*Original Illustration by Myself

ゴジラ モスラ
FOREWORD:
This essay is dedicated to Kazuki Ōmori (大森 一樹) who
passed away in 12 November 2022 as the essay is being made. He
was one of the leading men during the Heisei era of Godzilla movies.
May his legacies and contributions to the Japanese film industry live
on forever in our hearts. Rest in Peace. Source: Wikipedia

MOVIE SUMMARY – GODZILLA VS MOTHRA /ゴジラ vs モスラ (1992):

The events in the movie take place in the early 1990s. The movie opens with scientists
observing a meteor strike within the Pacific Ocean. Suddenly, a large thundering roar was
heard, and it was the legendary Kaiju himself, Godzilla, who had risen from his slumber. In the
other side of ocean in Indonesia, Infant Island was affected by such large meteor impact,
removing part of the land. A gigantic egg was then revealed, situated within the Marutomo
Corporation site, who had been extracting resources from the island.
We are then introduced with the main character, archaeologist Takuya Fujito, who was
exploring an ancient tomb in Thailand to steal an artifact. As he barely escapes the tomb,
Takuya is apprehended by the local police, and is sent into prison for theft. He is then visited
by Japanese government officials, and his ex-wife, Masako Tezuka. In exchange for Takuya’s
release, he has to guide them in an expedition on Infant Island, where the Egg was found.
Takuya, Masako and a Marutomo associate, Ando, went by boat from Thailand and
arrived in Indonesia. Near the egg, they discovered ancient cave paintings of gigantic moths
in battle. Suddenly, two fairies appeared and introduced themselves as the “Cosmos” (also 小
美人), spiritual beings that praise Mothra. Mothra was the creature that is said to be incubating
inside the gigantic egg. She was an ancient being that guarded the earth for thousands of
years, until humans disrupted the environment. The disruption caused another ancient
creature, Battra, to emerge, and seek vengeance on the human race for their atrocities.
The egg was then transported to Japan, when suddenly, a larval form of Battra
emerged near the coast of Japan. Battra went ashore near Nagoya, and demolished
everything in its path. The JSDF (Japanese Self-Defence Force) tried to defend the city, but
was not successful. As it was attacked near Nagoya TV Tower, Battra sensed the transport
ship carrying Mothra’s Egg, and went back into the sea to retrieve it. Near the Phillipines,
Godzilla emerged near the transport ship. Fearing for their lives, Takuya was forced to
deattach the egg from the ship in order for them to escape from Battra and Godzilla, making
Ando furious. Godzilla attacked Mothra’s Egg with its atomic breath, making the egg crack
until the Mothra larva emerged. As Battra approached the ship, Godzilla started to attack
Battra, until they both fell into the depths of the sea, allowing Mothra’s larva to escape.
The descent of Godzilla and Battra caused the tectonic
plates to shift rapidly, causing increasing volcanic activity. As this
threat lingers, the Cosmos were kidnapped by a Marutomo
employee. Due to the larva already being hatched, corporate
executive of Marutomo, Tomokane, intended to use the Cosmos
instead as a mascot for his company. Blinded by corporate greed,
his decision caused the Mothra larva to emerge in Tokyo to save
the Cosmos. In order to prevent Mothra from rampaging the city,
Takuya, Masako, Midori, and
the Cosmos
Midori, Takuya’s daughter, asked the Cosmos to calm Mothra
down. They abliged, causing an injured Mothra to hibernate on the
National Diet Building, spraying silk all over herself to evolve into her final form.
In the climax of the movie, Mount Fuji suddenly erupted due to the tectonic shifts. As
Godzilla emerged from the ground and Battra transforms into its final form in the sea, Mothra

HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY JAPAN – FALL SEMESTER 2022

escapes from her cocoon, all ready for the final battle. Near the Yokohama Cosmo World
Theme Park, the three Kaiju face off against each other. Being seen as a larger threat, Mothra
and Battra decided to settle their differences, and attacked Godzilla together. Godzilla fires
his atomic breath at the iconic Yokohama Ferris Wheel, almost killing Mothra. Luckily, Battra
grabs the Wheel, and uses it against Godzilla. Finally, both of them carry Godzilla back into the
ocean. Unfortunately, Godzilla gained consciousness, and attacked Battra. Mothra was forced
to release them both, sending them to plummet into the depths of the ocean. As things resolve,
Mothra then rests at Haneda Airport. Her wings flutter, as she ascends into the sky, ready to
save humanity once more in the upcoming adventures.

MOVIE ANALYSIS:
This movie was the fourth entry in the Heisei Godzilla series, which started in 1984
with “The Return of Godzilla”. This film was once again written by the legendary Kazuki
Ōmori, and directed by Takao Okawara. During the time of release, it can be stated that the
audience reception of this movie was outstanding. It was the highest-grossing film in Japan
during its year of release. It is one of the highest grossing Toho Godzilla movies to date, having
sold 4.2 million tickets and earning 2.22 billion Yen at the time of release, being only second
to Shin Godzilla, which was released quite recently. As interesting as the numbers are, it is
much more interesting to look into the internalities of the movies. What is it that makes this
movie as well received as it did? Keeping in mind that there was already a Mothra vs Godzilla
Movie back in 1964, what sort of changes were made in this entry?
I will discuss the movie in terms of its Theme and Political Message, the background of
Japanese society in the time of its release, its Cultural Significance, and a few interesting facts.

• Chapter 1: Theme and Political Message

The Godzilla franchise in and of itself has always been focused on one big theme,
which is the relationship between mankind and nature. In the original movie back in 1954,
it was how the abuse of atomic power could anger nature, and in turn, wreak havoc on the
society. In this entry, the theme is about environmental exploitation and commercialization.
Such a message is exemplified by the Marutomo Company, a fictional construction
company in the movie, which is depicted as a corporate juggernaut that exploits nature in
order to make profits. This is further “caricatured” by the head of the company, the
character named Takeshi Tomokane. Throughout the movie, his goal was solely to exploit
the emergence of Mothra into profit by making it a tourist attraction. This serves as an
antithesis to the main cast and even the Kaiju themselves, who were siding with nature.
As similar as it its predecessor (Mothra vs Godzilla 1964), I think that this film is more
straightforward about its pro-environment message, but not in a good way. Both movies
have businessmen-like characters who could not care less about the environment, but the
original movie in 1964 portrays the character in a more realistic and subtle way. Here, the
decisions of Takeshi Tomokane as a head of a company are almost cartoonish, such as
when they abducted the Cosmos while knowing that Mothra will definitely come after them
and cause destruction in Tokyo.
Another thematic element that I think they are trying to flesh out in this movie is about
Good vs Evil, having two gigantic God-like creatures that clash against each other. In this
movie, I think Mothra represents the all-forgiving God, still helping mankind even with their
wrongdoings. However, Battra represents the furious God, seeking to make mankind pay
for the destruction that they have caused. When these two powerful beings are faced with
a common enemy, which is Godzilla, they need to settle their differences in order to save
nature, which in turn also saves the human-race. I feel like this film gives another
interesting layer to the Good vs Evil aspect with the existence of Battra. In the original 1964
film, it was a purely two-sided battle between Godzilla and Mothra.

HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY JAPAN – FALL SEMESTER 2022

• Chapter 2: Background of Japan Upon Release (1992)
The year 1992 was an interesting one for Japan. It was one of the final years in the
20th century when the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) took power. As the start of the “Lost
Decade”, the economy went through a standstill, as the asset bubble was burst just a year
before. Given the circumstances, Japan started to increase its political and economic
relations with other nations, such as when they passed the bill to allow national military to
participate in the UN’s ventures. A very symbolic event of this was Emperor Akihito, who
at that time became the first Japanese Emperor to visit mainland China.
With all of this, it is clear that Japan is opening up more to International Relations. It
so happens that during the early 1990s, after the height of the cold war, the Earth Summit
was held Rio, Brazil, with Japan also participating. As a result of the summit, which
focuses a lot on environmental issues, countries are urged to take extensive measures to
ensure environmental and national sustainability. Japan obliged, and enacted several
policies, one of them being the Bill of Basic Environmental Law, which was finally
submitted to the Diet in 1993. Such a situation was a wake-up call for Japan not only in
terms of its own environment, but also the environmental impacts that it had caused in
other nations. In the post war era, Japan relied heavily on Southeast Asian nations,
including Indonesia, for foreign lumber. A lot of extensive logging happened in Indonesia,
which sparked international criticism. With the Bill being passed, Japan eased on these
practices, and they even warmed relationships with ASEAN (Southeast Asian Nations).

• Chapter 3: Cultural Significance

Even with this movie’s strong environmental messages that strongly reflects Japan’s
situation back then, it might not be the only driving force to its success. NOSTALGIA is the
other driving force. At that time, it has been decades since people have seen Godzilla
facing off Mothra on the big screen. In other words, after Godzilla’s reemergence in 1984,
it is only natural that Toho would redo this “Royal Rumble” with a soft Reboot of the original.
However, if compared to the original, this movie was more light-hearted, and had more
“western influences” within its story. This is also representative of a more westernized
and developed Japan in 1992 if compared to its society back in 1964. The most apparent
example is the scenes with Takuya, Masako, and Ando in the Indonesian Island, which is
clearly inspired by the western Indiana Jones series back in the 1980s. There are zero
murders and casualties shown in this film, which is very different from the original. In the
original 1964 film, the corporate greed of the company’s leader led to him murdering his
accomplice, which was not kid-friendly at the slightest. With the Godzilla franchise being
already established as a name brand, and with its kid-friendly, westernized tone, both
national and international audiences were more inclined to see Godzilla vs Mothra 1992.

• Interesting Facts (Additional)

− The lyrics of Mothra’s song (モスラの歌), that was sung in the film by the Cosmos was
actually derived from the Indonesian language, and was transliterated into Japanese
in Katakana. The lyrics were as follows:
日本語 Indonesian (Original)
モスラ ヤ、モスラ Mosura ya, Mosura
ドゥンガンカサクヤン、インドウムウ Dengan kesaktian, indukmu
ルストウィラードア、ハンバ ハンバ Restuilah doa, hamba-hamba
ムヤン、ランダ、バンウンラ ダン、 -mu yang, rendah bangunlah dan,
トゥンジュンカンラ、カサクヤーンム tunjukkanlah, kesaktianmu

HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY JAPAN – FALL SEMESTER 2022

SELF REFLECTION (Non-Essential)

I thank you Professor for giving me this chance to

look at the Godzilla franchise in a more historical way as
a fan. I have loved the Godzilla franchise for the longest
time. When I was around 6 years old, I saw the original,
and it became my very first exposure to the Japanese
film industry. Given how strong the message was, it
became one of my motivators to come here to Japan and
study Civil Engineering. Disaster prevention is not yet
sufficient in Indonesia, and I know that firsthand and also
through the messages in the Godzilla movies.

This essay made me realize what made these

Kaiju films so special, and why many people are also fans
of them. I can now see movies not only as entertainment,
but also as historical representations of the society at the
time of their releases. I hope such effects will also be Poster of Godzilla vs Mothra (1992)
experienced by the others in the course. that I bought off Nakano Broadway
and displayed in my dorm room
This is me showing my love for Godzilla (All photos are
taken by myself):

HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY JAPAN – FALL SEMESTER 2022