() 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 though ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

and distribution company. 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 (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), ''Ugets ...

, Mikio Naruse, Keisuke Kinoshita 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 job ...

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

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, dyna ...

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). ''Sens ...

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 nort ...

ese New Wave director Hou Hsiao-hsien. 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, literally ...

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 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 subsequen ...

'' reading of the ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

'' ''take'' ( bamboo) and ''matsu'' ( pine) 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 subsequen ...

'' 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 is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

'' 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 (puppeteers ...

'', 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 is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—'' Portrait of He ...

'' and to emulate Hollywood standards. It was the first film studio to abandon the use of female impersonators and brought new ideas, including the star system 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 Kamata can refer to: Places *Kamata, Tokyo, a neighborhood in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan **Kamata High School, a school located in the Kamata neighborhood, Ōta, Tokyo, Japan * Kamata Kingdom, a 13th-century kingdom in Assam, India * Kamata, New Zealand ...

, 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 was a Japanese theater director, playwright, and actor central in the development of modern Japanese theater. Biography Kaoru Osanai was born on July 26, 1881, in Hiroshima, the second son of Director of Hiroshima Army Garrison Hospital, Take ...

to head a school at the studio, which produced the film ''

Souls on the Road is a 1921 Japanese silent film directed by Minoru Murata. Film critic Mark Cousins wrote that it was "the first landmark film in Japanese history". See also * Cinema of Japan The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has ...

'' (1921), a film directed by

Minoru Murata was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor who was one of the major directors of the silent era in Japan. Career Born in Tokyo, Murata started out as a shingeki actor on the stage. Murata's troupe appeared in the first " pure films ...

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 melodramas, and its

studios were destroyed by the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, forcing a temporary relocation to

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, 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, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

. 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 was a Japanese actress and film director. She had a career lasting over 50 years with more than 250 acting credits, but was best known for her 15 films with director Kenji Mizoguchi, such as ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952) and ''Ugetsu'' (1953). W ...

). In 1931, Shochiku released the first “

talkie A sound film is a motion picture with 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 decades passed before ...

” made in Japan: '' The Neighbor's Wife and Mine'' ''(Madamu to nyōbō'', 1930). Filming became increasingly difficult at the

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 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. 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 Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

, 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, Keisuke Kinoshita, and

Noboru Nakamura was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Biography After graduating from Tokyo Imperial University in 1936, Nakamura joined the Shochiku film studios, working as an assistant director for Torajirō Saitō and Yasujirō Shimazu. He debu ...

. 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'', 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 The is a group of loosely-connected Japanese filmmakers during the late 1950s and into the 1970s. Although they did not make up a coherent movement, these artists shared a rejection of traditions and conventions of classical Japanese cinema in ...

(''Nuberu bagu'') which also launched the career of

Nagisa Oshima NaGISA (Natural Geography in Shore Areas or Natural Geography of In-Shore Areas) is an international collaborative effort aimed at inventorying, cataloguing, and monitoring biodiversity of the in-shore area. So named for the Japanese word "nagisa ...

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, Hyōgo, 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 Maruben ...

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 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'' films, '' Mobile Suit Gundam'' 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''.

Shareholders

''as of October 2015'' * Kabuki-za Theatrical Corp., 3.44% * Mizuho Corporate Bank, 3.22%

Partial list of Shochiku's films

*''Island Woman'' (''Shima no Onna'') (1920), directed by Henry Kotani *''

'' (1921), directed by

*'' The Neighbor's Wife and Mine'' (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'' (1933), directed by Mikio Naruse *''

Mr. Thank You is a 1936 Japanese comedy-drama film written and directed by Hiroshi Shimizu (director), Hiroshi Shimizu. It is based on a short story by Nobel Prize for Literature, Nobel Prize-winning novelist Yasunari Kawabata, and noted for its portrayal of G ...

'' (1936), directed by Hiroshi Shimizu *'' Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors'', directed by Mitsuyo Seo * '' A Ball at the Anjo House'' (1947), directed by Kozaburo Yoshimura * '' President and a Female Clerk'' (1948), music by Akira Ifukube *''The New Version of the Ghost of Yotsuya'' (1949) a.k.a. ''Shinshaku Yotsuya kaidan''; filmed in two parts *'' Carmen Comes Home'' (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'' (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 , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

'' (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'' (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'' (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'' (1968) a.k.a. ''Vampire Gokemidoro''; in Color/ScopeGalbraith, Stuart (1994). Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. McFarland. p. 321. *'' Genocide'' (1968) a.k.a. ''War of the Insects'', directed by Kazui Nihonmatsu; in Color/Scope *'' The Living Skeleton'' (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 *'' 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'' (1989) animated feature film *''

The Guyver ''The Guyver'' (released in Europe and South America as ''Mutronics'') is a 1991 American tokusatsu superhero film made in conjunction with Shochiku Films, loosely based on the Japanese manga series of the same name by Yoshiki Takaya. The film ...

'' (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'' (1 ...

*'' 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