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Toho

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This article is about the Japanese film, theatre production, and distribution company. For other uses, seeToho (disambiguation).

Toho Co., Ltd.
Native name
Đông bảo kabushiki gaisha
TōhōKabushiki-gaisha
Company typePublic
TYO:9602
FSE:9602
Nikkei 225component (TYO)
Industry
Predecessors
  • Tokyo-Takarazuka Theatre Company[1]
  • Photo Chemical Laboratory Co., Ltd.[1]
  • J.O. Studio[1]
  • Toho Film Distribution Co., Ltd.[1]
FoundedAugust 12, 1932;92 years ago(1932-08-12)(as Tokyo-Takarazuka Theatre Company)
Tokyo,Japan
FounderIchizō Kobayashi
HeadquartersYūrakuchō,Chiyoda,
Tokyo
,
Japan
Area served
Worldwide, mainly Japan
Key people
Hiroyasu Matsuoka
(CEO, president and director)[2]
Minami Ichikawa
(Senior Managing Executive Officer)[2]
ProductsMotion pictures
Television programs
Video games
ServicesFilm production[2]
Film distribution[2]
Movie theatres[2]
Number of employees
3,297[2]
ParentHankyu Hanshin Toho Group[a]
Divisions
  • Motion Picture Department
  • Theatrical Department
  • Corporate Real Estate Department
Subsidiaries
  • Toho Studios
  • International Television Films
  • Toho-Towa
  • Toho Cinemas
  • Toho Entertainment
  • Toho Music
  • Toho Eizo Bijutsu
  • Toho Costume
  • Toho Stage Craft
  • Toho Stella
  • Toho International
  • Toho Retail
  • Toho Marketing
  • Toho Facilities
  • Toho Building Management
  • Toho Animation
  • Science Saru
Websitewww.toho.co.jp

Toho Co., Ltd.(Đông bảo kabushiki gaisha,Tōhō Kabushiki-gaisha)is a Japanese entertainment company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of films and the production and exhibition of stage plays. Its headquarters is inChiyoda, Tokyo,and is one of the core companies of theOsaka-basedHankyu Hanshin Toho Group.Toho is best known for producing and distributing many ofIshirō HondaandEiji Tsuburaya'skaijuandtokusatsufilms as well as the films ofAkira Kurosawaand theanimeofStudio Ghibli,CoMix Wave Films,TMS Entertainment,andOLM, Inc.The company has released the majority of thehighest-grossing Japanese films,and through its subsidiaries, is the largest film importer in Japan.

Toho's most famous creation isGodzilla,featured in 33 of the company's films. Godzilla,Rodan,Mothra,King Ghidorah,andMechagodzillaare described as Toho's Big Five due to their numerous appearances throughout theGodzillafranchise,as well as spin-offs. Toho has also been involved in the production of numerous anime titles. Its subdivisions are Toho-Towa Company, Limited (Japanese exclusive theatrical distributor ofUniversal PicturesviaNBCUniversal Entertainment Japan), Towa Pictures Company Limited (Japanese exclusive theatrical distributor ofParamount Pictures), Toho Pictures Incorporated,Toho International Inc.,Toho E. B. Company Limited, and Toho Music Corporation & Toho Costume Company Limited. The company is the largest shareholder (7.96%) ofFuji Media Holdings Inc.

Toho is one of the four members of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ), is the largest of Japan's Big Four film studios, and is the only film studio that is a component of theNikkei 225index.

For filmography, seeList of Toho films

History

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Toho was created by the founder of theHankyu Railway,Ichizō Kobayashi,in 1932 as theTokyo-Takarazuka Theatre Company(Kabushiki gaisha Đông Kinh bảo trủng kịch trường,Kabushiki gaisha Tōkyō Takarazuka Gekijō).It managed much of thekabukiin Tokyo and, among other properties, the eponymousTokyo Takarazuka Theatreand theImperial Garden TheaterinTokyo;Toho andShochikuenjoyed a duopoly over theaters in Tokyo for many years.[citation needed]

Labor disputes (1946–1948)

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Main article:Toho strikes
American soldiers outside Toho Studios in August 1948 due to the intensity of the third dispute

After the end ofWorld War II,the newOccupationgovernment allowed and encouraged the formation oflabor unions,which had been banned under the Imperial government.[3]During ageneral strikeof film studio employees beginning in October 1946, a group of Toho's ten top stars led byDenjiro Okochisplit from the main Toho union along with 445 employees. During the resolution of the strike, aclosed-shopprovision with the main union led to the establishment of theShintohoCompany, which comprised the members of the dissenting union and former Toho facilities.[4]

The loss of major stars led to the hiring and training of new stars, includingToshiro Mifune.[4]The contract made after the strike stipulated that Toho would only produce films approved by a committee that included union members, which led to filmmakers gaining unprecedented creative and productive control over their films.[4]While Toho produced only thirteen films in 1947, six Toho films, includingOne Wonderful Sunday,directed byAkira Kurosawa,were ranked among the best ten films of the year inKinema Junpo.[4]However, each film had double or triple the budget of films produced by other studios, and the company suffered severe losses.[5]

In 1948, the new Toho president Tetsuzo Watanabe ordered a return of the wartime quota of 24 films per year and the end of control over production by the union. In April, Toho management announced the dismissal of 1200 employees,[6]with the aim of both cutting expenses and eliminating Communist leaders from the union.[7]Negotiations failed and the union occupied the studio on April 15, joined by activists from theJapan Communist Partyand other organizations, erectingbarricadesand closing the main gates.[6]

On August 13, theTokyo District Courtdecided in Toho's favor,[6]and on the morning of August 19, a district police chief arrived at the front gate to read out the court decision. Two thousand policemen surrounded the studio, reinforced by soldiers, three airplanes, and severalarmored carsand tanks sent by theU.S. Eighth Army.[6][8]The union leaders agreed to end their occupation on the condition the union was not disbanded.[6]

Toho was severely weakened after the strikes and produced only four films in 1948 and five films in 1949, and continued to distribute Shintoho films until the end of 1949.[9]

International expansion (1953–present)

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See also:Toho International

In May 1953, Toho establishedToho International,aLos Angeles-based subsidiary intended to targetNorth AmericanandLatin Americanmarkets.Seven Samuraiwas among the first films offered for foreign sales.[10]

Toho StudiosinSetagaya, Tokyo
TheHibiya Godzilla Squarelocated nearby the headquarters inChiyoda, Tokyo

Toho and Shochiku competed with the influx of Hollywood films and boosted the film industry by focusing on new directors of the likes ofAkira Kurosawa,Kon Ichikawa,Keisuke Kinoshita,Ishirō Honda,andKaneto Shindo.[11]

After several successful film exports to the United States during the 1950s throughHenry G. Saperstein,Toho took over theLa Brea TheatreinLos Angelesto show its films without the need to sell them to a distributor. It was known as the Toho Theatre from the late 1960s until the 1970s.[12]Toho also had a theater inSan Franciscoand opened a theater inNew York Cityin 1963.[13]TheShintohoCompany, which existed until 1961, was named New Toho because it broke off from the original company.[14]Toho has contributed to the production of some American films, includingSam Raimi's 1998 film,A Simple Plan[15]andPaul W. S. Anderson's 2020military science fiction/kaijufilm,Monster Hunter.[16]

In 2019, Toho invested ¥15.4 billion ($14 million) into their Los Angeles-based subsidiaryToho International Inc.as part of their "Toho Vision 2021 Medium-term Management Strategy", a strategy to increase content, platform, real-estate, beat JPY50 billion profits, and increase character businesses on Toho intellectual properties such as Godzilla. Hiroyasu Matsuoka was named the representative director of the US subsidiary.[17]

In 2020, Toho acquired a 34.8% stake in the animation studio TIA, with ILCA and Anima each retaining a 32.6% stake. In 2022, Toho acquired Anima's 32.6% stake to take a controlling 67.4% stake in TIA, making the studio a subsidiary, and ultimately renaming the studio into Toho Animation Studios.[18]

In December 2023, Toho announced their intent to acquire a 25% stake in Fifth Season for $225 million via Toho International. Following the completion of the deal, Fifth Season will be valued at $900 million;CJ ENMwill remain the majority shareholder in the company, with former ownerEndeavoralso continuing to serve as a strategic shareholder. CEOs Graham Taylor and Chris Rice stated that this investment would empower the company to continue the expansion of its premium slate and create opportunities for collaboration between Fifth Season, Toho and CJ ENM to produce global content as well as content produced in Japan.[19]

Following the success ofGodzilla Minus One(2023) as their first self-distributed film in the U.S., Toho declared in March 2024 that Godzilla is their "Intellectual property(IP) treasure "and they had regained retailing rights overseas (which were once abandoned), and now are able to sell, advertise, and distribute their own products to consumers outside Japan directly.[20]The company also said that the film winningBest Visual Effectsat the96th Academy Awardsis helping them gain more recognition and advancing more business extension overseas.[21]

Productions and distributions

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Films

[edit]
Main article:List of Toho films

Television

[edit]

Tokusatsu

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Anime

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Toho Animation

[edit]

Toho Animation is a Japanese anime production founded in 2012, and owned by Toho Co., Ltd., which is one of the top three film distributors in Japan.

Theater

[edit]

Toho has produced revivals and original works. Years shown refer to when they staged each piece.

Video games

[edit]

In more recent years and for a period, they have producedvideo games.One of their first video games was the 1990NESgame titledCircus Caper.Later, they followed with a series of games based on Godzilla and a 1992 game calledSerizawa Nobuo no Birdy Try.It also published games such asSuper Aleste(Space Megaforcein North America). They even worked withBandaionDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,released in Japan in 1988 and in the United States in 1989.

Significant employees

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Toho Cinderella Audition

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The Toho Cinderella Audition is an audition to discover new young actresses, first held in 1984 and irregularly held since then. It is considered one of Japan's "Big Three Actress Auditions", along withOscar Promotion's National Bishōjo Contest andHoripro's Talent Scout Caravan.[31]

No. Year The Grand Prix Special Jury Prize Others
1 1984 Yasuko Sawaguchi Minako Fujishiro
2 1987 Megumi Odaka Maki Mizuno
3 1991 Keiko Imamura Sayaka Ōsawa
4 1996 Maho Nonami Misato Tanaka
Asami Yamamoto
5 2000 Masami Nagasawa Chihiro Otsuka
6 2006 Manami Kurose Yūko Masumoto
Ayaka Ikezawa
7 2011 Moka Kamishiraishi Mone Kamishiraishi
Narumi Akizuki
Junna Matsushima
Hirona Yamazaki 		Ryō Ogawa (New Generation Award)
Minami Hamabe(New Generation Award)
8 2016 Riko Fukumoto Yuria Kakizawa
Hina Suzuki
Amane Kamiya
Neo Inoue
9 2022 Noa Shiroyama Airi Nishikawa Kōe Odani (Men's category "Toho New Face" )
Honoha Yamato (Musical Award)
Riana Hirano(Finalist)

Headquarters

[edit]

Toho's headquarters, the Toho Hibiya Building(Đông bảo ngày so cốc ビル,Tōhō Hibiya Biru),are inYūrakuchō,Chiyoda, Tokyo.The company moved into its current headquarters in April 2005.[32]

See also

[edit]

References

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  1. ^abcdTanaka, Tomoyuki(1983). "Toho Special Effects Prehistory Films".The Complete History of Toho Special Effects Movies(in Japanese). Toho Publishing. pp. 82–83.ISBN4-924609-00-5.
  2. ^abcdef"Xí nghiệp điểm chính".Toho.RetrievedMarch 13,2024.
  3. ^Hirano, Kyōko (1992).Mr. Smith Goes to Tokyo: The Japanese Cinema Under the American Occupation.Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 205.ISBN9781560981572.RetrievedNovember 4,2023.
  4. ^abcdHirano (1992), pp. 218–223
  5. ^Richie, Donald; Anderson, Joseph L. (1982).The Japanese Film: Art and Industry(Expanded ed.). Princeton University Press. p. 166.ISBN9780691053516.RetrievedNovember 4,2023.
  6. ^abcdeHirano (1992), pp. 223-229
  7. ^"Japan's movie-makers move to oust communist elements".Nippon Times.April 9, 1948.
  8. ^Richie & Anderson (1982), p. 170
  9. ^Hirano (1992), pp. 230-236
  10. ^Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017,p. 148.
  11. ^Kindem, Gorham Anders (2000).The international movie industry.Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. p. 17.
  12. ^Fox La Brea Theatre in Los Angeles, CA.Cinema Treasures. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
  13. ^"Toho"Far East Film NewsDecember 25, 1963.
  14. ^"Nudes! Guns! Ghosts! The Sensational Cinema of Shintoho".The Cinematheque.Archived fromthe originalon August 6, 2019.RetrievedMay 10,2022.
  15. ^Cox, Dan (December 21, 1997)."Fonda has 'A Simple Plan'".Variety.RetrievedJuly 15,2018.
  16. ^"Ánh họa モンスターハンター".Toho(in Japanese). Archived fromthe originalon February 14, 2020.RetrievedMay 10,2022.
  17. ^Frater, Patrick (April 18, 2019)."'Godzilla' Owner Toho Poised for Expansion in Hollywood ".Variety.Archivedfrom the original on April 18, 2019.RetrievedApril 18,2019.
  18. ^Pineda, Rafael Antonio (September 20, 2022)."TOHO Acquires Controlling Stake in TIA, Renames it to Toho Animation Studio".Anime News Network.RetrievedDecember 18,2022.
  19. ^Shackleton, Liz (December 10, 2023)."Japan's Toho Acquires 25% Stake In Fifth Season; Korea's CJ ENM Remains Majority Shareholder".Deadline Hollywood.RetrievedDecember 11,2023.
  20. ^"Đông bảo “ゴジラ-1.0” アカデミー thưởng được thưởng が khai く hải ngoại thị trường ".The Nikkei(in Japanese). March 11, 2024.RetrievedMarch 13,2024.
  21. ^"“ゴジラビジネス” hoàn toàn 覚 tỉnh đông bảo, thương phẩm hóa 権 mua い lệ し - Nhật Bản kinh tế tin tức ".The Nikkei(in Japanese). March 12, 2024.RetrievedMarch 13,2024.
  22. ^"Tác phẩm một lãm /PSYCHO-PASS サイコパス／TOHO animation STORE | đông bảo アニメーションストア".Tohoanimationstore.RetrievedMarch 3,2022.
  23. ^"ファンタジスタドール – アニメ｜ đông bảo WEB SITE".Toho.co.jp.RetrievedMarch 3,2022.
  24. ^"メガネブ! – アニメ｜ đông bảo WEB SITE".Toho.co.jp.RetrievedMarch 3,2022.
  25. ^"アオハライド – アニメ｜ đông bảo WEB SITE".Toho.co.jp.RetrievedMarch 3,2022.
  26. ^"『セブンナイツ レボリューション - anh hùng の 継 thừa giả -』 – アニメ｜ đông bảo WEB SITE".Toho.co.jp.RetrievedMarch 3,2022.
  27. ^"Kaiju No. 8 Manga Gets Anime".Anime News Network.RetrievedAugust 4,2022.
  28. ^Trung xuyên, thật tuệ (March 19, 2024)."ミュージカル『ジョジョ の kỳ diệu な mạo 険 ファントムブラッド』 quan kịch レポート | ローチケ diễn kịch tuyên ngôn!".engekisengen(in Japanese).RetrievedJuly 9,2024.
  29. ^"ミュージカル “こ の thế giới の phiến ngung に” を thấy たワハハ ( tiểu nguyên đốc の アニマゲ tỉnh ): Mặt trời mới mọc tin tức デジタル ".asahi.May 17, 2024.RetrievedJuly 9,2024.
  30. ^Galbraith, Stuart IV (2002).The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune.Faber and Faber, Inc.pp. 25, 440.ISBN978-0-571-19982-2.
  31. ^Nhật Bản kinh tế tin tức xã ・ ngày kinh BP xã (August 11, 2016)."Trường trạch まさみらを xuất hiện lớp lớp “Đông bảo シンデレラ” が tân thời đại へ｜エンタメ! ｜NIKKEI STYLE ".NIKKEI STYLE(in Japanese).RetrievedJuly 1,2022.
  32. ^"Hội xã の duyên cáchArchivedFebruary 20, 2014, at theWayback Machine".Toho. Retrieved on February 26, 2010." 2005 năm 4 nguyệt đông bảo bổn xã を đông bảo ngày so cốc ビル ( Đông Kinh đều ngàn đại điền khu có lặc đinh một đinh mục 2－2 ) に di 転. "

Sources

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  • Ryfle, Steve; Godziszewski, Ed (2017).Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa.Wesleyan University Press.ISBN978-0-8195-7087-1.

Notes

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  1. ^The controlling shareholders of Toho are affiliated with the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. They are:Hankyu Hanshin Holdings(12.81%), Hankyu Hanshin Properties (8.51%), andH2O Retailing(7.67%).
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