Toho

nihongo|Toho Company Ltd.|東宝株式会社|Tōhō Kabushiki-gaisha|extra=tyo|9602 is a large Japanese independent film studio. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. In the West, it is best known as the producer of many "daikaijũ" (monster) and tokusatsu (special effects) movies, the Chouseishin tokusatsu superhero TV franchise, the films of Akira Kurosawa, and the anime films of Studio Ghibli. Its most famous and worldwide creation is Godzilla, known as the King of the Monsters. It has also been involved in the production of numerous anime titles. Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, and Rodan are described as being Toho's "Big Five" due to the monsters' numerous appearances in all three eras of the franchise, as well as spin-offs. They have also handled the Japanese releases of the Pokémon anime movies. It's subdivisions are Toho Pictures Incorporated, Toho International Company Limited, Toho E. B. Company Limited, Toho Music Corporation & Toho Costume Comapay Limited.

History

Toho was founded by the Hankyu Railway in 1932 as the nihongo|"Tokyo-Takarazuka Theater Company"|東京宝塚劇場株式会社|Tōkyō Takarazuka Gekijō Kabushiki-kaisha. It managed much of the kabuki in Tokyo and, among other properties, the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater and the Imperial Garden Theater in Tokyo; Toho and Shochiku enjoyed a duopoly over theaters in Tokyo for many years.

After several successful film exports to the United States during the 1950s, Toho opened the La Brea Theatre in Los Angeles to show its own films without selling to a distributor. It was known as the Toho Theatre from the late 1960s until the 1970s. [http://cinematreasures.org/theater/2293/] Toho also had a theater in San Francisco and opened a theater in New York in 1963. ["Toho" "Far East Film News" December 25, 1963.]

The Shintoho Company was named New Tõhõ because it broke off from the original Tõhõ Company.

The company has contributed to the production of some American films, including Sam Raimi's "A Simple Plan".

Major productions & distributions

Film

1930s

*"Three Sisters with Maiden Hearts" (1935)
*"Enoken's Ten Millions" (1936)
*"Enoken's Ten Millions Sequel (1936)
*"Tokyo Rhapsody" (1936)
*"A Husband Chastity" (1937)
*"Tojuro's Love" (1938)
*"Enoken's Shrewd Period" (1939)
*"Chushingura I" (1939)
*"Chushingura II" (1939)

1940s

*"Song of Kunya" (1940)
*"Enoken Has His Hair Cropped" (1940)
*"" (1940)
*"Uma" (1941)
*"Drunken Angel" (1948)
*"Stray Dog" (1949)

1950s

*"Ikiru" (1952)
*"Seven Samurai" (1954)
*"Godzilla" (1954)
*"Toumei ningen (1954)
*"The Sound of the Mountain (1954)
*"Godzilla Raids Again "(1955)
*"Sazae-san" (1956)
*"Rodan" (1956)
*"The Mysterians" (1957)
*"Throne of Blood" (1957)
*"Varan" (1958)
*"The Hidden Fortress" (1958)
*"Battle in Outer Space" (1959)

1960s

*"Storm Over the Pacific" (1960)
*"The Last War" (1961)
*"Mothra (1961)
*"Yojimbo (1961)
*"King Kong vs. Godzilla" (1962)
*"Sanjuro (1962)
*"Atragon "(1963)
*"Matango "(1964)
*"Mothra vs. Godzilla "(1964)
*"Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster"(1964)
*"Devil Woman" (1964)
*"Invasion of the Astro Monster" (1965)
*"Frankenstein Conquers the World" (1965)
*"Punch Guy" (1966)
*"Ebirah, Horror of the Deep "(1966)
*"War of the Gargantuas" (1966)
*"Son of Godzilla " (1967)
*"Destroy All Monsters "(1968)
*"All Monsters Attack "(1969)
*"Latitude Zero "(1969)
*"Battle in the Sea of Japan "(1969)

1970s

*"Space Amoeba" (1970)
*"Godzilla vs. Hedorah" (1971)
*"Godzilla vs. Gigan" (1972)
*"Godzilla vs. Megalon "(1973)
*"Submersion of Japan" (1973)
*"Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla "(1974)
*"Evil of Dracula" (1974)
*"Lupin III" (1974)
*"Terror of Mechagodzilla" (1975)
*"Demon Spies" (1975)
*"The War in Space" (1977)
*"Zero Fighter" (1976)

1980s

*"Belle and Sebastian"
*"Doraemon" and sequels (1980)
*"The Wizard of Oz (1982)
*"The Return of Godzilla" (1984)
*"" (1988)
*"My Neighbor Totoro" (1988, coproduction with Studio Ghibli)
*"Godzilla vs. Biollante" (1989)

1990s

*"Devil Hunter Yohko" (1990)
*"Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" (1991)
*"Godzilla vs. Mothra" (1992)
*"Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II" (1993)
*"Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla" (1994)
*"Godzilla vs. Destoroyah" (1995)
*"Ring (film)" (1998)
*"Pocket Monsters The Counterattack of Mewtwo" (1998)
*"" (1999)
*"Pocket Monsters the Phantom Pokemon, Explosive Birth of Lugia" (1999)

2000s

*"Pocket Monsters The Lord of the Crystal Tower Entei (2000)
*"Metropolis"
*"Godzilla vs. Megaguirus" (2000)
*"Spirited Away" (2001), coproduction with Studio Ghibli)
*"Inuyasha" movies (2001-2004), co-productions with Sunrise
*"Hamtaro Movie 1: Adventures in Ham-Ham Land" (2001) (distributor)
*"Pocket Monsters Celebi, the Meeting that Transversed Time" (2001)
*"Hamtaro Movie 2: Princess of Vision" (2002) (distributor)
*"Beyblade (2002) (Producer)
*"" (2001)
*"Pocket Monsters The Guardian of the Water Capital Latias and Latios" (2002)
*"Hamtaro Movie 3: Ham-Ham Grand Prix" (2003) (distributor)
*"Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla" (2002)
*"" (2003)
*"" (2003)
*"Howl's Moving Castle" (2004), coproduction with Studio Ghibli)
*"Naruto the Movie" (2004)
*"" (2004)
*"Steamboy" (2004)
*"Hamtaro Movie 4: Hamtaro and the Mysterious Ogre's Picture Book Tower" (2004) (distributor)
*"" (2004)
*"Lolerei" (2005)
*"Always san-chome no yuhi" (2005)
*"Densha Otoko" (2005)
*"NANA" (2005)
*"" (2005)
*"" (2006)
*"NANA2" (2006)
*"Dōbutsu no Mori" (2006), co-production with O.L.M., Nintendo, and Shogakukan
*"Touch" Movie (2006)
*"Rough" (2006)
*"Nada Sousou" (2006)
*"Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation Pokémon Ranger and the Prince of the Sea Manaphy" (2006)
*"Always zoku san-chome no yuhi" (2007)
*" " (2007)
*"HERO" (2007)
*"" (2007)
*"" (2008)
*"Godzilla 3D to the MAX" (TBA)

Television

Tokusatsu

*"" (1972)
*"Meteor Man Zone" (1973)
*"" (1973)
*"Flying Saucer War Bankid" (1976)
*"Megaloman" (1979)
*"Eletronic Brain Police Cybercop" (1989)
*"Seven Stars Fighting God Guyferd" (1996)
*"Godzilla Island" (1997)
*"Chouseishin Gransazer" (2003)
*"Genseishin Justirisers" (2004)
*"Chousei Kantai Sazer-X" (2005)
*"Kawaii! Jenny" (2007)

TV Anime

*"Belle & Sebastian" (1981)
*"Touch" (1985)
*"Midori Days" (co-production) (2004)

In more recent years and for a period, they have produced video games. One of their first video games was the 1990 NES game titled Circus Caper. Later, they followed with a series of games based on Godzilla and a 1992 game called Serizawa Nobuo no Birdy Try. It also published games such as Super Aleste.

ee also

*TohoScope

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.toho.co.jp/ Official homepage] (in Japanese)
* [http://www.tohokingdom.com/ Toho Kingdom]