Toho Co., Ltd.
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is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in
Chiyoda, Tokyo , known as Chiyoda City in English,
." ''City of Chiyoda''. Retrieved on December 28, 2008.
is a S ...
, and is one of the core companies of the
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
-based
Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group (formerly known as the before 2006, is a Japanese keiretsu (association of businesses) centered around companies established by railway tycoon Ichizō Kobayashi: Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, H2O Retailing and Toho. The keiretsu historically includ ...
. Toho is best known for producing and distributing many of
Ishirō Honda was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 46 feature films in a career spanning five decades. He is acknowledged as the most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki and one of the founders of modern disaster film, wit ...
and
Eiji Tsuburaya was a Japanese special effects director, filmmaker, and cinematographer. A co-creator of the ''Godzilla (franchise), Godzilla'' and ''Ultraman'' franchises, he is considered one of the most important and influential figures in the history o ...
's ''
kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...
'' and ''
tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...
'' films as well as the films of
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...
and the
anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
of
Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has exp ...
,
Shin-Ei Animation is a Japanese animation studio owned by TV Asahi and founded in Tokyo in 1965 as A Production by Daikichirō Kusube, who was previously an animator for Toei Animation. History Shin-Ei Animation's history begins in December 1965 as by Daiki ...
,
TMS Entertainment , formerly known as the is a Japanese animation studio owned by Sega Corporation. TMS is one of the oldest and most renowned animation studios in Japan, known for its numerous anime franchises such as '' Detective Conan'', '' Lupin the Third ...
,
CoMix Wave Films is a Japanese animation film studio and distribution company based in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The studio is known for its anime feature films, short films, and television commercials, particularly those made by director Makoto Shinkai. It was fo ...
, and
OLM, Inc. , (formerly Oriental Light and Magic), is a Japanese animation studio, animation and film studio headquartered in Setagaya, Tokyo, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan, founded on October 3, 1990, by former Gallop (studio), Studio Gallop and OB Planning employe ...
The company has released the majority of the
highest-grossing Japanese films Films made in Japan produce revenue through various sources; the lists below only consider box office earnings at cinemas, not other sources of income such as merchandising or home video. The lists include both anime and live-action films produ ...
, and through its subsidiaries, is the largest film importer in Japan. The Doraemon film series, distributed by Toho since 1980, is the highest-grossing film series and anime film series in Japan. It is also one of the highest-grossing non-English language film series. Toho Company Limited logo with full name in native language Toho's most famous creation is
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
, featured in 33 of the company's films. Godzilla,
Rodan is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's 1956 film of the same name, produced and distributed by Toho. Following its debut standalone appearance, Rodan went on to be featured in numer ...
,
Mothra is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's '' 1961 film of the same name'', produced and distributed by Toho. Mothra has appeared in several Toho ''tokusatsu'' films, often as a recur ...
,
King Ghidorah is a fictional dragon-like alien monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1964 film ''Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster'', produced and distributed by Toho. The creature was initially created by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Eiji Tsubu ...
, and
Mechagodzilla is a fictional mecha character, or monster, that first appeared in the 1974 film ''Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla''. In its debut appearance, Mechagodzilla is depicted as an Extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial villain, a robot created by a ...
are described as Toho's Big Five due to their numerous appearances throughout the ''Godzilla'' franchise, as well as spin-offs. Toho has also been involved in the production of numerous anime titles. Its subdivisions are Toho-Towa Company, Limited (Japanese exclusive theatrical distributor of
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
via
NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan (abbreviated as NBCUEJ) is a Japanese music, anime, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise that is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, owned by American telecommunications/media company Comcast headquartered in Akasaka, Min ...
), Towa Pictures Company Limited (Japanese exclusive theatrical distributor of
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
), Toho Pictures Incorporated, Toho International Inc., Toho E. B. Company Limited, and Toho Music Corporation & Toho Costume Company Limited. The company is the largest shareholder (7.96%) of Fuji Media Holdings Inc. Toho is one of the four members of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ), is the largest of Japan's Big Four film studios, and is the only film studio that is a component of the
Nikkei 225 The Nikkei 225, or , more commonly called the ''Nikkei'' or the ''Nikkei index'' (), is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It is a price-weighted index, operating in the Japanese yen, Japanese Yen (JP¥), and its compone ...
index.


History

Toho was created by the founder of the
Hankyu Railway , trading as , is a Japanese private railway company that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region. It is one of the flagship properties of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., in turn part of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Gr ...
,
Ichizō Kobayashi , occasionally referred to by his pseudonym , was a Japanese industrialist and politician. He is best known as the founder of Hankyu Railway, the Takarazuka Revue, and Toho. He served as Minister of Commerce and Industry between 1940 and 1941. ...
, in 1932 as the . It managed much of the
kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...
in Tokyo and, among other properties, the eponymous Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre and the
Imperial Garden Theater The , often referred to simply as the Teigeki (帝劇), and previously the Imperial Garden Theater, is a Japanese theater located in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan operated by Toho. History Opened in 1911 as the first Western-style theater ...
in
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
; Toho and
Shochiku is a Japanese entertainment company. Founded in 1895, it initially managed '' kabuki'' theaters in Kyoto; in 1914, it also acquired ownership of the Kabuki-za theater in Tokyo. In 1920, Shochiku entered the film production industry and establis ...
enjoyed a duopoly over theaters in Tokyo for many years.


Labor disputes (1946–1948)

After the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the new Occupation government allowed and encouraged the formation of
labor unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
, which had been banned under the Imperial government. During a
general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...
of film studio employees beginning in October 1946, a group of Toho's ten top stars led by Denjiro Okochi split from the main Toho union along with 445 employees. During the resolution of the strike, a closed-shop provision with the main union led to the establishment of the
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 ...
Company, which comprised the members of the dissenting union and former Toho facilities.Hirano (1992), pp. 218–223 The loss of major stars led to the hiring and training of new stars, including
Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor and producer. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades over a lengthy career, he is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time. He often played hypermasculine characters and was noted for his commandin ...
. The contract made after the strike stipulated that Toho would only produce films approved by a committee that included union members, which led to filmmakers gaining unprecedented creative and productive control over their films. While Toho produced only thirteen films in 1947, six Toho films, including '' One Wonderful Sunday'', directed by
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...
, were ranked among the best ten films of the year in
Kinema Junpo , commonly called , is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese ''Jun'' (旬) system of dividing months into three parts, but the postwar ''Kinema Junpō'' ha ...
. However, each film had double or triple the budget of films produced by other studios, and the company suffered severe losses. In 1948, the new Toho president Tetsuzo Watanabe ordered a return of the wartime quota of 24 films per year and the end of control over production by the union. In April, Toho management announced the dismissal of 1200 employees,Hirano (1992), pp. 223-229 with the aim of both cutting expenses and eliminating Communist leaders from the union. Negotiations failed and the union occupied the studio on April 15, joined by activists from the
Japan Communist Party The is a communist party in Japan. Founded in 1922, it is the oldest List of political parties in Japan, political party in the country. It has 250,000 members as of January 2024, making it one of the largest List of communist parties#Modern n ...
and other organizations, erecting
barricades Barricade (from the French '' barrique'' - 'barrel') is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction. Adopted as a military term, a barricade denote ...
and closing the main gates. On August 13, the
Tokyo District Court is a district court located at 1-1-4 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. See also *Judicial system of Japan In the judicial system of Japan, the Constitution of Japan guarantees that "all judges shall be independent in the exercise of thei ...
decided in Toho's favor, and on the morning of August 19, a district police chief arrived at the front gate to read out the court decision. Two thousand policemen surrounded the studio, reinforced by soldiers, three airplanes, and several armored cars and tanks sent by the U.S. Eighth Army. The union leaders agreed to end their occupation on the condition the union was not disbanded. Toho was severely weakened after the strikes and produced only four films in 1948 and five films in 1949, and continued to distribute Shintoho films until the end of 1949.Hirano (1992), pp. 230-236


International expansion (1953–present)

In May 1953, Toho established
Toho International Toho International, Inc. is an American company that is a subsidiary of Japanese film company Toho Co., Ltd. Founded in May 1953, the company was initially created to sell films by Toho in North and South America; amongst their first features to ...
, a
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
-based subsidiary intended to target
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
n and
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
n markets. ''Seven Samurai'' was among the first films offered for foreign sales. Toho and Shochiku competed with the influx of Hollywood films and boosted the film industry by focusing on new directors of the likes of
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...
,
Kon Ichikawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His work displays a vast range in genre and style, from the anti-war films '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) and '' Fires on the Plain'' (1959), to the documentary '' Tokyo Olympiad'' (1965), which won t ...
,
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 ...
,
Ishirō Honda was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 46 feature films in a career spanning five decades. He is acknowledged as the most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki and one of the founders of modern disaster film, wit ...
, and
Kaneto Shindo was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film producer, and writer, who directed 48 films and wrote scripts for 238. His best known films as a director include '' Children of Hiroshima'', '' The Naked Island'', '' Onibaba'', '' Kuroneko'' a ...
. After several successful film exports to the United States during the 1950s through Henry G. Saperstein, Toho took over the La Brea Theatre in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
to show its films without the need to sell them to a distributor. It was known as the Toho Theatre from the late 1960s until the 1970s. Toho also had a theater in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
and opened a theater in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1963. The
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 ...
Company, which existed until 1961, was named New Toho because it broke off from the original company. Toho has contributed to the production of some American films, including
Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the first three films in the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present) and the ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007). He also directed the super ...
's 1998 film, '' A Simple Plan'' and Paul W. S. Anderson's 2020
military science fiction Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction and military fiction that depicts the use of science fiction technology, including spaceships and science fiction weapons, weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters ...
/
kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...
film, ''
Monster Hunter is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fantasy-themed action role-playing video games, beginning with first installment '' Monster Hunter'' for the PlayStation 2, released in 2004. Titles have been released across a variety of pl ...
''. In 2019, Toho invested ¥15.4 billion ($14 million) into their Los Angeles-based subsidiary Toho International Inc. as part of their "Toho Vision 2021 Medium-term Management Strategy", a strategy to increase content, platform, real-estate, beat JPY50 billion profits, and increase character businesses on Toho intellectual properties such as Godzilla. Hiroyasu Matsuoka was named the representative director of the US subsidiary. In 2020, Toho acquired a 34.8% stake in the animation studio TIA, with ILCA and Anima each retaining a 32.6% stake. In 2022, Toho acquired Anima's 32.6% stake to take a controlling 67.4% stake in TIA, making the studio a subsidiary, and ultimately renaming the studio into Toho Animation Studios. In December 2023, Toho announced their intent to acquire a 25% stake in Fifth Season for $225 million via Toho International. Following the completion of the deal, Fifth Season will be valued at $900 million;
CJ ENM CJ ENM Co., Ltd (, CJ Entertainment aNd Merchandising) is a South Korean entertainment and retail company founded in 1994. CJ ENM was established as a result of the merger of two CJ Group subsidiaries, CJ ENM Entertainment Division, CJ E&M and ...
will remain the majority shareholder in the company, with former owner Endeavor also continuing to serve as a strategic shareholder. CEOs Graham Taylor and Chris Rice stated that this investment would empower the company to continue the expansion of its premium slate and create opportunities for collaboration between Fifth Season, Toho and CJ ENM to produce global content as well as content produced in Japan. Following the success of ''
Godzilla Minus One is a 2023 Japanese Epic film, epic ''kaiju'' film written, directed, and with visual effects by Takashi Yamazaki. It is the 37th film in the Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla'' franchise, Toho's 33rd ''Godzilla'' film, and the fifth installme ...
'' (2023) as their first self-distributed film in the U.S., Toho declared in March 2024 that Godzilla is their "Intellectual property (IP) treasure" and they had regained retailing rights overseas (which were once abandoned), and now are able to sell, advertise, and distribute their own products to consumers outside Japan directly. The company also said that the film winning Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards is helping them gain more recognition and advancing more business extension overseas.In April 2025, Toho announced plans to invest ¥15 billion ($105 million) into Godzilla, including a ''Godzilla Minus One'' sequel, video games, merchandise, and amusement park attractions, as part of a larger ¥120 billion ($830 million) investment into expanding its film and anime projects.


Productions and distributions


Films


Television


Tokusatsu

*''Ike! Godman'' (1972) *''Warrior of Love Rainbowman, Warrior of Love: Rainbowman'' (1972) *''Zone Fighter'' (1973) *''Ike! Greenman'' (1973) *''Warrior Of Light: Diamond Eye'' (1973) *''Enban Sensō Bankid, Flying Saucer War Bankid'' (1976) *''Megaloman'' (1979) *''Dennou Keisatsu Cybercops, Electronic Brain Police Cybercop'' (1988) *''Guyferd, Seven Stars Fighting God Guyferd'' (1996) *''Godzilla Island'' (1997) *''Chouseishin Gransazer'' (2003) *''Genseishin Justirisers'' (2004) *''Chousei Kantai Sazer-X'' (2005) *''Kawaii! Jenny'' (2007) *''Godziban'' (2019–present)


Anime

*''Belle and Sebastian (Japanese TV series), Belle and Sebastian'' (1981) *''Igano Kabamaru'' (1983) *''Touch (manga), Touch'' (1985) *''Kimagure Orange Road'' (1987) *''Baoh'' (1989) *''Godzilland'' (1992) *''Shimajiro'' (1993–present) *''Midori Days'' (co-production; 2004)


Toho Animation

Toho Animation (stylized as TOHO animation) is a Japanese anime production label founded in 2012, and owned by Toho Co., Ltd., which is one of the top three film distributors in Japan. The process of the label is done in a similar fashion to Sony Pictures Animation. *''Psycho-Pass'' (2012) *''Majestic Prince (franchise), Majestic Prince'' (2013) **''Majestic Prince (franchise), Galactic Armored Fleet Majestic Prince: Wings to the Future'' (2016) **''Majestic Prince (franchise), Galactic Armored Fleet Majestic Prince: Genetic Awakening'' (2016) *''Fantasista Doll'' (2013) *''Meganebu!'' (2013) *''Yowamushi Pedal'' (2013) *''Engaged to the Unidentified'' (2014) *''One Week Friends'' (2014) *''Haikyū!!'' (2014) *''Ao Haru Ride'' (2014) *''Blood Blockade Battlefront'' (2015) *''Chaos Dragon'' (2015) *''Monster Musume'' (2015) *''Himouto! Umaru-chan'' (2015) **''Himouto! Umaru-chan, Himouto! Umaru-chan R'' (2017) *''Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash'' (2016) *''She and Her Cat#Legacy, She and Her Cat: Everything Flows'' (2016) *''My Hero Academia'' (2016) *''Sansha San'yō, Three Leaves, Three Colors'' (2016) *''Orange (manga)#Anime, Orange'' (2016) *''Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru'' (2016) **''Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru#Season 2 (2018), Zoku Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru'' (2018) **''Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru#Films, Toku Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru ~Setsugetsuka~'' (2022) *''Little Witch Academia#Television series, Little Witch Academia'' (2017) *''Sakura Quest'' (2017) *''Land of the Lustrous (TV series), Land of the Lustrous'' (2017) *''Teasing Master Takagi-san'' (2018) *''Uma Musume Pretty Derby'' (2018) *''Hanebado!'' (2018) *''Run with the Wind'' (2018) *''Anima Yell!'' (2018) *''FLCL, FLCL Progressive'' (2018) *''FLCL, FLCL Alternative'' (2018) *''Fairy Gone'' (2019) *''Dr. Stone'' (2019) *''Business Fish'' (2019) *''Beastars'' (2019) *''Azur Lane'' (2019) *''Drifting Dragons'' (2020) *''BNA: Brand New Animal'' (2020) *''Great Pretender (TV series), Great Pretender'' (2020) *''Dorohedoro'' (2020) *''Jujutsu Kaisen (TV series), Jujutsu Kaisen'' (2020) *''Mushoku Tensei'' (2021) *''Seven Knights'' (2021) *''Godzilla Singular Point'' (2021) *''Spy × Family (TV series), Spy × Family'' (2022) *''The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten'' (2023) *''Chibi Godzilla Raids Again'' (2023) *''Frieren: Beyond Journey's End'' (2023) *''The Apothecary Diaries'' (2023) *''Bucchigiri?!'' (2024) *''Kaiju No. 8'' (2024)


Theater

Toho has produced revivals and original works. Years shown refer to when they staged each piece. * ''Les Misérables (musical), Les Miserables'' * ''Elisabeth (musical), Elisabeth'' * ''Rent (musical), Rent'' * ''Mozart!'' * Newsies (musical), ''Newsies'' * ''Spirited Away'' * Moulin Rouge! (musical), ''Moulin Rouge!'' (2023) * ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'' (2024) * ''In This Corner of the World'' (2024)


Video games

* ''Cliff Hanger (video game), Cliff Hanger'' In more recent years and for a period, they have produced video games. One of their first video games was the 1990 Nintendo Entertainment System, NES game titled ''Circus Caper''. Later, they followed with a series of games based on Godzilla and a 1992 game called ''Mecarobot Golf, Serizawa Nobuo no Birdy Try''. It also published games such as ''Super Aleste'' (''Space Megaforce'' in North America). They even worked with Bandai on ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (video game), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'', released in Japan in 1988 and in the United States in 1989.


Significant employees

''dates as company employee'' *
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...
(1937–1966) * Isao Matsuoka (1957-2009) - Longtime president and chairman of Toho. * (1937-1976) *
Eiji Tsuburaya was a Japanese special effects director, filmmaker, and cinematographer. A co-creator of the ''Godzilla (franchise), Godzilla'' and ''Ultraman'' franchises, he is considered one of the most important and influential figures in the history o ...
(1937-1969) * Tomoyuki Tanaka (1941-1947;1952-1997) - Creator of Godzilla; President, CEO, and Chairman of Toho Studios *
Ishirō Honda was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 46 feature films in a career spanning five decades. He is acknowledged as the most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki and one of the founders of modern disaster film, wit ...
(1942-1975)


Toho Cinderella Audition

The Toho Cinderella Audition is an audition to discover new young actresses, first held in 1984 and irregularly held since then. It is considered one of Japan's "Big Three Actress Auditions", along with Oscar Promotion's National Bishōjo Contest and Horipro's Talent Scout Caravan.


Headquarters

Toho's headquarters, the , are in Yūrakuchō,
Chiyoda, Tokyo , known as Chiyoda City in English,
." ''City of Chiyoda''. Retrieved on December 28, 2008.
is a S ...
. The company moved into its current headquarters in April 2005.会社の沿革
". Toho. Retrieved on February 26, 2010. "2005年4月 東宝本社を東宝日比谷ビル(東京都千代田区有楽町一丁目2-2)に移転。"


See also

*TohoScope *
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 ...
*Tsuburaya Productions *Daiei Film *Kadokawa Daiei Studio *Nikkatsu *
Shochiku is a Japanese entertainment company. Founded in 1895, it initially managed '' kabuki'' theaters in Kyoto; in 1914, it also acquired ownership of the Kabuki-za theater in Tokyo. In 1920, Shochiku entered the film production industry and establis ...
*Toei Company *Toei Animation *
Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has exp ...
*Studio Ponoc *
OLM, Inc. , (formerly Oriental Light and Magic), is a Japanese animation studio, animation and film studio headquartered in Setagaya, Tokyo, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan, founded on October 3, 1990, by former Gallop (studio), Studio Gallop and OB Planning employe ...
*Studio Chizu *Sunrise (company), Sunrise *Level-5 (company), Level-5 *TMS Entertainment, TMS Entertainment, Ltd. *Benesse *
Shin-Ei Animation is a Japanese animation studio owned by TV Asahi and founded in Tokyo in 1965 as A Production by Daikichirō Kusube, who was previously an animator for Toei Animation. History Shin-Ei Animation's history begins in December 1965 as by Daiki ...


References


Sources

*


Notes


External links

*
Official Toho YouTube channel.



TOHO-TOWA Company, Limited official website

TOWA PICTURES Company, Ltd. official websiteToho Company on IMDb
* {{Authority control Toho, 1932 establishments in Japan Anime companies International sales agents Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Companies in the Nikkei 225 Conglomerate companies based in Tokyo Conglomerate companies established in 1932 Conglomerate companies of Japan Distribution companies based in Tokyo Entertainment companies established in 1975 Film distributors of Japan Holding companies based in Tokyo Holding companies established in 1932 Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Japanese brands Japanese film studios Mass media companies based in Tokyo Mass media companies established in 1932 Mass media companies of Japan Midori-kai Multinational companies headquartered in Japan Video game companies of Japan Video game development companies Video game publishers Companies listed on the Fukuoka Stock Exchange Chiyoda, Tokyo