Shochiku

Shochiku Co., Ltd.(松竹株式会社,ShōchikuKabushiki gaisha)is a Japanese entertainment company. It started its business in 1895 by managingkabukitheaters in Kyoto, and in 1914, it also acquired ownership of theKabuki-zatheater in Tokyo. In 1920, Shochiku entered the film production industry and established the Kamata Film Studio. Currently, it is considered one of Japan's Big Four film studios and is the oldest among the Big Four. Shochiku is a member of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ).
It also produces and distributesanimefilms, in particular those produced byBandai 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 includeYasujirō Ozu,Kenji Mizoguchi,Mikio Naruse,Keisuke KinoshitaandYōji Yamada. It has also produced films by highly regarded independent and "loner" directors such asTakashi Miike,Takeshi Kitano,Akira Kurosawa,Masaki KobayashiandTaiwaneseNew WavedirectorHou Hsiao-hsien.
The company was founded in 1895 as akabukiproduction company and later began producing films in 1920.Shochiku is considered the oldest company in Japan involved in present-day film production,butNikkatsubegan 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 combinedkunyomireading of thekanjitake(bamboo) andmatsu(pine) from their names, reflecting the traditional three symbols of happiness: bamboo, pine, and plum. Theonyomireading ofShōchikufirst 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, includingNohandBunraku, and established a near monopoly due to its ownership of theaters, as well askabukiandshimpadrama 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 ofjidai-gekiand to emulateHollywoodstandards. It was the first film studio to abandon the use of female impersonators and brought new ideas, including thestar systemand thesound stageto Japan. It built its main studio atKamata, namedShochiku Kamata Studio, between Tokyo and Yokohama, and hiredHenry 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 directorKaoru Osanaito head a school at the studio, which produced the filmSouls on the Road(1921), a film directed byMinoru Muratawhich is considered "the first landmark film in Japanese history".
However, Shochiku's early history was difficult, as audiences preferred the more action-packedjidai-gekihistorical swashbucklers over theshinpamelodramas, and itsKamatastudios were destroyed by the1923 Great Kantō earthquake, forcing a temporary relocation toKyoto.
With the reopening of its Kamata studios, Shochiku also introduced theshomin-gekigenre,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, andHiroshi Shimizu) and actors (includingKinuyo Tanaka).
In 1931, Shochiku released the first “talkie” made in Japan:The Neighbor's Wife and Mine(Madamu to nyōbō, 1930). Filming became increasingly difficult at theKamatastudios 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 toOfuna, nearKamakurain 1936. The following year, Shochiku Kinema was merged with its parent company, Shochiku Entertainment, and adopted the new name of 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 werepropagandistic.
After thesurrender of Japan, Kido and Shochiku's co-founder Otani were arrested and charged withClass-A war crimesby theAllied occupation authoritieshowever, Otani's charges were ultimately dropped after the list of war criminals was deemed too large.
In 1953, after the end of theoccupation, 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, andNoboru Nakamura. Many of the films during the 1950s were aimed primarily at female audiences. In particular, Hideo Oba's three-partWhat is Your Name?(Kimi no na wa?) in 1953 was the most commercially successful film of the period.Ozu'sTokyo Story, made in 1953, later earned considerable accolades, being selected in the 2012Sight & Soundinternational critics poll as the third best film of all time.
Tohowas Shochiku's primary rival during this period, competing for talent and properties as well as with the influx of Hollywood films and the rise of television.By the start of the 1960s, Shochiku's films were criticized as “old-fashioned” with the popularity of rivalNikkatsu’sTaiyo-zokuyouth-orientated movies. The studio responded by launching theJapanese New Wave(Nuberu bagu) which also launched the career ofNagisa Oshimaamong 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 competitorsShintohoin 1961 andDaieiin 1971, whereasNikkatsuandToeiturned togangster moviesandsoft pornographyto maintain attendance, whileTohocontinued to thrive with itskaijufilms and prestige talent roster. Shochiku held its family-orientated audience largely due to the phenomenal success of theTora-sanseries directed byYoji Yamadafrom 1969 through 1997. However, with the death of its starKiyoshi Atsumi, 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 studiowas briefly transformed into a theme park, Kamakura Cinema World, but this was closed in 1998 and the site was sold off in 2000 toKamakura Women's College. Since that time, Shochiku has relied on its film studio andbacklotin 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 theatricalanime. Major titles have included theCardcaptor Sakurafilms, theMobile Suit Gundamfilms,Origin: Spirits of the Past,Piano no Mori,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 FlandersandJungle Emperor Leo.
as of October 2015
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