Special effects guru at Toho for more than two decades, Eiji Tsuburaya started out as cinematographer in Kyoto before joining Shochiku studios in 1926 as a cameraman. Twelve years later, in 1938, Tsuburaya joined Toho as the head of their Special Visual Techniques department. During Japan's involvement in World War II, he worked with Toho to create several films to help the war effort, among them the 1942 film Battle of Pearl Harbor and the Malay Coast. In 1946, he left Toho briefly to work through his own production company with Daiei, Toei, and Shintoho studios. By 1951 he was back with Toho, and was head of the Special Effects department by 1952. In 1954, he worked with Ishiro Honda on Godzilla, and from then forth would be known as one of the founding father's of the kaiju genre. In 1963, Tsuburaya founded Tsuburaya Productions, which spawned the popular TV shows Ultra Q followed by Ultraman.

Special Effects Director Toho Filmography
Monkey Sun (1940)
Bouquet in the Southern Seas (1942)
A Triumph of Wings (1942)
The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malay (1942)
Otoko (1943)
The Opium War (1943)
Colonel Kato's Flying Squadron (1944)
Five Tokyo Men (1945)
The Descendents of Taro Urashima (1946)
The Lady from Musashino (1951)
Skin of the South (1952)
The Woman Who Touched the Legs (1952)
The Man Who Came to Port (1952)
Youth of Heiji Senigata (1953)
The Eagle of the Pacific (1953)
The Lovers (1953)
The Thunder of the Mountain (1954)
Farewell Rabaul (1954)
Samurai 1: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)
Godzilla (1954)
The Invisible Man (1954)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Half Human (1955)
Love is Shared Like Sweets (1955)
The Legend of the White Serpent (1956)
Rodan (1956)
Throne of Blood (1957)
The Mysterians (1957)
H-Man (1958)
Varan (1958)
Monkey Sun (1959)
Submarine I-57 Will Not Surrender (1959)
The Three Treasures (1959)
Battle in Outer Space (1959)
The Secret of the Telegian (1960)
The Storm of the Pacific (1960)
The Human Vapour (1960)
Daredevil in the Castle (1961)
Mothra (1961)
The Last War (1961)
The Crimson Sea (1961)
Gen and Prince Fudomyo (1961)
Gorath (1962)
The Crimson Sky (1962)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Chushingura (1962)
Attack Squadron! (1963)
Siege of Fort Bismarck (1963)
Matango (1963)
Samurai Pirate (1963)
Atragon (1963)
Tiger Flight (1964)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Dogora (1964)
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Whirlwind (1964)
The Retreat from Kiska (1965)
Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965)
Crazy Adventure (1965)
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
100 Shot, 100 Killed (1965)
None But the Brave (1965)
Zero Fighter (1966)
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
The War of the Gargantuas (1966)
King Kong Escapes (1967)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
Admiral Yamamoto (1968)
The Crazy Cats' Big Explosion (1969)
Latitude Zero (1969)
Battle of the Japan Sea (1969)
All Monsters Attack (1969)
Mitsubishi Pavilion (1970)

Producer Toho (Distributed) Filmography
Ultraman (1967)

Cinematographer Toho Filmography
The Invisible Man (1954)