I had students nag me for several years about Godzilla. I finally incorporated it into my lesson plan based around the 'cause' for its creation.
(It was due to lack of knowledge about what would happen when the first hydrogen bomb was tested in Bikini, and it unfortunately involved a Japanese fishing vessel.) Aikichi Kuboyama, one of the fishermen onboard, was fatally affected by the radiation which wafted on soft sea breezes over 80 miles away from the test site. The fishing vessel, the Fukuryu Maru (Lucky Dragon) was 80 miles away from the Pacific hydrogen bomb testing site at Bikini in about 1954.
From the Preface pages of "The Unicorn Book of 1954" - Morse, Joseph Laffan Funk and Wagnals, 1955.
I know that this might not be considered by some to be Japanese culture, but it is an
interesting aside from the historical 'reality' that Tokyo hasn't been rebuilt that many
times after kaiju (monster) attacks. These links should give you some information that the
kids (and of course YOU) should enjoy!
Resources:
There are a lot of good Godzilla web sites out there, so I've tried to narrow it
down a to few of the best ones.
Barry's TEMPLE OF GODZILLA - This is one of the best Godzilla sites on the net. Lots of info, pictures, sounds and much more.
GOJI-WORLD - Excellent site, written in English and Japanese, with good information on Godzilla movies and collectibles. Goji-World proclaims itself to be the Internet's Longest Running Godzilla Site, in any language! Established 1994
Godzilla - The American - Sony release
The following is a magazine article from Look Japan from 1994. This is a good short reference on the great green atomic gecko.
