is a Japanese film and production studio company of

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 ...

Group, which has been producing movies and dramas for roughly a century, being the second-oldest motion picture company in Japan. The company has production bases in

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 ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

since its inception in the 1920s, and the long-established is equipped with a studio facility that is deeply rooted in tradition. It has also worked on the production of Hollywood films such as "

The Last Samurai ''The Last Samurai'' is a 2003 epic period action drama film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Logan and Marshall Herskovitz from a story devised by Logan. The film stars Ken Watanabe in th ...

". Shochiku Studio is known for productions of many Japanese period dramas, movies, TV and commercials.

History

Studios and Owners

Shochiku Studio based in Tokyo and Kanagawa Shochiku Studio based in Shimogamo, Kyoto Shochiku Studio based in Uzumasa, Kyoto

1920s - 1930s

built as its main studio at Kamata, Tokyo in 1920. In 1923, Shochiku Kamata studio was heavily damaged by

Great Kantō earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superior (hierarchy), superiority affecting a person or wikt:entity, object in a par ...

, forcing a temporary relocation to Kyoto, in which the predecessor of current Shochiku Kyoto Studio was established. The temporary studio in Shimogamo, Kyoto, called as , was closed in June 1925 and re-opened in January 1926 as Shochiku Kyoto Studio. , the executive placed in charge of reconstruction at Kamata, was permitted to make films with the remaining staff. Together with young directors like

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 ...

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 ...

, Hiroshi Shimizu and Torajirō Saitō and Shintarō Kido produced Shomin-geki (films about ordinary folks, including company employees who were part of a rising urban middle class). Filming became increasingly difficult at Shochiku Kamata Studio during the 1930s with the rapid industrialization of the surrounding area, and in 1936 Shochiku decided to relocate the studio to Ofuna, called as . The studio's first talking film, ''Madam-to-Nyobo'' was produced in 1931.

1940s - 1980s

Legendary film directors shot at Shochiku Ofuna Studio such as

Nagisa Ōshima was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. One of the foremost directors within the Japanese New Wave, his films include ''In the Realm of the Senses'' (1976), a sexually explicit film set in 1930s Japan, and ''Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence ...

led Japanese Nouvelle Vague, a group of filmmakers under Japanese New Wave Film movement which was characterized in its anti-authority. Together with

Masahiro Shinoda is a retired Japanese people, Japanese film director, originally associated with the Shochiku Studio, who came to prominence as part of the Japanese New Wave in the 1960s. Early life Shinoda attended Waseda University, where he studied theater ...

and

Yoshishige Yoshida , also known as Kijū Yoshida, was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Life and career Graduating from the University of Tokyo, where he studied French literature, Yoshida entered the Shōchiku studio in 1955 and worked as an assistant ...

, who are also known as the filmmakers worked at Shochiku during the 1950s to 1960s, they were leading so-called . In 1940,

purchased a studio in Uzumasa,

Ukyō-ku, Kyoto is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. History The meaning of ''ukyō'' (右京) is "on the Emperor's right." When residing in the Kyoto Imperial Palace the emperor would sit facing south, thus the we ...

, built by

Masahiro Makino was a Japanese film director. He directed more than 260 films, primarily in the chanbara and yakuza genres. His real name was , but he took the stage name Masahiro, the kanji for which he changed multiple times (including , , and ). Career Mas ...

as in 1936 and set it up as . , the predecessor of the company, was founded in 1946 and later on in 1952 became a subsidiary of

transferred its studio in Shimogamo named "Shochiku Kyoto Studio" to Kyoto Eiga, followed by a change in its name to in 1952.

relocated its production base to Uzumasa and name of the studio in Uzumasa was changed to Shochiku Kyoto Studio. In 1975,

transferred the Studio in Uzumasa to Kyoto Eiga while Kyoto Eiga closed the studio in Shimogamo and relocated its production base to Uzumasa.

1990s - Present

In 1995, Kyoto Eiga Co., Ltd. changed its name to . In the same year Shochiku Ofuna Studio transformed into a theme park, , but in 1998 it became inoperational, and its site was sold to

Kamakura Women's University is a private women's college in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The school specializes in home economics and child care. History The Keihin Women's Housekeeping Science School was established in Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama is one of the 18 ...

in 2000. Thereon, Shochiku has relied on its film studio and backlot in Kyoto. The company, , was founded in 2008 as the successor of Shochiku Kyoto Eiga and Kyoto Film Studio with the name changed to its the current studio name, i.e., Shochiku Kyoto Studio. In 2011, The company's name was changed to its current name, i.e., Shochiku Studio.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official site
Japanese film studios Mass media companies of Japan Japanese brands * 2008 establishments in Japan