is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

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 "Japan Motion Pictures". Shareholders are Nippon Television Holdings (35%) and SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (28.4%).

History

Founding in 1912

Nikkatsu was founded on September 10, 1912, when several production companies and theater chains, Yoshizawa Shōten, Yokota Shōkai, Fukuhōdō and

M. Pathe was a Japanese film studio active in the early years of cinema in Japan. Background M. Pathe was founded in 1906 by Shōkichi Umeya, a businessman who had distributed films first in Malaysia and Singapore and then in Japan. He took the name "M. ...

, consolidated under the name Nippon Katsudō Shashin. The company enjoyed its share of success. It employed such notable film directors as Shozo Makino and his son Masahiro Makino. During World War II, the government ordered the ten film companies that had formed by 1941 to consolidate into two. Masaichi Nagata, founder of Daiei Film and a former Nikkatsu employee, counter-proposed that three companies be formed and the suggestion was approved. Nikkatsu, set to merge with the two weakest companies, Shinkō Kinema and Daito, were verbally displeased. The committee formed to establish the value of each company retaliated by purposefully undervaluing Nikkatsu, which led to Shinkō becoming the dominant head of production. The reformed Nikkatsu continued to prosper as an exhibition company but ceased all film production. The postwar film industry expanded rapidly and, in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

, Nikkatsu president Kyusaku Hori began construction of a new production studio. A graduate of

Tokyo Keizai University (Tokyo University of Economics) is a private university in Tokyo, Japan. Overview It has campuses at the cities of Kokubunji and Musashimurayama. The predecessor of the school (''Ōkura Shōgyō Gakkō'') was founded in 1900 by the entreprene ...

, Hori had joined the company in 1951 after quitting his initial employment as the manager of Sanno Hotel (now rebuilt as Sanno Park Tower).

Golden Age

Under Hori, Nikkatsu is considered to have had its "Golden Age". The company began making movies again in 1954. Many assistant directors from other studios, including Shōhei Imamura and

Seijun Suzuki , born (24 May 1923 – 13 February 2017), was a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are known for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility. He made 40 predo ...

from

Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not ...

, moved to Nikkatsu with the promise of advancement to full director status within one or two years. Suzuki made dozens of films for Nikkatsu from 1956 onwards, developing an increasingly inventive visual style, but was controversially fired following the release of his 40th, '' Branded to Kill'' (1967), which Hori deemed "incomprehensible". The company made a few

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

films and historical dramas but by 1960 had decided to devote its resources to the production of urban youth dramas,

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term ori ...

, action and

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix ''-ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

films. From the late 1950s to the start of the 1970s, they were renowned for their "borderless action" (''mukokuseki akushun'') movies, designed for the youth market, whose directors included Suzuki, Toshio Masuda, and Takashi Nomura. The studio also employed such stars as Yujiro Ishihara, Akira Kobayashi, Joe Shishido, Tetsuya Watari, Ruriko Asaoka, Chieko Matsubara and, later, Meiko Kaji and Tatsuya Fuji. Director Shōhei Imamura began his career there and between 1958 and 1966 made for them such notable films as '' Pigs and Battleships'' ( 1961), '' The Insect Woman'' (

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

) and '' The Pornographers'' ( 1966).

Daikaiju genre

Strangely during the height of the popularity of Japan's 1960s daikaiju (giant monster) genre, Nikkatsu only produced one

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 produ ...

-type monster movie, 1967's ''Daikyoju Gappa'' (''Giant Beast Gappa''), released internationally as '' Gappa: The Triphibian Monster'' and ''

Monster from a Prehistoric Planet is a 1967 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Haruyasu Noguchi. The film is about a group of Japanese reporters who discover an infant monster called a Gappa on Obelisk Island. The reporters cage the creature and take it to Japan where it becom ...

'', a film generally regarded as a remake of the 1961 British film '' Gorgo''.

Pink films

By 1971 the increased popularity of television had taken a heavy toll on the film industry and in order to remain profitable Nikkatsu turned to the production of Roman Porno (from the French word 'roman' for 'novel' and the English word 'porno') and ''pinku eiga'' or

pink film in its broadest sense includes almost any Japanese theatrical film that includes nudity (hence 'pink') or deals with sexual content. This encompasses everything from dramas to action thrillers and exploitation film features. The Western equiv ...

s, which focus on sex,

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...

, S&M and romance. Hori resigned over the change in focus, and many stars and directors left the company. A few, including the film directors Yasuharu Hasebe, Keiichi Ozawa, Shōgorō Nishimura, and Koreyoshi Kurahara, stayed. It also witnessed the emergence of such new directors as Tatsumi Kumashiro, Masaru Konuma and Chūsei Sone. Between 1974 and 1986, Nikkatsu promoted a number of their leading Roman Porno actresses of the popular BDSM niche under the epithet . They include Naomi Tani (1974–1979), Junko Mabuki (1980–1981), Izumi Shima (1982–1983), Nami Matsukawa (1983), Miki Takakura (1983–1985), and

Ran Masaki (July 26, 1965 - ) is a former Japanese AV idol, pink film actress and gravure model who was active in the 1980s and rose to prominence as Nikkatsu's final from 1985 to 1986. Masaki starred in three Roman Porno films (two of them written by On ...

(1985-1986). The advent of home video brought an end to active production at Nikkatsu. ''Bed Partner'' (1988) was the last release in the venerable 17-year Roman Porno series. Nikkatsu declared bankruptcy in 1993.

Sushi Typhoon

In 2005, the company was sold to Index Holdings and in 2010, a revived Nikkatsu studio announced new production of ''Sushi Typhoon'', a movie series made in partnership with a U.S. distributor. The Sushi Typhoon arm of Nikkatsu creates low-budget horror, science fiction, and fantasy films aimed at an international audience. By 2011, the company had produced seven feature films.

Ownership

*1912 Nippon Katsudō Shashin K.K. was established by the merger of four film companies: Yoshizawa Shōten, Yokota Shōkai, Fukuhōdō and

. *1993 applied for Corporate Reorganization Act. *1996 acquired by a Japanese leisure company

Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...

. *2005 sold to Index Holdings, a Japanese holding company which has interests in media contents industries.

Actors from Nikkatsu

;Male ;Female

Prominent directors

* Tomu Uchida (1927-1932; 1936-1940; 1955) * Yuzo Kawashima *

* Shouhei Imamura * Keiichi Ozawa * Toru Murakawa * Yasuharu Hasebe * Toshio Masuda * Koreyoshi Kurahara * Buichi Saitō

Cultural references

In 2011, the French director Yves Montmayeur produced a documentary about the Pink Film period at Nikkatsu called ''Pinku Eiga: Inside the Pleasure Dome Of Japanese Erotic Cinema''.Todd Brown
"Acclaimed Documentarian Yves Montmayeur Launches 'Pinku Eiga: Inside the Pleasure Dome Of Japanese Erotic Cinema' "
''ScreenAnarchy'', June 2, 2011

References

Bibliography

* ; p. 228-9

External links

Official website

Corporate Overview
{{Authority control Japanese film studios Mass media companies established in 1912 IXIT Corporation 1912 establishments in Japan Former Bandai Namco Holdings subsidiaries