MINT LUMENS: KAIJU FEST stomps in with a curation of Godzilla films from Japan’s Showa era (1954–1975), spanning the first Godzilla to Terror of Mechagodzilla. This era, produced during Emperor Showa’s reign, marked the birth of kaiju cinema, evolving Godzilla from a terrifying metaphor for nuclear destruction into a beloved cultural icon. Experience epic battles, iconic rivals, and the legacy that made Godzilla the King of the Monsters.

Your Kaiju Fest ticket gives you access to selected movie screenings and the museum's vintage toy collections including - Japanese Kaiju.

Japanese Kaiju

Literally translated to “strange beast”, Kaiju is a genre of Japanese manga, film and television series that emerged in the 1950s post-war Japan featuring giant monsters. Released in 1954 as the first kaiju film, Godzilla was created as an allegory towards the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the Second World War. Being a metaphor for the destructive potential of nuclear weapons, Godzilla was an anti-war vehicle that described the sentiments of Japanese after the war.