Editing Gamera (section)

===Conception===
{{see also|Nezura}}
The name {{nihongo|''Gamera''|ガメラ}} derives from the Japanese ''kame'' ("turtle"), and the suffix ''-ra'', a suffix shared by such other ''kaiju'' characters as [[Godzilla]] (''Gojira'') and [[Mothra]].{{sfn|Di Giorgio|Gigante|Gordiano|2012|p=64}} Gamera's name was spelled ''Gamela'' on a French newspaper in the 1965 film, and ''Gammera'' in the title of ''Gammera the Invincible'', the re-titled American release of the first film in the franchise, ''Gamera, the Giant Monster''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gammera_the_invincible_1966|title=Gammera The Invincible (1966)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=8 July 2019}}</ref><ref name=dvdtalk>{{cite web|last=Galbraith IV|first=Stuart|author-link=Stuart Galbraith IV|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/42231/gamera-the-giant-monster/|title=Gamera - The Giant Monster|date=18 May 2010|website=DVD Talk|access-date=8 July 2019}}</ref> The character was named by [[Masaichi Nagata]], who pushed ahead the name to contend Godzilla, while other executives were against it for its resemblance to Godzilla, however others eventually didn't come up with any sufficient names for the turtle kaiju along with their reluctances to resist the president.<ref name=Treasured />

The original idea for Gamera was developed by Yonejiro Saito ([[:ja:斉藤米二郎|jp]]),{{sfn|Galbraith IV|1996|p=177}} [[Masaichi Nagata]], [[Hidemasa Nagata]], [[Niisan Takahashi]],<ref name=BraveGuide /> and [[Noriaki Yuasa]]. The character was created as a property of the production company [[Daiei Film]], and was intended to compete with the [[Godzilla (franchise)|''Godzilla'' film series]], owned by rival studio [[Toho]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Clarke|first=Frederick S.|date=1996|title=Cinefantastique| volume=28|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eyEnAQAAIAAJ|magazine=Cinefantastique|page=3|access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/287002/heres-why-we-probably-wont-see-gamera-in-godzilla-king-of-the-monsters/|title=Here's Why We Probably Won't See Gamera in GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS|date=22 December 2018|website=Dread Central|access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Raymond|first=Nicholas|url=https://screenrant.com/godzilla-king-monsters-atlantis-new-titans/|title=Godzilla: King Of The Monsters' Atlantis Sets Up Multiple New Titans|date=21 June 2019|website=ScreenRant|access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref> Prior to the idea of the flying turtle monster, there existed preceding concepts of an [[octopus]] kaiju called {{Nihongo|Dagora|ダゴラ|lead=yes}}{{refn|Zedus appeared in the 2006 film ''[[Gamera the Brave]]'' was originally designed to be a cephalopod monster where its title {{Nihongo|"''Sea Demon Beast''"|海魔獣|Kaimajū|lead=yes}} closely resembles Dagora's title {{Nihongo|"''Giant Sea Demon''"|大海魔|Daikaima|lead=yes}}.<ref name=BraveGuide />|group="note"}} and {{Nihongo|[[Nezura 1964|Nezura]]|ネズラ|lead=yes}} the rat monsters.<ref name=BraveGuide />{{refn|In 2020 and 2021, Hiroto Yokokawa ([[:ja:横川寛人|jp]]) directed ''[[Nezura 1964]]''<ref name=Nezura1964 /> and a short film based on "Dagora" titled {{Nihongo|''Yatsuashi''|ヤツアシ|lead=yes}}.<ref>Nezura 1964 Official X Account, 10 February 2021, [https://x.com/nezura1964/status/1359354012051533824 大映は『大群獣ネズラ』以前に本物のタコを用いた『大魔獣ダゴラ』という企画がありました。『ネズラ1964』では、この「ダゴラ」については割愛しましたが、代わりに同ミニチュアセットで横川監督による短編『ヤツアシ』を撮影しました。], X (Twitter)</ref>|group="note"}}

There had been contradicting testimonies regarding the original conceptor and models of Gamera. [[Noriaki Yuasa]] believed it was [[Niisan Takahashi]]'s idea, while Takahashi noted that he heard [[Masaichi Nagata]] came up with the idea of a "giant, flying turtle".{{refn|Allegedly, Nagata witnessed either a turtle-shaped cloud on a small island, or a turtle-shaped small island, or he had a hallucination of a "flying turtle", during the flight to [[United States]].<ref name=Karasawa /> This is comparable to the anecdote of [[Tomoyuki Tanaka]] to come up with the idea of [[Godzilla]] by watching the Pacific ocean during the flight from [[Indonesia]] after the failure of a co-production movie, which was one of preceding projects of ''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'', although Tanaka's episode was later confirmed as a fabrication added later.<ref name=Ono2018 />|group="note"}} There had also been rumors of "lewd turtles" as the model(s) of Gamera, either true stories or jokes, among Daiei staffs including Yonejiro Saito ([[:ja:斉藤米二郎|jp]]).{{refn|One inhabited a pond of a [[shinto shrine]] nearby a Daiei studio, and the other along the beach in [[Nagasaki Prefecture]]. These turtles often rotated on the water-surface, and were regarded "lewd" as they showed affinities to young women. According to the rumors, the turtle in the pond usually appeared when there were female visitors, while the one in Nagasaki approached female beachgoers when they were swimming. Some of Daiei staffs believed the former as the model of Gamera, while Yonejiro Saito ([[:ja:斉藤米二郎|jp]]) commented that a hostess from Nagasaki shared the story of the latter, possibly as a joke, and it became Gamera's model.<ref name=Treasured>[[Noriaki Yuasa]] (Superviser), 1 September 2001, ''Daikaiju Gamera Treasured Photo Book'', p,12, p.29, p.77, p.87, pp.97-98, pp.131-135, [[Tokuma Shoten]]</ref> Therefore, there had been another rumors among Daiei staffs that "Gamera was originally intended to be a protector of women rather than children".<ref name=Karasawa /><ref name=Ushio /> |group="note"}} Alternatively, Tomio Sagisu ([[:ja:うしおそうじ|jp]]) who was a student of [[Eiji Tsuburaya]] and had repeatedly associated with Daiei Film and crews of the ''Gamera'' and other Daiei tokusatsu productions, [[#P Productions|claimed that the concept of Gamera originates in his demo reel]], while [[Yonesaburo Tsukiji]], another student of Tsuburaya, declared it was [[Hidemasa Nagata]]'s idea.<ref name=Ushio>Tomio Sagisu ([[:ja:うしおそうじ|jp]]), 20 June 1999. ''[[Spectreman]] vs. [[Kaiketsu Lion-Maru|Lion-Maru]]: Souji Ushio and P Productions'', p.91, p.176, [[Ohta Publishing]]</ref>
[[File:Ddol-mangM.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Black Tortoise]], a possible source of inspiration for Gamera.]]

Gamera's turtle-like design may have been inspired by the [[Black Tortoise]], one of the [[Four Symbols]] of the [[Chinese constellations]] in [[East Asian mythology]].<ref name=kotz>{{cite web|last=Kotz|first=Sean|url=http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2006/03/19/why-the-heck-is-gamera-a-turtle/|title=Why the Heck is Gamera a Turtle?|date=19 March 2006|website=[[SciFi Japan TV|SciFi Japan]] |access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref> The Black Tortoise is known as ''Genbu'' in [[Japanese language|Japanese]], and is usually depicted as a turtle entwined together with a [[Snake in Chinese mythology|snake]].<ref name=kotz /> Each of the Four Symbols are said to act as guardians over each of the four [[cardinal direction]]s: with the dragon ''[[Azure Dragon|Seiryu]]'' in the [[east]], the tiger ''[[White Tiger (China)|Byakko]]'' in the [[west]], the bird ''[[Vermilion Bird|Suzaku]]'' in the [[south]], and the tortoise ''Genbu'' in the [[north]].<ref name=kotz /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201903190076.html|title=Tomb murals of guardian spirits tapped for Japan treasure status|date=19 March 2019|work=The Asahi Shimbun|access-date=7 July 2019|archive-date=8 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708211533/http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201903190076.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In ''Gamera, the Giant Monster'', the first film in the franchise, Gamera is depicted as awakening in the [[Arctic]], the northernmost region on Earth.<ref name=kotz /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scified.com/news/a-brief-history-of-gamera-celebrating-50-years-of-spinning-turtles|title=A Brief History of Gamera: Celebrating 50 Years of Spinning Turtles|date=29 November 2015|website=Scified.com|access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref> ''[[Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris]]'', the 11th film in the franchise, contains a scene featuring a book describing the Four Symbols, including ''Genbu''.<ref name=kotz /> Before the character was officially referenced to the Black Tortoise in the 1999 film, designs and background stories of Gamera and [[Gyaos]] ([[:ja:ギャオス|jp]]) were also inspired by ancient [[China|Chinese]] aspects during the production of ''[[Gamera: Guardian of the Universe]]'' while the original script of the film focused more on ancient [[India]].<ref name=Perfection />

[[Masaichi Nagata]] set the policy to make Gamera as the hero of children.<ref name=Ono2018 /> Gamera's characteristics as a hero who protects humanity and animals, his non-[[fauna]] diet, his emerging from the north,<ref name=Fantasy /> and his liking of light and nuclear explosions were also designed to differ from [[Godzilla]] having a hatred for humanity, man-made lights, and nuclear explosions. While Godzilla may represent a terror of nuclear war, Gamera was aimed to be a contrasting character,<ref name=Doland /> whom children can always believe in, as an [[antithesis]] to adults trying to manipulate children with [[nationalism]] and [[propaganda]],{{refn|The [[Cold War]], which affected film productions such as both of ''Gamera'' and ''[[Godzilla]]'' franchises, ''[[Dr. Strangelove]]'', and ''[[Fail Safe (1964 film)|Fail Safe]]'', utilized innocence of children as political tools.<ref name=Ono2018 /> |group="note"}} based on [[Noriaki Yuasa]]'s own traumatic experiences of pre and post-war situations as a child.<ref name=OFS1995 /><ref name=Karasawa /><ref name=YuasaInterview>{{cite web |author=David Milner, Yoshihiko Shibata |date=July 1996 |title= Noriaki Yuasa Interview |url= http://www.davmil.org/www.kaijuconversations.com/yuasa.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210302221436/http://www.davmil.org/www.kaijuconversations.com/yuasa.htm |archive-date=2021-03-02 |access-date=2025-01-01}}</ref> [[Hidemasa Nagata]]'s intention to make the franchise child-friendly was also due to his desire to create positive influences for children.<ref name=Treasured /> In addition, while a nuclear explosion played roles in both ''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' and ''Gamera, the Giant Monster'', the latter didn't symbolize it to illustrate negative aspects of the humanity unlike the Godzilla film.<ref name=YuasaInterview />

Under [[Masaichi Nagata]], Daiei Film distributed the re-released edition of ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]'' in 1952 and ''[[The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms]]'' in 1954. The former was the first [[post-war]] release of [[Monster movie|monster films]] in Japan, and these distributions might have influenced productions of ''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' and the ''Gamera'' franchise.{{refn|''Gamera, the Giant Monster'' depicted the titular monster to being awoken with a nuclear explosion in the Arctic who later destroys a [[lighthouse]], akin to ''The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms''. There also exist minor references to the novelization of ''King Kong'', such as relationships between titular monsters and humans and [[pet]]s of the same or related motif with the titular monsters. Subsequent Gamera films in Showa and Heisei eras also bear remembrances in plot to ''King Kong''.<ref name=OFS1995 /><ref name=Ono2018 />|group="note"}}<ref name=Noma /><ref name=Ui />

Masaichi Nagata, who pushed ahead the production of ''Gamera, the Giant Monster'', solely supported the film while others (including Noriaki Yuasa himself) anticipated it to flop since the beginning but couldn't resist Masaichi's authority and unwillingly changed their reviews, and even Yuasa was baffled with its unexpected success.<ref name=Ono2018 /><ref name=YuasaInterview />