Nakano Teruyoshi

Born in Japanese-occupied Manchuria, Nakano joined Toho in 1959 and became an assistant special effects director under the legendary Tsuburaya Eiji. Following Tsuburaya’s death and the departure of Arikawa Sadamasa, Nakano took over as the Director of Special Effects for the studio in the 1970s.

Nakano is famous for his penchant for spectacular pyrotechnics, which became a hallmark of his work in films like Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) and Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975). He successfully helmed the effects for the blockbuster disaster films Submersion of Japan (1973) and Prophecies of Nostradamus (1974). He returned to the Godzilla franchise for the reboot The Return of Godzilla (1984) before retiring from film to design theme park attractions. In 1985, he directed the special effects for the North Korean kaijû film Pulgasari.