The Three Treasures

The Three Treasures (日本誕生, Nippon Tanjō; lit. 'The Birth of Japan') is a 1959 Japanese epic religious fantasy film directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced by Toho as their celebratory thousandth film, it was the most expensive Japanese film produced at the time and is based on the legends Kojiki and Nihon Shoki and the origins of Shinto. The film was the highest-grossing film of 1959 for Toho and the second highest grossing domestic production in Japan for the year. The film was shown in Japan in 1959 as Nippon Tanjo (The Birth of Japan) with a running time of 182 minutes, but it was released in the United States in December 1960 as The Three Treasures, edited down to only 112 minutes. It was also shown internationally under the title Age of the Gods.