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 Incorparated, Toho Intrenational Company Limited, Toho E. B. Company Limited, Toho Music Corparation & Toho Costume Comapay Limited.
History
Toho was founded by the Hankyu Railway in 1932 as the . 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. 
Toho also had a theater in San Francisco and opened a theater in New York in 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)
- Songoku: Monkey Sun (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)
- Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster(1964)
- Mothra vs. Godzilla (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)
- Kimagure Orange Road: Ano Hi Ni Kaeritai (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)
- Godzilla 2000: Millennium (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 Bakuten Shoot Beyblade The Movie: Gekitou!! Takao vs Daichi) (2002) (Producer)
- Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (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)
- Godzilla, Mothra, Mechagodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S (2003)
- Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation The Wishing Star of the Seven Nights Jirachi (2003)
- Howl's Moving Castle (2004), coproduction with Studio Ghibli)
- Naruto the Movie (2004)
- Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
- Steamboy (2004)
- Hamtaro Movie 4: Hamtaro and the Mysterious Ogre's Picture Book Tower (2004) (distributor)
- Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation The Visitor from a Fissure in the Sky Deoxys (2004)
- Lolerei (2005)
- Always san-chome no yuhi (2005)
- Densha Otoko (2005)
- NANA (2005)
- Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation Mew and the Wave-Guiding Hero Lucario (2005)
- Bleach: Memories of Nobody (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)
- Eiga De Tojo-Tamagotchi: Dokidoki! Uchuu no Maigotchi!? (2007)
- HERO (2007)
- Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl Dialga VS Palkia VS Darkrai (2007)
- Pocket Monsters Diamond and Pearl Giratina and the Bouquet of the Sky: Shaymin (2008)
Television
Tokusatsu
- Warrior Of Love: Rainbowman (1972)
- Meteor Man Zone (1973)
- Warrior Of Light: Diamond Eye (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. It also published games such as Super Aleste.
See also
Footnotes
External links
- Official homepage (in Japanese)
- Toho Kingdom
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Tuesday July 22, 2008 at 22:36:03 PDT (GMT -0700)
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