is a longtime studio executive and former chairman of Toho Co., Ltd. The grandson of Toho founder

Ichizō Kobayashi , occasionally referred to by his pseudonym , was a Japanese industrialist and politician. He is best known as the founder of Hankyu Railway, the Takarazuka Revue, and Toho. He served as Minister of Commerce and Industry between 1940-1941. Lif ...

, he is a graduate of the prestigious

Konan University is a university on the slopes of Mount Rokkō in Higashinada-ku, Kobe, Japan. A private university with approximately 10,000 students, it offers a wide variety of programs to Japanese students, as well as an international exchange program throu ...

. Matsuoka served as Chairman of the Toho Co., Ltd., for 14 years until his retirement in 2009. He had previously served as President and worked for the company for over 50 years having joined in 1957. Matsuoka is credited with helping establish Toho as the preeminent film production, distribution and exhibition company in Japan with his revolutionary and innovative reforms. Established in 1932, Toho is known internationally for its ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...

'' series and the

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

classics such as ''

Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai drama film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The story takes place in 1586 during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. It follows the story of a village of desperate farmers who hire seven ...

'', ''Yojimbo'', and ''

Kagemusha is a 1980 jidaigeki film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It is set in the Sengoku period of Japanese history and tells the story of a lower-class criminal who is taught to impersonate the dying ''daimyō'' Takeda Shingen to dissuade opposing lords fr ...

''. Mr Matsuoka was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the

National Association of Theatre Owners The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) is an American trade organization whose members are the owners of movie theaters. Most of the worldwide major theater chains' operators are members, as are hundreds of independent theater opera ...

ShoWest The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) is an American trade organization whose members are the owners of movie theaters. Most of the worldwide major theater chains' operators are members, as are hundreds of independent theater opera ...

in 2007, and the FIAPF Award for outstanding achievement in film at the 2009

Asia Pacific Screen Awards The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia. In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting and preserving the different cultures th ...

. He has 2 sons,

Shuzo Matsuoka is a retired Japanese professional tennis player, sports commentator, and entertainer. A former Wimbledon quarter-finalist, Matsuoka won one singles title during his career, in Seoul in 1992. In the same year, he reached a career-high ranking ...

, a former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player, and Hiroyasu Matsuoka, who followed his father into the film business and currently serves as the International Head and Head of Movie Sales & Film Division at Toho Co. Ltd.

References

External links

* *
Toho Co.
Toho official webpage (in Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Matsuoka, Isao Film studio executives Japanese businesspeople 1934 births Living people