The 90-year History of TOHO: The film company that created Godzilla and gave us Akira Kurosawa
2022/10/14
The Japanese films "Seven Samurai" (1954) directed by the maestro, Akira Kurosawa, "Godzilla" (1954) by Director Ishiro Honda, and "HOUSE" (1977), a highly artistic, trailblazing horror film by Director Nobuhiko Obayashi...did you know these were all created by the same company? Even now TOHO continues to churn out an array of hits, such as "Your Name" (2016) by Director Makoto Shinkai. A look at the top ten box-office earnings for 2021 in Japan shows that TOHO was affiliated with six of them.
The National Film Archive of Japan (NFAJ), Japan’s one and only national institution of films, screened 41 films in Part 1 of its special event, “The 90th Anniversary of Toho: A Film History of Modernization and Innovation” that was held from June to July 2022. From October 4th, 65 films are screened in Part 2.
TOHO has created many films based on the company founder’s philosophy “to widely provide inspiring entertainment to the general public.” To uncover how that philosophy came to be and how it has breathed life into TOHO’s films, we spoke to three NFAJ staff members. Masaki Daibo is a senior researcher in the institution’s in the NFAJ Screening Room who planned “The 90th Anniversary of Toho” and selected the films shown along with his fellow researchers, Kenta Tamada and Atsuko Morimune. At the end of this article, the TOHO Marketing Department chimes in with a few words.
Text: Toru Sano Photo: Tomohiro Takeshita Editing: Sho Ikoma, Satomi Hara (CINRA, Inc.)
Doing everything from production to performance and turning Japanese films into a business
── What kind of story is behind the founding of the company, TOHO?
Daibo : There are various stories about when the history of TOHO started, but the company history published by TOHO in 2010 says it began when Ichizo Kobayashi established the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater in 1932.
Daibo : Tokyo Takarazuka Theater was the Tokyo location of the Takarazuka Revue, a troupe established by Kobayashi in 1914 that was based in the Kansai region. Today, the Takarazuka Revue is made up entirely of women, and the male roles are played by women as well. Internationally speaking, it’s an exceptional theatrical company. The Takarazuka Revue and Tokyo Takarazuka Theater set out to become “a national theater that can be enjoyed by all people, regardless of their gender or age.” and created a stir in Japan’s entertainment industry. The second pillar of the theater was film.
── Speaking of the 1930s, "The Jazz Singer" was released in America in 1927. It was a full-length film with sound, a so-called “talkie.” That’s around the time that talkies attracted attention as a new business, isn’t it?
Daibo : That’s right. Japan also entered the age of talkies, and ambitious businessmen and young technicians who hadn’t been involved in films until then got into the film industry. Good examples of that are Photo Chemical Laboratory Co., Ltd. (P.C.L.) and J. O. Studio, which were absorbed by TOHO as it grew as a film company. P.C.L. originally researched photographic emulsion and engaged by contract in film development for movies as a sideline. Yoshio Osawa (1902–1966) from J. O. Studio toured the West as an importer and recognized the potential of talkies.
Compared to silent films, talkies required several times more production expense and enormous investment. At this time, P.C.L. was being financed by major private businesses such as a sweets manufacturer and beer manufacturer. They understood that talkies were a promising business.
── There were several other film production companies in Japan back then, so what set TOHO apart in those early days?
Tamada : Notably, at that point you could see a glimpse of the “production partnership” approach that has become mainstream in film production these days in Japan. Instead of the company taking on the entire production budget alone, this approach reduced risk through various outside financing. For example, because "A Musical Comedy: Intoxicated Life" (1933) was made through an investment partnership with the beer manufacturer, Dai Nippon Beer, it became a love story about a girl who sells beer.
Morimune : The company’s attitude toward entertainment was also pioneering. Before the Takarazuka Revue and film business, Ichizo Kobayashi built Hanshin Kyuko Railway Company (present-day Hankyu Railway) in the Hanshin area, currently the second largest urban area in Japan, and developed towns along the railway line that hadn’t yet grown into cities. He built theaters to entertain the people living there. To promote a culture of theater and films, he started by creating an entertainment network close at hand to people’s day-to-day lives.
In the latter half of the 1930s, he bought up several cinemas and playhouses in succession to grow the company, and with that capital he built cinemas throughout Japan. The company then showed its own films to sustain earnings. This kind of character, which can be called capitalistic, differed from other film production companies that gradually developed based on entertainment in a limited area.
Talent fostered by skilled TOHO producers include Akira Kurosawa and Eiji Tsuburaya.
── Early on, the company established a business model not only for film production, but also for taking charge of everything up to performance. Right? In addition to that kind of start-up mentality, was there anything distinctive about the character of the films?
Daibo : Good question. I think that there was certainly an innovativeness in film content and the assignment and cultivation of staff. For instance, take the film "Renai no Sekinin" (The Responsibility of Love; 1936). Tomoyoshi Murayama (1901–1977) was a flag-bearer of avant-garde movements at that time, and was tapped to direct the film. He made ingenious use of techniques such as unexpected camera angles. Plus, you can also see progressiveness in areas that present new images of independent women instead of the “women who were subordinated to men” that were often depicted in conventional novels and films.
Tamada : Unlike the director-focused system that was the norm in earlier Japanese film companies, TOHO adopted a production system similar to America where the producer has a lot of authority. Producers like Iwao Mori (1899–1979) and Sanezumi Fujimoto (1910–1979) had full command of the budget and the director, but since they were great fans of film themselves, they never neglected production quality.
── Can you name some of the directors who worked under those producers?
Daibo : Mori and Fujimoto brought in talented people who had already done well at other companies as directors, including Director Kajiro Yamamoto (1902–1974) who shored up the framework of TOHO, and Director Mikio Naruse (1905–1969) who is known for films including "Floating Clouds" (1955). Akira Kurosawa who directed "Seven Samurai" also joined the company through general recruiting and was fostered by them as a novice. It could be said that a system with the producer at the helm effectively discovers and fosters new directors.
Incidentally, it was Eiji Tsuburaya who led the special effects unit in "The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya". He was later involved in "Godzilla", but his talent was already recognized in TOHO before WWII.
TOHO released numerous films reflecting society at the time during the golden age of Japanese films.
── The golden age of Japanese films is said to be from the 1950s to 1960s. What kind of films were created at TOHO during this period?
Daibo : TOHO films around that time deeply reflected Japan’s society and public morals. For example, the release of "Third Class Executives" (1952) gave rise to “businessmen comedies” that comically portrayed the woes of Japanese company employees, which became a type of film typical of TOHO. They were produced to reflect the circumstances of Japanese employees and corporate society in that day.
Morimune : Also, you can’t overlook the films that focused the spotlight on women living in male-centric Japanese society. "Woman of Design" (1962), for instance, was a film with a career woman as the lead who worked in the advertising industry. It smartly depicted women practically navigating work and love, and surviving in a male-dominated society. While there’s no tagline like, “a film depicting feminism,” when you take a fresh look you realize it perceptively portrays issues that are relevant today.
Plus, films such as the “three-girl series” that started with "So Young, So Bright" (1955) and the “three dolls series” that includes "Anything Goes Three Dolls' Way" (1960) can be viewed from a modern perspective as sisterhood films showing solidarity among women.
TOHO built a foundation for popular anime from "AKIRA" to "Your Name".
── There are recent animated TOHO films that are widely known even overseas, such as "Your Name". TOHO has distributed numerous movie versions of popular TV anime, including "Pokémon" and "Doraemon", but what kind of impact has TOHO had on the Japanese animation industry?
Morimune : TOHO turned up demand for families that until then hadn’t been going to the movie theater much through distribution from the 1980s of film versions of animation that garnered popularity on TV.
At the same time, the company produced feature-length animation with strong characteristics of the creator and opened up a new film market for the young. There are innovative films still handed down as classic works, such as "Space Firebird" (1980) by Chief Director Osamu Tezuka, "Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer" (1984) by Director Mamoru Oshii, and "AKIRA" (1988) by Katsuhiro Otomo. These fascinated young viewers and formed the foundation for Japanimation that has gained global popularity since the 1990s.
── Today’s interview has provided a peek into the distinctiveness of TOHO, which in its long history has had a hand in a wide range of works, including literary art, action, tokusatsu (special effects), and animation.
Tamada : Since TOHO’s founding, it’s created films popular among men and women of all ages. Hopefully, this special report gives readers a keen sense of the breadth of TOHO films that were produced while reflecting the atmosphere of the times.
Morimune : Director Tamizo Ishida was covered in a small special feature around 50 years after his passing. He directed "Flowers Have Fallen" (1938), which was highly praised by the film critic, Noël Burch and is also worthy of note from the perspective of global film history. TOHO has served as a stage where many extraordinary storytellers such as Tamizo Ishida succeeded. I anticipate a growing enthusiasm to globally reassess not only Akira Kurosawa and Mikio Naruse, but the other highly individualistic storytellers of TOHO as well.
Daibo : Negatives of many of the pre-war films from TOHO are still in storage and should be newly printed on positive film. I hope that this special feature will lead to plans for an even larger special feature.
A few words from TOHO
TOHO has created numerous productions films based on the philosophy of the company founder, Ichizo Kobayashi “to widely provide inspiring entertainment to the general public.” “The 90th Anniversary of Toho: A Film History of Modernization and Innovation” has provided an opportunity to re-acknowledge that achievement.
In addition, this year we created the new slogan, “Entertainment for YOU Inspiring Customers around the World” as we look ahead to our 100th anniversary ten years from now. Our founder’s vision lives on within us.
Moreover, in accordance with TOHO’s basic sustainability policy that pledges to “create a rich film and theater culture and pass it on to the next generation,” we are actively endeavoring to preserve original film editions. We are safeguarding 90 years’ worth of films with cultural value, including "Girls of Dark" that was restored by The Japan Foundation, and attach much importance to passing on our films to future generations. There are plans for overseas screenings, and we consider it a great honor to have people around the world enjoy our films.
TOHO will continue to bring excitement to viewers worldwide in a variety of genres, including film and anime.
The 90th Anniversary of Toho: A Film History of Modernization and Innovation
Summary
Part 1: June 24–July 31, 2022
Part 2: October 4–December 25, 2022
Tickets: General admission 520 yen, high school and university
students/seniors 65 and up 310 yen, elementary and jr. high school students 100 yen (all prices include tax)
Organizer: National Film Archive of Japan
Collaborator: TOHO CO., LTD.
Website: https://www.nfaj.go.jp/exhibition/toho202209/
Film Lineup (In Japanese)
Part 1
1.
『花より團子シリーズ 第三話 弱虫珍選組』（1935年、作画：中野孝夫・八住紫郎・市川義一・宮崎和夫）
『かぐや姫［短縮版］』（1935年、監督：田中喜次）
『新しき土［日英版］』（1937年、監督：伊丹万作）
2.『人情紙風船［4Kデジタルリマスター版］』（1937年、監督：山中貞雄）
3.『綴方教室』（1938年、監督：山本嘉次郎）
4.『ハワイマレー沖海戰』（1942年、監督：山本嘉次郎）
5.『青い山脈』『青い山脈 前編梗概』『續 青い山脈』（1949年、監督：今井正）
6.『都会の横顔』（1953年、監督：清水宏）
7.『七人の侍［4Kデジタルリマスター版］』（1954年、監督：黒澤明）
8.『ゴジラ［デジタルリマスター版］』（1954年、監督：本多猪四郎）
9.『浮雲［4Kデジタルリマスター版］』（1955年、監督：成瀨巳喜男）
10.『ジャンケン娘』（1955年、監督：杉江敏男）
11.『地球防衛軍』（1957年、監督：本多猪四郎）
12.『無法松の一生』（1958年、監督：稲垣浩）
13.『女ばかりの夜［4Kデジタルリマスター版］』（1961年、監督：田中絹代）
14.『小早川家の秋』（1961年、監督：小津安二郎）
15.『その場所に女ありて』（1962年、監督：鈴木英夫）
16.『ニッポン無責任時代［デジタルリマスター版］』（1962年、監督：古澤憲吾）
17.『忠臣蔵 花の巻 雪の巻』（1962年、監督：稲垣浩）
18.『太平洋奇跡の作戦 キスカ』（1965年、監督：丸山誠治）
19.『フランケンシュタイン対地底怪獣』（1965年、監督：本多猪四郎）
20.『エレキの若大将』（1965年、監督：岩内克己）
21.『クレージー黄金作戦』（1967年、監督：坪島孝）
22.『日本のいちばん長い日［4Kデジタルリマスター版］』（1967年、監督：岡本喜八）
23.『激動の昭和史 沖縄決戦』（1971年、監督：岡本喜八）
24.『日本沈没［4Kデジタルリマスター版］』（1973年、監督：森谷司郎）
25.『華麗なる一族』（1974年、監督：山本薩夫）
26.『駅 STATION［デジタルリマスター版］』（1981年、監督：降旗康男）
27.『家族ゲーム［4Kデジタルリマスター版］』（1983年、監督：森田芳光）
28.『ゴジラVSキングギドラ』（1991年、監督：大森一樹）
29.『永遠の0』（2013年、監督：山崎貴）
30.『シン・ゴジラ』（2016年、総監督：庵野秀明）
31.『君の名は。』（2016年、監督：新海誠）
32.
『天明怪捕物 梟』（1926年、原作：石田民三）
『おせん』（1934年、監督：石田民三）
33.『夜の鳩』（1937年、監督：石田民三）
34.『花ちりぬ』（1938年、監督：石田民三）
35.『むかしの歌』（1939年、監督：石田民三）
36.『花つみ日記』（1939年、監督：石田民三）
37.『あさぎり軍歌』（1943年、監督：石田民三）
Part 2
1.『音楽喜劇 ほろよひ人生』（1933年、監督：木村莊十二）
2.『戀愛の責任』（1936年、監督：村山知義）
3.『白薔薇は咲けど』（1937年、監督：伏水修）
4.『阿部一族』（1938年、監督：熊谷久虎）
5.
『戰ふ兵隊』（1939年、監督：亀井文夫）
『醫者のゐない村』（1940年、監督：伊東壽惠男）
6.『樋口一葉』（1939年、監督：並木鏡太郎）
7.『化粧雪』（1940年、監督：石田民三）
8.
『釣鐘草』（1940年、監督：石田民三）
『三尺左吾平』（1944年、監督：石田民三）
9.『ハナ子さん』（1943年、監督：マキノ正博）
10.『姿三四郎［最長版］』（1943年、監督：黒澤明）
11.
『歌へ！太陽』（1945年、監督：阿部豊）
『東京五人男』（1945年、監督：齋藤寅次郎）
12.『或る夜の殿様』（1946年、監督：衣笠貞之助）
13.《東宝教育映画秀作選》
『すて猫トラちゃん』（1947年、監督：政岡憲三）
『卵は語る』（1947年、監督：太田仁吉）
『名探偵ヒロシ君』（1949年、監督：関川秀雄）
『こんこん鳥物語』（1949年、監督：下村兼史）
14.『三等重役』（1952年、監督：春原政久）
15.『プーサン』（1953年、監督：市川崑）
16.『赤線基地』（1953年、監督：谷口千吉）
17.『宮本武蔵』（1954年、監督：稲垣浩）
18.『男ありて』（1955年、監督：丸山誠治）
19.『夫婦善哉』（1955年、監督：豊田四郎）
20.
『鬼火』（1956年、監督：千葉泰樹）
『新しい背広』（1957年、監督：筧正典）
21.『雪国』（1957年、監督：豊田四郎）
22.『サラリーマン出世太閤記』（1957年、監督：筧正典）
23.『こだまは呼んでいる』（1959年、監督：本多猪四郎）
24.『貸間あり』（1959年、監督：川島雄三）
25.『野獣死すべし』（1959年、監督：須川栄三）
26.『黒い画集 あるサラリーマンの証言』（1960年、監督：堀川弘通）
27.『お姐ちゃんはツイてるぜ』（1960年、監督：筧正典）
28.『名もなく貧しく美しく』（1961年、監督：松山善三）
29.『社長道中記』（1961年、監督：松林宗惠）
30.『喜劇 駅前弁当』（1961年、監督：久松静児）
31.『マタンゴ』（1963年、監督：本多猪四郎）
32.『江分利満氏の優雅な生活』（1963年、監督：岡本喜八）
33.『血とダイヤモンド』（1964年、監督：福田純）
34.『国際秘密警察 火薬の樽』（1964年、監督：坪島孝）
35.『あこがれ』（1966年、監督：恩地日出夫）
36.『俺たちの荒野』（1969年、監督：出目昌伸）
37.『華麗なる闘い』（1969年、監督：浅野正雄）
38.『白昼の襲撃』（1970年、監督：西村潔）
39.『赤頭巾ちゃん 気をつけて』（1970年、監督：森谷司郎）
40.『青春の蹉跌』（1974年、監督：神代辰巳）
41.『急げ！若者』（1974年、監督：小谷承靖）
42.『血を吸う薔薇』（1974年、監督：山本迪夫）
43.『細雪』（1983年、監督：市川崑）
44.『恋する女たち』（1986年、監督：大森一樹）
45.『誘拐』（1997年、監督：大河原孝夫）
46.『世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ』（2004年、監督：行定勲）
47.『悪人』（2010年、監督：李相日）
48.『蜩ノ記』（2014年、監督：小泉堯史）
49.『幡随院長兵衛』（1940年、監督：千葉泰樹）
50.『虎造の荒神山』（1940年、監督：靑柳信雄）
51.『青春の氣流』（1942年、監督：伏水修）
52.『愛の世界 山猫とみの話』（1943年、監督：青柳信雄）
53.『肖像』（1948年、監督：木下惠介）
54.『ジャコ萬と鉄』（1949年、監督：谷口千吉）
55.『殺陣師段平』（1950年、監督：マキノ雅弘）
56.『戰国無賴［短縮版］』（1952年、監督：稲垣浩）
57.『あすなろ物語』（1955年、監督：堀川弘通）
58.『姿三四郎』（1965年、監督：内川清一郎）
《Second Period》
1. "Musical Comedy: Horoyohi Life" (1933, Director: Kimura Sojuji)
2. "Responsibility of Love" (1936, Director: Tomoyoshi Murayama)
3. "The White Rose Blooms" (1937, Director: Fushimizu Osamu)
4. The Abe Clan (1938, Director: Kumagai Hisatora)
Five.
"Fighting Soldiers" (1939, Director: Fumio Kamei)
"A Village Without Doctors" (1940, Director: Ito Toshio)
6. "Higuchi Ichiyo" (1939, Director: Kyotaro Namiki)
7. "Makeup Snow" (1940, Director: Tamizo Ishida)
8.
"The Blue Bell" (1940, directed by Tamizo Ishida)
"Sanjaku Sadagohei" (1944, Director: Tamizo Ishida)
9. "Hanako-san" (1943, Director: Makino Masahiro)
10. Sanshiro Sugata [Longest Version] (1943, Director: Akira Kurosawa)
11.
"Sing! The Sun" (1945, Director: Yutaka Abe)
"Five Men of Tokyo" (1945, Director: Torajiro Saito)
12. "The Lord of the Night" (1946, Director: Teinosuke Kinugasa)
13. "Toho Educational Film Masterpiece Selection"
"Tora-chan the Cat" (1947, Director: Kenzo Masaoka)
"The Egg Speaks" (1947, Director: Ota Nikichi)
"Detective Hiroshi" (1949, Director: Hideo Sekigawa)
The Story of the Birds (1949, Director: Kaneji Shimomura)
14. "Third Class Executive" (1952, Director: Masahisa Haruhara)
15. "Poussin" (1953, Director: Kon Ichikawa)
16. "Red Light District Base" (1953, Director: Senkichi Taniguchi)
17. "Miyamoto Musashi" (1954, Director: Hiroshi Inagaki)
18. "A Man" (1955, Director: Seiji Maruyama)
19. "Fuufu Zenzai" (1955, Director: Toyoda Shiro)
20.
"Will-o'-the-Wisp" (1956, Director: Yasuki Chiba)
"The New Suit" (1957, Director: Masanori Kakei)
21. "Snow Country" (1957, Director: Toyoda Shiro)
22. "Salaryman Success Taikoki" (1957, Director: Masanori Kakei)
23. "Echo is Calling" (1959, Director: Ishiro Honda)
24. "Room for Rent" (1959, Director: Yuzo Kawashima)
25. "Wild Beasts Must Die" (1959, Director: Eizo Sugawara)
26. "Black Art Book: The Testimony of a Salaryman" (1960, Director: Hiromichi Horikawa)
27. "My Sister is Lucky" (1960, Director: Masanori Kakei)
28. "Nameless, Poor and Beautiful" (1961, Director: Zenzo Matsuyama)
29. "The President's Travels" (1961, Director: Matsubayashi Muneyoshi)
30. "Comedy: The Lunch Box in Front of the Station" (1961, Director: Seiji Hisamatsu)
31. "Matango" (1963, Director: Ishiro Honda)
32. The Elegant Life of Mr. Ebunriman (1963, Director: Kihachi Okamoto)
33. "Blood and Diamonds" (1964, Director: Jun Fukuda)
34. "International Secret Police: Gunpowder Barrels" (1964, Director: Takashi Tsuboshima)
35. "Akogare" (1966, Director: Hideo Onchi)
36. "Our Wilderness" (1969, Director: Masanobu Deme)
37. The Magnificent Battle (1969, Director: Masao Asano)
38. "Attack in the Daylight" (1970, Director: Kiyoshi Nishimura)
39. "Little Red Riding Hood, Be Careful" (1970, Director: Shiro Moritani)
40. "The Fall of Youth" (1974, Director: Tatsumi Kamishiro)
41. "Hurry! Young People" (1974, Director: Kotani Seiyasu)
42. "Blood-sucking Rose" (1974, Director: Yoshio Yamamoto)
43. "The Makioka Sisters" (1983, Director: Kon Ichikawa)
44. "Women in Love" (1986, Director: Kazuki Omori)
45. "Kidnapping" (1997, Director: Takao Okawara)
46. Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World (2004, Director: Yukisada Isao)
47. Villain (2010, Director: Lee Sang-il)
48. Chronicle of the Cicada (2014, Director: Takashi Koizumi)
49. "Batsuiin Chobei" (1940, Director: Yasuki Chiba)
50. "Tozo's Arajinyama" (1940, Director: Nobuo Aoyama)
51. "The Spirit of Youth" (1942, Director: Fushimizu Osamu)
52. The World of Love: The Story of Wildcat and Tomomi (1943, Director: Nobuo Aoyagi)
53. Portrait (1948, Director: Kinoshita Keisuke)
54. "Jacoman and the Iron Man" (1949, Director: Senkichi Taniguchi)
55. "Danpei the Fighter" (1950, Director: Masahiro Makino)
56. "Warlords of the Five Elements [Short Version]" (1952, Director: Hiroshi Inagaki)
57. "Asunaro Monogatari" (1955, Director: Hiromichi Horikawa)
58. "Sanshiro Sugata" (1965, Director: Seiichiro Uchikawa)
