Toho

Toho Co., Ltd.
Native name
東宝株式会社
Tōhō Kabushiki-gaisha
Company typePublic
TYO: 9602
FSE: 9602
Nikkei 225 component (TYO)
Industry
Predecessors
  • Tokyo-Takarazuka Theatre Company[1]
  • Photo Chemical Laboratory Co., Ltd.[1]
  • J.O. Studio[1]
  • Toho Film Distribution Co., Ltd.[1]
FoundedAugust 12, 1932; 92 years ago (1932-08-12) (as Tokyo-Takarazuka Theatre Company)
Tokyo, Japan
FounderIchizō Kobayashi
HeadquartersYūrakuchō, Chiyoda, ,
Japan
Area served
Worldwide, mainly Japan
Key people
Hiroyasu Matsuoka
(CEO, president and director)[2]
Minami Ichikawa
(Senior Managing Executive Officer)[2]
ProductsMotion pictures
Television programs
Video games
ServicesFilm production[2]
Film distribution[2]
Movie theatres[2]
Number of employees
3,297[2]
ParentHankyu Hanshin Toho Group[a]
Divisions
  • Motion Picture Department
  • Theatrical Department
  • Corporate Real Estate Department
Subsidiaries
  • Toho Studios
  • International Television Films
  • Toho-Towa
  • Toho Cinemas
  • Toho Entertainment
  • Toho Music
  • Toho Eizo Bijutsu
  • Toho Costume
  • Toho Stage Craft
  • Toho Stella
  • Toho International
  • Toho Retail
  • Toho Marketing
  • Toho Facilities
  • Toho Building Management
  • Toho Animation Studio
  • Science Saru
Websitewww.toho.co.jp

Toho Co., Ltd. (東宝株式会社, Tōhō Kabushiki-gaisha)[b] is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Toho is best known for producing and distributing many of Ishirō Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya's kaiju and tokusatsu films as well as the films of Akira Kurosawa and the anime of Studio Ghibli, CoMix Wave Films, TMS Entertainment, and OLM, Inc. The company has released the majority of the highest-grossing Japanese films, and through its subsidiaries, is the largest film importer in Japan.

Toho's most famous creation is Godzilla, featured in 33 of the company's films. Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla 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 via NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan), Towa Pictures Company Limited (Japanese exclusive theatrical distributor of Paramount Pictures), 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 index.

For filmography, see List of Toho films.

  1. ^ a b c d Tanaka, Tomoyuki (1983). "Toho Special Effects Prehistory Films". The Complete History of Toho Special Effects Movies (in Japanese). Toho Publishing. pp. 82–83. ISBN 4-924609-00-5.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "企業概要". Toho. Retrieved March 13, 2024.


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