Pater Sato magazine cover

Hitoshi Ikematsu book jacket illustration, 1984

Noriyoshi Ohrai

Black Space -- Shuji Tanase, 1982

Atsushi Yoshioka

1 -- Kyuradorosu (vampire monster)/ Height: 5 meters/ Weight: 800 kilograms/ From Chiba
2 -- Kashuasu (pollution monster)/ Height: 10 meters/ Weight: 3,000 tons/ From Osaka

3 -- Gohoho (ice monster)/ 18m/ 10,000 tons/ From the South Pole, moved to Tokyo
4 -- Altamegaro (space monster)/ 35m/ Weight unknown/ From Alta W, planet 5

5 -- Deredoron (pesticide monster)/ 20m/ 10,000 tons/ From Tohoku
6 -- Tapikurosaurus (ancient monster)/ 35m/ 9,000 tons/ From Kyushu

7 -- Elekipurosu (electric humanoid)/ 25m/ 15,000 tons/ From Kurobe Dam
8 -- Meji (space wolf)/ 16m/ 5 tons/ From Meteoroid R

9 -- Eru (space monster)/ 32m/ 18,000 tons/ From the planet Pegasus
10 -- Puradon (space monster)/ 32m/ 5,000 tons/ From Galaxy W, planet 8

J -- Mambaa (monster fish)/ 20m/ 15,000 tons/ From the Arctic depths
Q -- Oapiaa (proto-Saharan)/ 6m/ 1 ton/ From the Sahara Desert

K -- Alien Achiira (space monster)/ 15m/ 9 tons/ From the planet Achiira, moved to Japan Alps
1 -- Methanoron (pollution monster)/ 28m/ 30,000 tons/ From Tokyo-Kawasaki-Yokohama area

2 -- Buranpiitaa (ultrahigh-speed monster)/ 25m/ 5,000 tons/ From the planet Narcissus
3 -- Aurororas (South Pole monster)/ 85m/ 80,000 tons/ From the South Pole

4 -- Andromeropius (space monster)/ 60m/ 10,000 tons/ From the planet Sparta
5 -- Peroggaa (adhesive monster)/ 30m/ 30,000 tons/ From Eagle Comet

6 -- Goroboasu (macro monster)/ 108m/ 180,000 tons/ From New York
7 -- Vacuuma (vacuum monster)/ 25m/ 6,000 tons/ From Yumenoshima

8 -- Metrokabayan (space eel)/ 46m/ 40,000 tons/ Origin unknown
9 -- Tibetron (Himalayan monster)/ 5 m/ 10,000 tons/ From the northern Himalayas

10 -- Aamu (radiowave monster)/ 60m/ 80,000 tons/ From Guam, moved to Shizuoka
J -- Jiradon (dragon)/ 15m/ 40 tons/ From the northern Alps

Q -- Kimu (space monster)/ 30m/ 20,000 tons/ From the Methane Nebula
K -- Alien Carter (alien)/ 28m/ 7,000 tons/ From the Carter Nebula

1 -- Oxydron (pollution monster)/ 35m/ 10,000 tons/ From the Tokyo suburbs
2 -- Heater (heat monster)/ 30m/ 10,000 tons/ From Hokuriku (northwest Honshu)

3 -- Jeunesse (Mach speed monster)/ 105m/ 100,000 tons/ From the M18 star cluster
4 -- Spater (space monster)/ 12m/ 2,000 tons/ From the Jupiter Nebula

5 -- Begovia (space monster)/ 70m/ 30,000 tons/ From somewhere in space
6 -- Orix (meteor monster)/ 3m/ 300kg/ From the Orionids

7 -- Kabisantaa (bacteria monster)/ 20m/ 7,000 tons/ From central China
8 -- Peshura (space mouse)/ 40m/ 20,000 tons/ From the planet Corona

9 -- Chiipaa (invisible monster)/ 23m/ 4 tons/ From Europe
10 -- H (hydrogen monster)/ 1,000m/ 500kg/ From Egypt

J -- Raru (monster bug)/ 19m/ 600kg/ From the tropics
Q -- Meromeron (Meron monster)/ 23m/ 30,000 tons/ From the Meron Comet

K -- Alien Morris (alien)/ 20m/ 10,000 tons/ From the Morris meteoroid
1 -- Smogger (pollution monster)/ 45m/ 20,000 tons/ From the Kanto area

2 -- Uradon (nuclear monster)/ 40m/ 30,000 tons/ From the ocean depths, moved to Osaka
3 -- Computron (mechanical monster)/ 35m/ 8,000 tons/ From Tokyo

4 -- Gurora (space monster)/ 95m/ 120,000 tons/ From the planet Beta, moved to Tokyo area
5 -- Perebon (Saturn monster)/ 25m/ 40,000 tons/ From Saturn

6 -- Menakujira (soft-bodied monster)/ 40m/ 40,000 tons/ From Okutama
7 -- Pla-king (plastic man)/ 20m/ 5 tons/ From Kanagawa prefecture

8 -- Okusu (space gorilla)/ 30m/ 30,000 tons/ From the planet Claude
9 -- Betarasu (fifth-dimension monster)/ 7m/ less than 1kg/ From the fifth dimension

10 -- Buruburu (ape monster)/ 45m/ 6 tons/ From the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro
J -- Glamingo (bird monster)/ 3m/ 400kg/ From northern Alaska, moved to Hokkaido

Q -- Pira (solar monster)/ 13m/ 300kg/ From near the sun
K -- Alien Iron (alien)/ 40m/ 20,000 tons/ From the planet Sigma

Jokers

[Link: Pachi Playing Cards Flickr set by Fiends Ain't Family]

Gamera

Gamera's features include infrared eyes with night vision, arms that can lift 50,000 tons, an organ for producing the flames he shoots from his hands, electrical spikes on his back, poison claws, sac-like organs for storing lava, coal, oil and uranium, balloon-like organs that blast jets of air out through the feet, and a tail of elastic cartilage that can deliver a powerful punch.

Guiron

Guiron's most prominent feature is his knife-shaped head, which is 100 times harder than diamond and is packed with shuriken-like stars that can be fired from a pair of openings above the eyes. The creature has 360-degree radar vision, 60 times more teeth than a piranha, lungs adapted for long-distance space travel, sac-like organs for storing energy and uranium, balloon-like organs in the legs that blast jets of liquid through the feet, webbed fins for stability in water, and magnetic suction cups on the hands.

Barugon

Barugon's features include dorsal spikes that produce a deadly rainbow ray, an organ to produce frosty liquid (-100 degree Celsius) that can be shot from his 30-meter-long weaponized tongue, a stomach that can digest diamonds (his favorite food), and radar horns atop his head.

Viras

Viras's features include a spike-shaped head capable of piercing through a meter of steel, a brain with an IQ of 2500, organs for producing a force field and controlling the minds of others, tentacles that are 10,000 times stronger than an elephant's trunk and which can emit powerful beams for space travel, and organs to break down cell tissue and control metamorphosis (for creating its human disguise).

Jiger

Jiger's features include a pair of horns that shoot missiles made of hardened saliva and one that fires a deadly "magnetium" beam, powerful suction cups covering her entire body, an organ for shooting jets of seawater at 300 kilometers per hour, a stomach that can melt iron ore, and an ovipositor tail.

[Via: Tokusatsu Figure-kan]

Godzilla (Poland, 1957)

Son of Godzilla (Poland, 1974)

Monster from a Prehistoric Planet (Czechoslovakia, 1986)

War of the Gargantuas (Poland, 1975)

Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (Poland, 1978)

Terror of Mechagodzilla (Poland, 1977)

Gappa the Triphibian Monster (Poland, 1973)

Gamera Super Monster (Poland, 1980)

King Kong Escapes (Poland, 1967)

Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (Poland, 1971)

The X from Outer Space (Czechoslovakia, 1968)

Godzilla vs. Gigan (Poland, 1977)

Sheltered Weaklings (Takashi Kono, 1953) [+]

Anti-pollution poster (Kenji Ito, 1973)

Against the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan (Kinkichi Takahashi, 1960s)

Anti-war poster (Kenji Iwasaki, 1960s) [+] // Give Us Back Man (Tsunehisa Kimura, 1969) [+]

Poster for exhibit in support of Vietnamese women and children (Makoto Wada, 1968)

"Not what I had in mind" (Tsunehisa Kimura, 1968)

Posters by Shigeo Fukuda

Environmental pollution (Shigeo Fukuda, 1973)

Environmental pollution (Shigeo Fukuda, 1973)

Environmental pollution (Shigeo Fukuda, 1973)

Environmental pollution (Shigeo Fukuda, 1973)

Victory (Shigeo Fukuda, 1989) [+] // [+]

Remembering for the Future (Shigeo Fukuda, 1989)

Human rights (Shigeo Fukuda, 1989)

Hiroshima-Nagasaki 50 (Mamoru Suzuki, 1995) [+] // [+]

Hiroshima Appeals (Yusaku Kamekura, 1983) [+]

Peace in Jungle (Gan Hosoya, 1968)

Goodbye whale (Mamoru Suzuki, 1994)

No More War (Kazumasa Nagai, 1970)

Human Rights - Living Together (Kazumasa Nagai, 1989)

Peace (Kazumasa Nagai, 1989)

Kōrakuen Jumbo Pool, 1973

Growth - Life Science Library, 1966

Toshiba IC, 1967

The Mind - Life Science Library, 1965

Expo '75 - International Ocean Exposition, 1975

The Cell - Life Science Library, 1966 [+] // Window 5 Exhibition, 1969 [+]

We Clean Smokers (Poster for Prince Lighters), 1975

Kazumasa Nagai Exhibition, 1968

Asahi Steinie, 1965

Kazumasa Nagai Exhibition, 1968

Architecture as Space, 1966 [+] // Kazumasa Nagai Exhibition, 1973 [+]

Cat and Mouse, 1969

We Clean Smokers (Poster for Prince Lighters), 1974

Graphic 4, 1974

gq, 1974

Lilycolor, 1974

Lilycolor, 1974 [+] // Lilycolor, 1974 [+]

We Clean Smokers (Poster for Prince Lighters), 1974

We Clean Smokers (Poster for Prince Lighters), 1974

Kazumasa Nagai Exhibition, 1975

Identity, 1976

Persona, 1973

gq, 1973[+] // gq, 1974 [+]

Adonis, 1976

Prince Lighters, 1974

Prince Lighters, 1974

Identity, 1976

No More War, 1970

[Source: Posters by Kazumasa Nagai (published by Kawade Shobo, 1976)]

Supervise children around fire (Astro Boy/Uran)

Always maintain adequate ventilation (Kimba the White Lion)

Plan at least two escape routes (Unico)

Be alert for irregularities (Black Jack)

Provide safe rooms for children and the elderly (Son-goku the Monkey)

Keep your home neat (Phoenix)

Don't be scatterbrained (Pinoko)

Can you use a fire extinguisher? (Higeoyaji)

Don't become complacent with fire (The Three-Eyed One)

Conduct regular fire safety checks (Princess Knight)

[Source: Tezuka Osamu Zenshi (A Complete History of Osamu Tezuka), Akita Shoten, 1998]

Takkong, Ultraman, Twin Tail [+]

Zazahn, Sadora [+]

Kingsaurus III, Alien Zarab, Geronimon [+]

Jirass, MAT Arrow 1, MAT Arrow 2 [+]

Gorbagos, Suflan, Kiyla [+]

Keronia, Dada, Shugaron [+]

Mognezun, Kemular [+]

Seagoras, Seabozu, Dodongo [+]

Dorako, Ultraman, Gomora [+]

Skydon, Earthtron, MAT Arrow 2 [+]

Dangar, Gabora, Gyango, Alien Baltan [+]

Antlar, Pigmon, Gudon [+]

Pestar, Ultraman, Gabadon, Alien Zarab [+]

Detton, Zambolar, Telesdon [+]

Gamakujira, Stegon, MAT Vehicle, Kanegon [+]

Alien Mephilas, Hydra, Jamila, Ultraman [+]

Gesura, MAT Sub [+]

[More: Ultra Monster paintings by Toshio Okazaki]

[+]

[+]

Alien Guts, Windam, Gyango, Black End, Kingsaurus III, Bemstar

Alien Icarus, Gomora, Muruchi, Alien Baltan, Alien Magma, Kemular

Dancan, Giradorus, Astromons

Gandar, Gabora, Alien Metron, Agira, Antlar, Seabozu, Woo

Gubira, Takkong, Pestar, Gamakujira, Bemular

Eleking, Alien Kuuru, King Joe, Zemistiar

Geronimon, Jirass, Alien Pegassa, Dino-Tank

Pegassa, Hydra, Black King, Mephilas, Verokron, Starbem Gyeron, Red King, Dorako, Godola

[Source: Ultra Kaiju (Shōgakukan Nyūmon Hyakka Series #97), 1979]

Three annoying train monsters (October 1982)

The three annoying train monsters shown in the poster are Nesshii (the sleeping monster), Asshii (the leg-crossing monster), and Shinbunshii (the newspaper-reading monster).

* * * * *

Don't throw chewing gum on the platform (September 1976)

Even Superman is no match for chewing gum discarded on the train platform.

* * * * *

The Seat Monopolizer (July 1976)

Inspired by Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator," this poster encourages passengers not to take up more seat space than necessary.

* * * * *

Don't forget your umbrella (June 1977)

This poster of the high-class courtesan Agemaki (from the kabuki play "Sukeroku"), whose captivating beauty was said to make men forgetful, is meant to remind passengers to take their umbrellas when they leave the train.

* * * * *

Space Invader (March 1979)

This 1979 poster pays tribute to the extremely popular Space Invaders video arcade game and encourages passengers to read their newspapers without invading the space of other passengers.

* * * * *

Isami-ashi: Wait behind the white line (May 1979)

The image of sumo wrestlers locked in combat serves as a reminder for passengers to stand safely behind the white line when waiting for the train.

* * * * *

Don't forget your umbrella (October 1981)

The text at the top of this poster -- which shows Jesus overwhelmed with umbrellas at the Last Supper -- reads "Kasane-gasane no kami-danomi" (lit. "Wishing to God again and again"). The poster makes a play on the words "kasa" (umbrella) and "kasane-gasane" (again and again).

* * * * *

Shimatta (March 1977)

This poster warns passengers against getting their shoulder bags caught in the train doors.

* * * * *

Coughing on the platform (January 1979)

Modeled after the paintings of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, this poster -- titled "Hōmu de Concon" (coughing on the platform) -- urges people not to smoke on the train platforms during the designated non-smoking hours (7:00-9:30 AM and 5:00-7:00 PM). The poster makes a play on the words "concon" (coughing sound) and "cancan" (French chorus line dance).

* * * * *

Dream at home (December 1981)

This poster, which features Doraemon dressed as Santa, encourages Christmas and end-of-year drunks not to pass out on the train.

* * * * *

The Non-Thinker (May 1981)

The image of a cross-legged version of Auguste Rodin's "The Thinker" aims to encourage passengers to sit in a way that is considerate of other passengers.

* * * * *

Kappa, (August 1979)

The image of a kappa (river imp) against a backdrop of lit cigarettes serves as a reminder not to smoke on the platform during the designated non-smoking hours (7:00-9:30 AM and 5:00-7:00 PM). The text at the top of the poster reads "Gaman gurai wa he no kappa," which translates loosely as "waiting is no big deal."

* * * * *

Umbrellas left behind in the subway (June 1976)

This Marilyn Monroe poster aims to remind passengers to take their umbrellas with them when they leave the train. The text in the top right corner -- "Kaerazaru kasa" (umbrella of no return) -- is a play on "Kaerazaru Kawa," the Japanese title for "River of No Return," the 1954 movie starring Monroe.

* * * * *

I'll stand up (July 1979)

Uesugi Teppei, a character from the popular manga "Ore wa Teppei," offers to give up his seat to the elderly and infirm.

* * * * *

Do not rush onto the train (April 1979)

This poster advises passengers not to rush onto the train at the last moment. The text (かけこみ禁寺） is a play on the words かけこみ禁止 (kakekomi kinshi - "don't rush onto the train") and かけこみ寺 (Kakekomi-dera - Kakekomi temple), which has long been known as a sanctuary for married women fleeing their husbands.

* * * * *

Clearly show your train pass (September 1978)

The image of Napoleon holding a partially concealed train pass is meant to remind passengers to clearly show their train passes to the station attendant when passing through the gates. The dictionary page in the background appears to be a reference to Napoleon's famous quote, "The word 'impossible' is not in my dictionary."

* * * * *

Humans are forgetful (February 1976)

This poster, which reminds passengers to take their belongings when they leave the train, shows Astro Boy returning a forgotten hat and umbrella to his creator, Osamu Tezuka.

* * * * *

When the bell chimes, it's too late (April 1977)

This poster, which depicts Cinderella rushing from the ball at the stroke of midnight, is meant to warn passengers against the danger of trying to rush into the train after the departure chime sounds.

* * * * *

Mary is tired (December 1977)

The image of Mary carrying baby Jesus aims to encourage passengers to give up their seats to mothers with small children.

* * * * *

No smoking during non-smoking hours (October 1980)

The "Journey to the West" monkey urges passengers not to smoke on the platform during the designated non-smoking hours (7:00-9:30 AM and 5:00-7:00 PM).

* * * * *

You've had too much to drink (October 1976)

This October 1976 poster of a drinking Santa is addressed to the drunks on the train. The text, loosely translated, reads: "I look like Santa because you've had too much to drink. It's only October. If you drink, be considerate of the other passengers."

* * * * *

Wasureemon (June 1980)

Doraemon offers a friendly reminder not to forget your umbrella. The text at the bottom is a suggestion to write your name, address and company name (or school name) on your possessions.

* * * * *

Marcel Marceau (October 1978)

Marcel Marceau gestures toward a priority seat reserved for elderly and handicapped passengers, expecting mothers, and passengers accompanying small children.

* * * * *

I stepped in gum (March 1980)

The image of a cat stepping in gum is a playful twist on the popular children's song "Neko Funjatta" ("I Stepped on a Cat").

* * * * *

Clearly show your train pass (September 1976)

This poster is a reminder for passengers to clearly show their train passes to the station attendant, even when they fly like Superman through the ticket gates.

* * * * *

Please open it (July 1977)

This poster of a melting snowman aims to encourage passengers seated near a window to let cool air in when it is hot inside.

* * * * *

Non-smoking Time (November 1982)

The image of John Wayne on a mock cover of Time magazine serves as a reminder not to smoke on the platform during non-smoking hours (7:00-9:30 AM and 5:00-7:00 PM).

* * * * *

[Source: Manner Poster 100, published by Teito Rapid Transit Authority, 1983]