() is a Japanese film and

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought ...

production and

distribution company Distribution (or place) is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. Distribution is the process of making a product or service available for the consumer or business user who needs it. This can be done directly by the producer or service ...

. It also produces and distributes

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

films, in particular those produced by

Bandai Namco Filmworks , previously and still famously known as Sunrise Inc., is a Japanese animation studio founded in September 1972 and is based in Ogikubo, Tokyo. Its former names were also Soeisha, Nippon Sunrise and Sunrise Studio. Its primary division, , is re ...

(which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all, anime films produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks). Its best remembered directors include

Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in t ...

Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed about one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include '' The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939), '' The Life of Oharu'' (1952), '' Uge ...

Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967. Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook. He made primarily shomin-geki ("common people drama") films with female protagonists, ...

Keisuke Kinoshita was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Ronald Berganbr>"A satirical eye on Japan: Keisuke Kinoshita" ''The Guardian'', 5 January 1999. While lesser-known internationally than contemporaries such as Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and ...

and

Yōji Yamada is a Japanese film director best known for his '' Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series of films and his Samurai Trilogy ('' The Twilight Samurai'', '' The Hidden Blade'' and '' Love and Honor''). Biography He was born in Osaka, but due to his father's j ...

. It has also produced films by highly regarded independent and "loner" directors such as

Takashi Miike is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over one hundred theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films run through a variety of different genres, and range from violent a ...

Takeshi Kitano is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, filmmaker, and author. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. With th ...

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, dy ...

Masaki Kobayashi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, best known for the epic trilogy ''The Human Condition'' (1959–1961), the samurai films ''Harakiri'' (1962) and ''Samurai Rebellion'' (1967), and the horror anthology ''Kwaidan'' (1964). ''Senses ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

ese New Wave director

Hou Hsiao-hsien Hou Hsiao-hsien (; born 8 April 1947) is a Mainland Chinese-born Taiwanese film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a leading figure in world cinema and in Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement. He won the Golden Lion at the Venic ...

. Shochiku is one of the four members of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ), and the oldest of Japan's "Big Four" film studios.

History

As Shochiku Kinema

The company was founded in 1895 as a

production company and later began producing films in 1920. Shochiku is considered the oldest company in Japan involved in present-day film production, but

Nikkatsu is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio, founded in 1912 during the silent film era. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literal ...

began earlier as a pure film studio in 1912. Founded by the brothers Takejirō Ōtani (大谷竹次郎) and Matsujirō Shirai (白井松次郎), it was named “Matsutake” in 1902 after the combined '' kunyomi'' reading of the ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subse ...

'' ''take'' (

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

) and ''matsu'' (

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

) from their names, reflecting the traditional three symbols of happiness: bamboo, pine, and plum. The ''

onyomi are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequent ...

'' reading of ''Shōchiku'' first appeared in 1920 with the founding of the film production subsidiary "Shōchiku Kinema Gōmei-sha". Shochiku grew quickly in the early years, expanding its business to many other Japanese live theatrical styles, including '' Noh'' and ''

Bunraku (also known as ) is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or ( puppeteer ...

'', and established a near monopoly due to its ownership of theaters, as well as ''kabuki'' and '' shimpa'' drama troupes. The company began making films in 1920, about a decade after its main rival Nikkatsu. The company sought to break away from the prevailing pattern of '' jidai-geki'' and to emulate

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

standards. It was the first film studio to abandon the use of female impersonators and brought new ideas, including the

star system A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large group of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a '' star cluster'' or ''galaxy'', although, broadly speakin ...

and the

sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a soundproof, large structure, building, or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or ...

to Japan. It built its main studio at Kamata, named Shochiku Kamata Studio, between Tokyo and Yokohama, and hired Henry Kotani, a Japanese who had worked in Hollywood as an actor and cameraman to direct its first film, ''Island Woman'' (''Shima no Onna'', 1920). It also hired the prominent theater director Kaoru Osanai to head a school at the studio, which produced the film '' Souls on the Road'' (1921), a film directed by Minoru Murata which is considered "the first landmark film in Japanese history". However, Shochiku's early history was difficult, as audiences preferred the more action-packed ''jidai-geki'' historical swashbucklers over the

shinpa (also rendered ''shimpa'') is a form of theater in Japan, usually featuring melodramatic stories, contrasted with the more traditional ''kabuki'' style. It later spread to cinema. Art form The roots of ''Shinpa'' can be traced to a form of agi ...

melodramas, and its Kamata studios were destroyed by the

1923 Great Kantō earthquake The struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58:44 JST (02:58:44 UTC) on Saturday, September 1, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes. Extensive firestorms an ...

, forcing a temporary relocation to

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...

. With the reopening of its Kamata studios, Shochiku also introduced the '' shomin-geki'' genre,Alexander Jacoby, ''A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors'', 2008, Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press, p.381. with stories reflecting the lives of the lower-middle urban classes. These dramas proved immensely popular, and marked the start of the careers of many prominent directors (including Ozu, Naruse, and Hiroshi Shimizu) and actors (including Kinuyo Tanaka). In 1931, Shochiku released the first “

talkie A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...

” made in Japan: ''

The Neighbor's Wife and Mine is a 1931 Japanese comedy film directed by Heinosuke Gosho. It was Japan's first feature length film to fully employ sound. Plot The comedic story depicts a playwright attempting to write a play by a strict deadline and getting distracted by hi ...

'' ''(Madamu to nyōbō'', 1930). Filming became increasingly difficult at the Kamata studios during the 1930s with the rapid industrialization of the surrounding area, such as the construction of munitions factories and metal foundries, and Shochiku decided to close the studio and relocate to Ofuna, near

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kama ...

in 1936. The following year, Shochiku Kinema was merged with its parent company, Shochiku Entertainment, and adopted the new name of Shochiku Corporation.

As Shochiku Corporation

During the war years, Shochiku's president, Shiro Kido, helped establish the Dai Nippon Eiga Kyokai (Greater Japan Film association), whose purpose was to coordinate the industry's efforts with Japanese government policy. From the mid-1930s until 1945, the films produced by Shochiku and other Japanese movie companies were

propagandistic Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

. After the surrender of Japan, Kido and Shochiku's co-founder Otani were arrested and charged with Class-A war crimes by the Allied occupation authorities. In 1953, after the end of the occupation, Kido returned to Shochiku and revived the melodramatic style of films which had been a Shochiku trademark in the pre-war era. Directors associated with Shochiku in this era included Ozu,

, and Noboru Nakamura. Many of the films during the 1950s were aimed primarily at female audiences. In particular, Hideo Oba's three-part ''What is Your Name?'' (''Kimi no na wa?'') in 1953 was the most commercially successful film of the period. Ozu's ''

Tokyo Story is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu and starring Chishū Ryū and Chieko Higashiyama about an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children. Upon release, it did not immediately gain international recogni ...

'', made in 1953, later earned considerable accolades, being selected in the 2012

Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...

international critics poll as the third best film of all time By the start of the 1960s, Shochiku's films were criticized as “old-fashioned” with the popularity of rival

’s ''Taiyo-zoku'' youth-orientated movies. The studio responded by launching the Japanese New Wave (''Nuberu bagu'') which also launched the career of Nagisa Oshima among others, though Oshima soon went independent; the films of Oshima and other film makers were not financially successful and the company changed its policies. However, the growing threat from television led to the bankruptcy of Shochiku’s competitors,

Shintoho was a Japanese movie studio. It was one of the big six film studios (which also included Daiei, Nikkatsu, Shochiku, Toei Company, and Toho) during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. It was founded by defectors from the original Toho company fol ...

in 1961 and

Daiei , based in Kobe, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line. Daiei is now under a restructuring process supported by Marubeni Corporatio ...

in 1971, whereas

and Toei turned to gangster movies and soft pornography to maintain attendance. Shochiku continued to maintain its family-orientated audience largely due to the phenomenal success of the ''

Otoko wa Tsurai yo is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as , a kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love. The series itself is often referred to as "Tora-san" by its fans. Spanning 48 installments released between 1969 and 1995, all of the ...

'' series directed by

Yoji Yamada is a Japanese film director best known for his '' Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series of films and his Samurai Trilogy ('' The Twilight Samurai'', '' The Hidden Blade'' and '' Love and Honor''). Biography He was born in Osaka, but due to his father's j ...

from 1969 through 1997. However, with the death of its star

Kiyoshi Atsumi Kiyoshi Atsumi (渥美清 ''Atsumi Kiyoshi''), born Yasuo Tadokoro (田所康雄 ''Tadokoro Yasuo'', 10 March 1928 – 4 August 1996), was a Japanese actor. He was born in Tokyo, and started his career in 1951 as a comedian at a strip-show the ...

, the series came to an end, and the company faced increasing financial difficulties. In 1986, Shochiku decided to focus on exporting products, such as towards a large, worldwide effort that was scheduled for 1987 to promote the company's classics throughout the west. The Ofuna studio, was briefly transformed into a theme park, Kamakura Cinema World, but this was closed in 1998 and the site was sold off in 2000 to Kamakura Women's College. Since that time, Shochiku has relied on its film studio and

backlot A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction. Uses Some movie studios build a wide variety of ...

in Kyoto. Yamada’s “ The Twilight Samurai” (Tasogare Seibei, 2002) was nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Language Picture. Shochiku served as a distributor of theatrical

. Major titles have included the ''

Cardcaptor Sakura , abbreviated as ''CCS'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. Serialized monthly in the ''shōjo'' manga magazine '' Nakayoshi'' from May 1996 to June 2000, it was also published in 12 ''tankōbon' ...

'' films, ''

Mobile Suit Gundam , also known as ''First Gundam'', ''Gundam 0079'' or simply ''Gundam '79'', is an anime television series, produced and animated by Nippon Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting ...

'' movies, '' Origin: Spirits of the Past'', ''

Piano no Mori ''Forest of Piano'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Isshiki. It was serialized by Kodansha from 1998 to 2015, initially in ''Young Magazine Uppers'' before transferring to ''Weekly Morning'' ...

'', ''

Ghost in the Shell ''Ghost in the Shell'' is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on the seinen manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. The manga, first serialized in 1989 under the subtitle of ''The Ghost in the Shell' ...

'', '' Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa'', '' Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos'', '' Sword of the Stranger'', '' Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess'', '' The Dog of Flanders'' and ''

Jungle Emperor Leo ''Jungle Emperor Leo'', known in Japan as is a 1997 Japanese animated film focusing on the last half of Osamu Tezuka's manga, ''Jungle Taitei'' (known in earlier US productions as '' Kimba the White Lion'' and '' Leo the Lion''). Plot At the b ...

''.

Shareholders

''as of October 2015'' * Kabuki-za Theatrical Corp., 3.44% *

Mizuho Corporate Bank , or MHCB, was the corporate and investment banking subsidiary of Mizuho Financial Group, the second-biggest Japanese financial services conglomerate, prior to the reintegration of investment banking services under the Mizuho Bank name in July 2 ...

, 3.22%

Partial list of Shochiku's films

*''Island Woman'' (''Shima no Onna'') (1920), directed by Henry Kotani *'' Souls on the Road'' (1921), directed by Minoru Murata *''

'' (1931), directed by

Heinosuke Gosho was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who directed Japan's first sound film, ''The Neighbor's Wife and Mine'', in 1931. His films are mostly associated with the shomin-geki (lit. "common people drama") genre. Among his most noted works ...

*'' I Was Born, But...'' (1932), directed by

*''

Every-Night Dreams is a 1933 Japanese silent drama film directed by Mikio Naruse. The film follows a single mother who works as a bar hostess and her struggles to provide for her son in depression-era Japan. Plot Omitsu works as a hostess in a harbour bar ent ...

'' (1933), directed by

*'' Mr. Thank You'' (1936), directed by Hiroshi Shimizu *''

Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors is the first Japanese feature-length animated film. It was directed by Mitsuyo Seo, who was ordered to make a propaganda film for World War II by the Japanese Naval Ministry. Shochiku Moving Picture Laboratory shot the 74-minute film in 1944 and ...

'', directed by Mitsuyo Seo * '' A Ball at the Anjo House'' (1947), directed by Kozaburo Yoshimura * ''

President and a Female Clerk President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

'' (1948), music by

Akira Ifukube was a Japanese classical and film music composer, best known for his works on the ''Godzilla'' franchise. Biography Early years in Hokkaido Akira Ifukube was born on 31 May 1914 in Kushiro, Japan as the third son of a police officer Toshi ...

*''The New Version of the Ghost of Yotsuya'' (1949) a.k.a. ''Shinshaku

Yotsuya kaidan , the story of Oiwa and Tamiya Iemon, is a tale of betrayal, murder and ghostly revenge. Arguably the most famous Japanese ghost story of all time, it has been adapted for film over 30 times and continues to be an influence on Japanese horro ...

''; filmed in two parts *''

Carmen Comes Home is a 1951 Japanese comedy film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita. It was Japan's first feature length colour film. Plot Due to the renovation of the Tokyo based venue where she works, Okin, stage name Lily Carmen, and her lovesick friend Maya pay her ...

'' (1951) Color *''

Idiot An idiot, in modern use, is a stupid or foolish person. 'Idiot' was formerly a technical term in legal and psychiatric contexts for some kinds of profound intellectual disability where the mental age is two years or less, and the person cannot ...

'' (1951) Monochrome *''

Twenty-Four Eyes is a 1954 Japanese drama film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita, based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Sakae Tsuboi. The film stars Hideko Takamine as a schoolteacher named Hisako Ōishi, who lives during the rise and fall of Japanese nati ...

'' (1954) *''The Mask of Destiny'' (1955) *''The Dancing Mistress'' (1957) a.k.a. ''Kaidan Iro-Zange Kyoran Onna Shisho'', directed by Ryosuke Kurahashi *'' The Ballad of Narayama'' (1958) in Color/GrandScope *'' Harakiri'' (1962) a.k.a. ''Sepuku'', in Shochiku-Regalscope *'' Samurai Spy'' (1962) in Shochiku-European Scope, a.k.a. ''Spy Hunter'' *''

The X From Outer Space is a 1967 Japanese science fiction ''kaiju'' film that was directed by Kazui Nihonmatsu and stars Eiji Okada and Toshiya Wazaki. Guilala returned in a 2008 Shochiku sequel of sorts called '' Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit''. Plot ...

'' (1967) a.k.a. ''Uchu daikaiju Guirara'' / ''Giant Space Monster Guilala'', directed by Kazui Nihonmatsu; in Color/ScopeGalbraith, Stuart (1994). Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. McFarland. p. 325. *''

Black Lizard Black Lizard may refer to: * ''The Black Lizard'', a 1934 novel by Edogawa Ranpo ** ''Black Lizard'', a 1961 play by Yukio Mishima adapted from Ranpo's novel ** ''Black Lizard'', a 1962 film directed by Umetsugu Inoue adapted from Ranpo's novel ** ...

'' (1968) a.k.a. ''Kurotokage''; in Color/Scope *''Curse of the Blood''/ ''Kaidan zankoku monogatari'' (1968) a.k.a. ''Cruel Ghost Legend''; in Color/Scope *''

Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell is a 1968 Japanese science fiction horror film directed by Hajime Sato. The film is loosely based on the 1967 tokusatsu series ''Gokemidoro'', produced by P Productions. Plot After a radio message about a bomb threat against the plane, co-pilot ...

'' (1968) a.k.a. ''Vampire Gokemidoro''; in Color/ScopeGalbraith, Stuart (1994). Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. McFarland. p. 321. *''

Genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the L ...

'' (1968) a.k.a. ''War of the Insects'', directed by Kazui Nihonmatsu; in Color/Scope *''

The Living Skeleton is a 1968 Japanese tokusatsu horror film directed by Hiroshi Matsuno. The film's plot begins in the past where a gang of pirates commandeer a ship and kill everyone on board. Three years later in a seaside village, a Catholic priest (Masumi Okada ...

'' (1968) in Black and White/Scope *''The Black Rose Inn'' (1969) a.k.a. ''Kurobarano yakata''Galbraith, Stuart (1994). Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. McFarland. p. 323. *'' The Rendezvous'' (1972) in Color (Fujicolor)/CinemaScope *'' The Castle of Sand'' (1974) in Color/Scope *''Village of the Eight Gravestones'' (1977) a.k.a. ''Yatsu hukamura'' *''Demon Pond'' (1979) a.k.a. ''Yashagaike'' *''Children of Nagasaki'' (1982) in Color/Widescreen *'' Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!'' (1986) animated feature film. *'' Hachikō Monogatari'' (1987) a.k.a. ''The Tale of Hachikō'', directed by

Seijirō Kōyama (born 16 July 1941) is a Japanese film director. Career Born in Gifu Prefecture, Kōyama attended Nihon University but quit midway to join the independent production company Kindai Eiga Kyokai, where he worked as an assistant director under suc ...

*'' The Discarnates'' (1988) in Color/

VistaVision VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954. Paramount never used anamorphic processes such as 2.55: 1, CinemaScope but refi ...

*''

Venus Wars is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. It was serialized in the Gakken magazine ''Nora Comics'' from 1986 to 1990. In 1989, ''The Venus Wars'' was adapted into an anime film directed by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, ...

'' (1989) animated feature film *'' The Guyver'' (1991) co-produced with

Brian Yuzna Brian Yuzna is an American producer, director, and writer. He is best known for his work in the science fiction and horror film genres. Yuzna began his career as a producer for several films by director Stuart Gordon, such as '' Re-Animator'' ...

*'' Floral Magician Mary Bell: The Phoenix Key'' (1992) animated short feature film *'' Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie'' (1999) animated feature film *'' Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card'' (2000) animated feature film *'' Ah! My Goddess: The Movie'' (2000) animated feature film *'' Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit'' (2008) features the return of Guilala"ギララの逆襲／洞爺湖サミット危機一発". Kinema Junpo. Retrieved 27 December 2020. *''Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll'' (2019)

References

External links

Shochiku Co., Ltd.
{{Authority control Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Anime companies Mass media companies based in Tokyo Distribution companies based in Tokyo Mass media companies established in 1895 Film distributors of Japan Japanese film studios Mass media companies of Japan Japanese brands Japanese companies established in 1895 Film production companies established in the 1890s