is a Japanese entertainment company that provides artist management services. The artists include

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...

s, musicians, and more. Amuse produces TV and radio programs, commercial films, and movies. Other interests are in publication, music software, and patent agent businesses. The private Amuse Museum, located in

Asakusa, Tokyo is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known for Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as . History The development of Asaku ...

, was owned by the company. It featured

ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...

and textile displays.

History

Amuse Inc. was created in 1978 when it signed with the rock band

Southern All Stars , also known by the abbreviations and SAS, are a Japanese rock band formed in Kanagawa in 1974. The band is composed of Keisuke Kuwata (lead vocals and guitars), Yuko Hara (vocals and keyboards), Kazuyuki Sekiguchi (bass), (drums) and (pe ...

. Soon after in 1981, the company created its movie production and distribution subsidiary Amuse Cinema City Inc. and produced '' Morning Moon Wa Sozatsu Ni'' (starring

Shin Kishida Shin Kishida (岸田森, 17 October 1939 – 28 December 1982) was a Japanese television, film, and stage actor. Biography Shin Kishida was born at Kawakita General Hospital in Asagaya, Suginami, Tokyo. His uncle was playwright Kunio Kishida, ...

) that same year, followed by '' Aiko 16 sai'' (1983). In 1983, Amuse signed with the actress

Yasuko Tomita is a japanese former idol, singer and actress. She won the Award for Best Newcomer at the 6th Yokohama Film Festival and at the 8th Japan Academy Prize for '' Aiko 16 sai''. She also worked with director Nobuhiko Obayashi in the acclaimed fant ...

. The next year, the firm opened its subsidiary in the United States. Amuse Video Inc. was created in 1990 as the video software production and sales subsidiary of the company. In 1995, Amuse established Ayers Inc. through a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...

, and opened its first movie theater. In 2000, Amuse opened its Korean subsidiary, Amuse Korea Inc. On 20 September 2001, Amuse was listed on the

Osaka Securities Exchange , renamed from , is the largest derivatives exchange in Japan, in terms of amount of business handled. , the Osaka Securities Exchange had 477 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $212 billion. The Nikkei 225 Futures, intro ...

. Its distributed film '' The Pianist'' won the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

at the

2002 Cannes Film Festival The 55th Cannes Film Festival took place from 15 to 26 May 2002. American filmmaker David Lynch served as jury president for the main competition. Virginie Ledoyen hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. French-Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski ...

. In 2004, Amuse opened its

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...

site, Ambra. In 2007, it established its music label Taishita in joint venture with

Victor Entertainment is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Entertainment operates the RC ...

. In 2008, the group invested in Brussels Co. Ltd., a company that develops Belgian beer bars; and also formed the

A-Sketch is a Japanese entertainment company that provides artist management services. The artists include idols, musicians, and more. Amuse produces TV and radio programs, commercial films, and movies. Other interests are in publication, music softwa ...

label in joint venture with

KDDI () is a Japanese telecommunications operator. It was established in 2000 through the merger of , , and . In 2001, it merged with a subsidiary named Au, which was formed through the merger of seven automotive and mobile phone companies from t ...

Corporation. In 2009, the group launched its subsidiary Amuse Edutainment Inc. In 2012, Amuse Singapore was created. Amuse intended to give a second life to

J-pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...

by promoting the bands

Flumpool Flumpool (stylized as flumpool) are a Japanese rock band. The band, originally from Osaka Prefecture, was formed in January 2007. The band's name is a portmanteau of the words ''four'' (from the number of members in the band), ''lump'', and '' ...

and Weaver. In 2013, it produced and distributed the movie ''

The Eternal Zero is a 2006 novel by Naoki Hyakuta. It became a best-seller, with four million copies sold. It was made into a popular 2013 movie. The novel was criticised by famed Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki as being "a pack of lies" about the war ...

''. In 2015, Amuse France Inc. was created. In January 2016, Amuse established a partnership with

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

, a promotion in which Amuse owns shares. In the US, Amuse launched J-Creation to further develop ties between the Japanese and American entertainment industries. In October 2018, Amuse USA released the graphic novel ''Apocrypha: The Legend of

Babymetal (stylized in all caps as BABYMETAL) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal", Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal" and Momoko Okazaki as "Momometal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse Inc., Amuse talent a ...

''. In 2022, Amuse founded Kulture Inc., aiming to create next-generation entertainment with

Web3 Web3 (also known as Web 3.0) is an idea for a new iteration of the World Wide Web which incorporates concepts such as decentralization, blockchain technologies, and token-based economics. This is distinct from Tim Berners-Lee's concept of th ...

and

metaverse The metaverse is a loosely defined term referring to virtual worlds in which users represented by avatars interact, usually in 3D and focused on social and economic connection. The term ''metaverse'' originated in the 1992 science fiction ...

content, such as NFTs. In February 2025, Amuse sold its 66% majority shares in A-Sketch to

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

's Japanese subsidiary for an undisclosed amount.

Notable artists

Groups

* @onefive **

Tsugumi Aritomo is a Japanese dancer, singer, model, and actress. She is best known as a member of the girl group @onefive, and is a former member of the idol group Sakura Gakuin. She is represented by the talent agency Amuse Inc. and is signed with the record ...

** Kano Fujihira **

Momoe Mori is a Japanese dancer, singer, model, and actress. She is best known as a member of the girl group @onefive, and is a former member of the idol group Sakura Gakuin. She is represented by the talent agency Amuse Inc. and is signed with the record ...

** Soyoka Yoshida * Asterism *

Moa Kikuchi , known by her stage name Moametal, is a Japanese singer and dancer. She is best known as a member of the kawaii metal band Babymetal, and was formerly a member of the idol group Sakura Gakuin. She is represented by the talent agency Amuse Inc ...

Suzuka Nakamoto , known by her stage name Su-metal, is a Japanese singer. She is best known as a member of the kawaii metal band Babymetal, and was formerly a member of Karen Girl's and Sakura Gakuin. She is represented by the talent agency Amuse Inc. Early lif ...

Momoko Okazaki , known by her stage name Momometal, is a Japanese singer and dancer. She is best known as a member of kawaii metal band Babymetal, which she joined as a touring member in 2019 before becoming an official member in 2023. She was previously a mem ...

Begin Begin or Bégin may refer to: People *Begin (surname) Music * Begin (band), a Japanese pop trio * ''Begin'' (David Archuleta album) * ''begin'' (Riyu Kosaka album) * ''Begin'' (Lion Babe album) * ''Begin'' (The Millennium album) * ''beGin'' ...

* Cross Gene **

Shin Won-ho Shin Won-ho (born 23 October 1991) is a South Korean singer, actor and member of multinational idol group Cross Gene. He was notable for his supporting roles in television series '' Bachelor's Vegetable Store'' (2011), ''Big Big or BIG may r ...

* Flow *

* Frederic *

Perfume Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...

** Yuka Kashino ** Ayaka Nishiwaki ** Ayano Ōmoto * Porno Graffitti ** Akihito Okano **

Haruichi Shindō is a Japanese musician, lyricist, composer, record producer and author who is affiliated with Amuse, Inc. His artist name at his debut was , and he formed a band named No Score with his classmates at high school which later became Porno Graffitt ...

Sakura Gakuin was a Japanese idol girl group formed in 2010 by the Amuse talent agency. The group's membership fell within the age range of Japanese compulsory education, typically containing between 10 and 12 members at a time who fall between the ages of ...

* Shit Kingz *

Yuko Hara Yuko Hara (原由子 ''Hara Yūko'', born December 11, 1956, in Yokohama, Japan, nicknamed "Harabo") is the keyboardist for Southern All Stars. She is also a vocalist and writes many of her own songs. She is married to Keisuke Kuwata, the mul ...

Keisuke Kuwata is a Japanese multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and Lead vocalist, frontman for the Southern All Stars, as well of his own solo band, the Kuwata band. He has also done a significant amount of scoring music for films. He went to Aoyama Ga ...

Kazuyuki Sekiguchi is a Japanese musician, best known for playing the bass guitar for Southern All Stars.Riantrisnanto, Rully.Band Lawas Southern All Stars Kembali Ramaikan Permusikan Jepang (in Indonesian), June 26, 2013. As a solo artist, he has played ukulele. ...

Team Nacs is a Japanese theatrical and musical unit that was formed in 1996 by Hiroyuki Morisaki, Ken Yasuda, Shigeyuki Totsugi, Yo Oizumi, and Takuma Oto'o. It is often called . Prior to October 2005, the group name was formerly TEAM-NACS. They belong ...

** Yo Oizumi **

Shigeyuki Totsugi is a Japanese actor, TV personality, voice actor, screenwriter, theatre director, and singer. His real name and former stage name is . He was born in Teine-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido. He is a member of the TEAM NACS. He graduated from Hokkaido Sappo ...

** Ken Yasuda * The Oral Cigarettes

Individuals

* Ruito Aoyagi *

Kaori Asoh is a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actress and theatre actress. She is also a singer and a composer, and performed songs for the Wild Arms (series), ''Wild Arms'' video game series. She is managed by Amuse, Inc. She voiced the title chara ...

Dean Fujioka , better known as (also ), is a Japanese actor, singer-songwriter, musician, model and film director / producer. Biography Dean Fujioka was born in Sukagawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Moving with his family, he grew up in Kamagaya, Chiba Pr ...

* Sakura Fujiwara * Eri Fukatsu *

Masaharu Fukuyama is a Japanese singer-songwriter and actor from Nagasaki. He debuted in 1990 with the single "Tsuioku no Ame no Naka". Fukuyama is represented by the agency Amuse, Inc. Career While Fukuyama can also be seen in Japanese television drama ...

* Yuta Hiraoka *

Gen Hoshino is a Japanese singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and writer. Career Music From its formation in 2000 until its disbandment in 2015, Hoshino led the instrumental band Sakerock, where he played marimba and guitar. They released over ten albums. ...

* Mayu Hotta * Yuka Itaya * Karin Isobe * Kenta Izuka * Shouma Kai * Kento Kaku * Noa Kazama *

Kaya Kiyohara is a Japanese actress, model and singer. She won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 45th Japan Academy Film Prize for the film ''In The Wake''. Biography Born in Osaka, Kiyohara joined Amuse Inc. in 2014. She has since starred in a numbe ...

* Yuta Koseki * Kaori Maeda * Mafumafu *

Airi Matsui is a Japanese actress, model, and former singer. She is signed to the agency Amuse Inc. and is a former member of Japanese idol group Sakura Gakuin. In 2015, Matsui endorsed the Ghana chocolate brand. She also released her first photobook on Ma ...

Yuya Matsushita is a Japanese pop and R&B singer and actor under Japanese Dream Records. His debut single " foolish foolish" was released on November 26, 2008. He had his first breakthrough as Sebastian Michaelis in the '' Black Butler'' musical and since the ...

Ayaka Miyoshi is a Japanese actress, model, and former idol. She is represented by the talent agency Amuse Inc., and was a member of the agency's girl group Sakura Gakuin from 2010 to 2012. Career In October 2007, Miyoshi made her first appearance in a TV ...

Takuya Mizoguchi is a Japanese actor. Mizoguchi is also a member of the 5-dimensional idol group DearDream from ''DreamFes!'' Biography *Mizoguchi made his acting debut in 2007. His appearance in the film '' Kamen Rider Den-O: I'm Born!'' published in the same ...

Yui Mizuno , formerly known by her stage name Yuimetal, is a Japanese musician, singer, and dancer. She is a former member of the kawaii metal group Babymetal and the idol group Sakura Gakuin. In October 2018, she left Babymetal due to an undisclosed illness ...

Eri Murakawa is a Japanese actress associated with Amuse, Inc. She attended Omiya Junior High School and Hinode High School. Filmography Television *'' Kaze no Haruka'' (2005) *''My Boss My Hero'' (2006) *'' Sexy Voice and Robo'' (2007) *''Good Job'' (200 ...

* Shuhei Nomura *

Ryohei Otani is a Japanese actor and model. He began his modeling career in Japan, then entered Korean entertainment by being featured in a commercial for Dunkin' Donuts in 2003, followed by Hyundai Motors, Olympus and SK Telecom. His popularity helped him ...

* Manaki Reika * Shogo Sakamoto * Akane Sakanoue *

Dori Sakurada is a Japanese actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Ryoma Echizen as part of the third generation Seigaku cast in ''The Prince of Tennis'' musicals, '' Tenimyu'', and also for the role of Suguru Niragi in Netflix's survival drama ...

* Hinata Satō *

Rie Takahashi is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with 81 Produce. A member of the musical unit Earphones, she had a leading role in the anime series '' Seiyu's Life!''. She voiced Megumin in '' KonoSuba'', Emilia in '' Re:Zero'', Takagi in ...

Junko Takeuchi is a Japanese actress and voice actress employed by Ogipro The Next Co. Inc. & BQMAP. Taking a well-trod path by many voice actresses, she often voices young male characters, with generally very quirky and goofy personalities. One of her most ...

* Asami Tano * Takuya Terada *

Miyu Tomita is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is signed to Amuse. After aspiring to become a voice actress while studying in elementary school, she participated in two voice acting auditions in 2014, winning one of them. Some of her roles inclu ...

* Reina Triendl *

Juri Ueno is a Japanese actress. She first gained recognition in the 2005 film '' Swing Girls'' where she was a recipient of Newcomer of the Year prize at the Japanese Academy Awards. Ueno achieved mainstream success for playing the title role in the live- ...

* Alissa Yagi * Anna Yamada * Erika Yamaguchi * Jun Yoshinaga *

Yuriko Yoshitaka is a Japanese actress. She has played numerous roles in film and television, including lead roles in '' Snakes and Earrings'', '' Yurigokoro'', and the NHK asadora ''Hanako to Anne''. Career At age 16, her first year of high school, Yoshitaka ...

Ryo Yoshizawa is a Japanese actor. His breakthrough roles include Okita Sogo in the ''Gintama'' live-action films, King Eisei/Hyou in '' Kingdom'' and Sano Manjiro in the '' Tokyo Revengers (film).'' He is known for his expressive eyes and natural acting s ...

Former artists

Groups

* One Ok Rock

Individuals

Ryunosuke Kamiki is a Japanese actor. Starting his career as a child prodigy, he has garnered critical acclaim and numerous awards for his performances across 25 years in the industry. Kamiki debuted in a 1995 commercial. Four years later, he had a leading rol ...

* Nina Makino *

Haruma Miura was a Japanese actor and singer. He made his acting debut in the television drama ''Agri'' (1997) and rose to popularity after starring in the film ''Koizora'' (2007), winning Newcomer of the Year at the 31st Japan Academy Prize. In the follo ...

Riisa Naka is a Japanese actress. She was given a Best New Talent award at the 2009 Yokohama Film Festival. Naka became famous by appearing in ''Hachi One Diver'' (2008) and played the lead, Hana Adachi, in '' Yankee-kun to Megane-chan'' (2010). Naka also ...

Takeru Satoh is a Japanese actor. He is best known for his leading role as Kamen Rider Den-O (character)#Ryotaro Nogami, Ryotaro Nogami in the ''Kamen Rider Den-O'' franchise, and as Himura Kenshin in the live-action ''Rurouni Kenshin (film), Rurouni Kenshin ...

* Shota Taguchi * Yu Takahashi * Kimito Totani * Seishuu Uragami

Other holdings

Amuse Models

Amuse Models is a division of Amuse that was founded in 2004. Its division for child talents is sometimes called Amuse Kids. In 2014, Amuse merged with Will Corporation and then established the

modeling agency A modeling agency is a company that represents model (person), fashion models, to work for the fashion industry. These agencies earn their income via commission, usually from the deal they make with the model and/or the head agency. The top agen ...

, which mainly consists of teenage talents. Talents who belonged to Amuse after their merger with Will Corporation include

and

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amuse Inc Entertainment companies established in 1978 Japanese companies established in 1978 Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Japanese talent agencies Film production companies of Japan Television production companies of Japan Companies based in Yamanashi Prefecture Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi

History

Notable artists

Groups

Individuals

Former artists

Groups

Individuals

Other holdings

Amuse Models

See also

References

External links