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 Headquarters in Tsukiji, Chūō, Tokyo | |
Native name | 松竹株式会社 |
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Romanized name | Shōchiku Kabushiki gaisha |
| Company type | Public (Kabushiki gaisha) |
| Industry | Entertainment (film) |
| Founded | 1895 |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | Tsukiji 4-1-1, , |
| Revenue | 5.4 billion yen (2021) |
Number of employees | 1,427 (2021) |
| Subsidiaries |
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| Website | www |
Shochiku Co., Ltd. (松竹株式会社, Shōchiku Kabushiki gaisha) is a Japanese entertainment company. It started its business in 1895 by managing kabuki theaters in Kyoto, and in 1914, it also acquired ownership of the Kabuki-za theater 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 distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai 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 include Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Keisuke Kinoshita and Yōji Yamada. It has also produced films by highly regarded independent and "loner" directors such as Takashi Miike, Takeshi Kitano, Akira Kurosawa, Masaki Kobayashi and Taiwanese New Wave director Hou Hsiao-hsien.