RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!! GODZILLA IS ATTACKING THE CITY!!! Just kidding. When you stop and think about it, it seems only natural that the Japanese would erect a statue commemorating their favorite city stomping lizard. This statue is found in the Ginza area of Tokyo where Godzilla first ran amuck in his 1954 movie debut. A plaque is attached to the statue with the phrase 「最後の一匹とは思えない」or "I don't think we've seen the last of him." And now, a brief note on the etymology of the name Godzilla. Godzilla is the English translation of the lizard's original Japanese name "Gojira." Gojira is actually a combination of two Japanese words; "Kujira" which means whale, and "Gorira" which means gorilla. There you have it, the "gorilla whale." "Gorilla" alludes to the massive size and strength of the beast while "whale" pays homage to his home in the sea.