Amphibious Monster

     Tokyo - There is no myth in Japanese culture that is specific to Godzilla (Gojira in Japanese).  Japan, like most cultures did have folk stories of rampaging monsters and giants.  Some of those stories inspired Godzilla's creators.  The Japanese knew first hand the horrors of an atomic weapon.  With the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki still fresh in the minds of the Japanese consciousness, Godzilla was conceived as a symbol of nuclear weapons. Radiation is a central theme to the creation of Godzilla, for example, Godzilla breathes fire and Godzilla's main food is radiation. 
The appearance of monsters in Westen motion pictures, in 1954, helped inspire creators Eiji Tsubaraya, Tomoyuki Tanaka, and Ishiro Honda, of the Tokyo-Takarazuka Theatre Company (now part of The Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group and known as Toho Company, Limited) a Japanese film studio headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. 
     Godzilla has become a worldwide pop culture icon, starring in 28 films produced by Toho Company, Limited.  Godzilla's appearance has varied slightly over the years, with the overall look staying the same.  Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013), a United States motion picture model animator, inspired Tsubaraya, Tanaka, and Honda to use Harryhausen's fictional Rhedosaurus monster, to create an amphibious reptilian monster based around the loose concept of a dinosaur, with an erect posture, scaly skin, human-like torso with muscular arms, spikes on its back, tall (1954 165 feet; 2014 350 feet), and a cute "I'm thinking",  furrowed brow.  As the film series expanded, some stories took on less serious, even comical ("Son of Godzilla" 1967), undertones, portraying Godzilla as a hero, while other plots still portrayed Godzilla as a destructive monster. 
     Although, Godzilla does not like humans, Godzilla will fight alongside humanity against common threats.  However, it makes no special effort to protect human life or property and will turn against it's human allies on a whim.  When inquired if Godzilla was "good or bad," producer Shogo Tomiyama likened it to a Shinto (God of Destruction) which lacks moral agency and cannot be held to human standards of  good and evil.  See also, www.warnerbros.com.