye Jupiter (1984) • Nineteen (1987) • Princess from the Moon (1987)
Heisei period
Cyber Cop (1989) • Gunhed (1989) • Mikadoroid (1991) • Reiko, Psyche Resurrected (1991) • Orochi, the Eight-Headed Dragon (1994) • Super Atragon (1995) • Super Atragon: Part II (1996) • Rebirth of Mothra (1996) • Rebirth of Mothra 2 (1997) • Rebirth of Mothra 3 (1998) • Pyrokinesis (2000) • The Yin-Yang Master (2001) • Returner (2002) • The Yin-Yang Master II (2003) • Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean (2005) • Super Fleet Sazer-X the Movie (2005) • Sinking of Japan (2006) • Monkey Magic (2007) • Go! Godman (2008) • Paco and the Magical Book (2008) • Space Battleship Yamato (2010) • Gantz (2011) • Gantz: Perfect Answer (2011) • "FORESTER: The Attack" (2014) • As the Gods Will (2014) • Parasyte: Part 1 (2014) • Parasyte: Part 2 (2015) • Attack on Titan the Movie: Part 1 (2015) • Attack on Titan the Movie: Part 2 (2015) • I Am a Hero (2016)
Reiwa period
 
Other Daiei films
First company
Second company
 
Other Japanese films
Shōwa period
Heisei period
The Cat (1991) • Getting Any? (1995) • Sakuya (2000) • Wanigon vs. Gamaron (2000) • Kibakichi (2004) • Zebraman (2004) • Kibakichi 2 (2004) • The Great Yokai War (2005) • Negadon: The Monster from Mars (2005) • The World Sinks Except Japan (2006) • Fuhito (2006) • Golden Sachi Monster King Rampus (2006) • Big Man Japan (2007) • Reigo: King of the Sea Monsters (2008) • Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit (2008) • Assault Girls (2009) • Geharha: The Dark and Long Haired Monster‎ (2009) • Demeking, the Sea Monster (2009) • G (2009) • Raiga: God of the Monsters (2009) • Revenge of the Zebra Miniskirt Police (2010) • Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City (2010) • Planzet (2010) • Death Kappa (2010) • The God of Clay (2011) • Henge (2012) • A Giant Warrior Descends on Tokyo (2012) • Jellyfish Eyes (2013) • Earth Defense Widow (2014) • Day of the Kaiju (2014) • Love & Peace (2015) • Kaiju Mono (2016) • Tetsudon: The Kaiju Dream Match (2017) • The Great Buddha Arrival (2018) • Koujin (2018) • Kaiju Ward Gallas (2019)
Reiwa period
 
Miscellaneous
Films
The Dinosaur and the Missing Link: A Prehistoric Tragedy (1915) • The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918) • The Lost World (1925) • Mighty Joe Young (1949) • The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) • Ilya Muromets (1956) • The Black Scorpion (1957) • The Giant Behemoth (1959) • Konga (1961) • Gorgo (1961) • Bulgasari (1962) • Gogola (1966) • Mad Monster Party? (1967) • Space Monster Wangmagwi (1967) • Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967) • Feng Shen Bang (1969) • A Valiant Villain (1969) • A*P*E (1976) • The Snake Prince (1976) • Queen Kong (1976) • Costinha, King of the Jungle (1976) • The Mighty Peking Man (1977) • Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century (1977) • Costinha and the King Mong (1977) • The Phoenix (1978) • Pulgasari (1985) • Galgameth (1996) • Mighty Joe Young (1998) • Reptilian (1999) • Cloverfield (2008) • Monsters (2010) • Monsters: Dark Continent (2014) • 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) • Colossal (2016) • The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) • Rampage (2018) • Notzilla (2019) • Snow Monster (2019) • untitled Cloverfield sequel (TBA)
Documentaries
Fan films
Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969) • Gamera 4: Truth (2003) • Waiting for Gorgo (2009) • G vs. G (2019) • Godziban (2019) • Heritage (2020) • Coming Out (2020) • Wolfman vs. Godzilla (TBA)

 
 
V • T • E

Comments

Showing 16 comments. When commenting, please remain respectful of other users, stay on topic, and avoid role-playing and excessive punctuation. Comments which violate these guidelines may be removed by administrators.

Loading comments...
Daiei
Movie


Retrieved from "https://wikizilla.teq.wiki/w/index.php?title=Daimajin_(film)&oldid=583825"