Editing Toho (section)

==History==
{{Expand section|date=July 2022}}
Toho was created by the founder of the [[Hankyu|Hankyu Railway]], [[Ichizō Kobayashi]], in 1932 as the {{nihongo|''Tokyo-Takarazuka Theatre Company''|株式会社東京宝塚劇場|Kabushiki gaisha Tōkyō Takarazuka Gekijō}}. It managed much of the [[kabuki]] in Tokyo and, among other properties, the eponymous [[Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre]] and the [[Imperial Garden Theater]] in [[Tokyo]]; Toho and [[Shochiku]] enjoyed a duopoly over theaters in Tokyo for many years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Toho Co., Ltd. Business Information, Profile, and History |url=https://companies.jrank.org/pages/4475/Toho-Co-Ltd.html |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=companies.jrank.org |language=en}}</ref>

=== Labor disputes (1946–1948) ===
{{main|Toho strikes}}
[[File:Toho Labor disputes.JPG|thumb|upright|left|American soldiers outside Toho Studios in August 1948 due to the intensity of the third dispute]]
After the end of [[World War II]], the new [[Occupation of Japan|Occupation]] government allowed and encouraged the formation of [[labor unions]], which had been banned under the Imperial government.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hirano |first1=Kyōko |title=Mr. Smith Goes to Tokyo: The Japanese Cinema Under the American Occupation |date=1992 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6OsKAQAAMAAJ |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |isbn=9781560981572 |pages=205  |access-date=4 November 2023}}</ref> During a [[general strike]] of film studio employees beginning in October 1946, a group of Toho's ten top stars led by [[Denjiro Okochi]] split from the main Toho union along with 445 employees. During the resolution of the strike, a [[closed-shop]] provision with the main union led to the establishment of the [[Shintoho]] Company, which comprised the members of the dissenting union and former Toho facilities.<ref name="hirano218">Hirano (1992), pp. 218–223</ref> 

The loss of major stars led to the hiring and training of new stars, including [[Toshiro Mifune]].<ref name="hirano218"/> The contract made after the strike stipulated that Toho would only produce films approved by a committee that included union members, which led to filmmakers gaining unprecedented creative and productive control over their films.<ref name="hirano218"/> While Toho produced only thirteen films in 1947, six Toho films, including ''[[One Wonderful Sunday]]'', directed by [[Akira Kurosawa]], were ranked among the best ten films of the year in [[Kinema Junpo]].<ref name="hirano218"/> However, each film had double or triple the budget of films produced by other studios, and the company suffered severe losses.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Richie |first1=Donald |last2=Anderson |first2=Joseph L. |title=The Japanese Film: Art and Industry |date=1982 |isbn=9780691053516 |page=166 |publisher=Princeton University Press |edition=Expanded |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uSSUswEACAAJ |access-date=4 November 2023}}</ref>

In 1948, the new Toho president Tetsuzo Watanabe ordered a return of the wartime quota of 24 films per year and the end of control over production by the union.  In April, Toho management announced the dismissal of 1200 employees,<ref name="hirano223">Hirano (1992), pp. 223-229</ref> with the aim of both cutting expenses and eliminating Communist leaders from the union.<ref>{{cite news |title=Japan's movie-makers move to oust communist elements |work=Nippon Times |date=9 April 1948}}</ref> Negotiations failed and the union occupied the studio on April 15, joined by activists from the [[Japan Communist Party]] and other organizations, erecting [[barricades]] and closing the main gates.<ref name="hirano223"/> 

On August 13, the [[Tokyo District Court]] decided in Toho's favor,<ref name="hirano223"/> and on the morning of August 19, a district police chief arrived at the front gate to read out the court decision. Two thousand policemen surrounded the studio, reinforced by soldiers, three airplanes, and several [[Armored car (military)|armored cars]] and tanks sent by the [[Eighth United States Army|U.S. Eighth Army]].<ref name="hirano223"/><ref>Richie & Anderson (1982), p. 170</ref> The union leaders agreed to end their occupation on the condition the union was not disbanded.<ref name="hirano223"/>

Toho was severely weakened after the strikes and produced only four films in 1948 and five films in 1949, and continued to distribute Shintoho films until the end of 1949.<ref name="hirano230">Hirano (1992), pp. 230-236</ref>

=== International expansion (1953–present) ===
{{See also|Toho International}}
In May 1953, Toho established [[Toho International]], a [[Los Angeles]]-based subsidiary intended to target [[North America]]n and [[Latin America]]n markets. ''Seven Samurai'' was among the first films offered for foreign sales.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=148}}{{multiple image
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| caption2          = The [[Hibiya Godzilla Square]] located nearby the headquarters in [[Chiyoda, Tokyo]]
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Toho and Shochiku competed with the influx of Hollywood films and boosted the film industry by focusing on new directors of the likes of [[Akira Kurosawa]], [[Kon Ichikawa]], [[Keisuke Kinoshita]], [[Ishirō Honda]], and [[Kaneto Shindo]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/The_International_Movie_Industry|title=The international movie industry|last=Kindem|first=Gorham Anders|date=2000|page=17|publisher=Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press}}</ref>

After several successful film exports to the United States during the 1950s through [[Henry G. Saperstein]], Toho took over the [[La Brea Theatre]] in [[Los Angeles]] to show its films without the need to sell them to a distributor. It was known as the Toho Theatre from the late 1960s until the 1970s.<ref>[http://cinematreasures.org/theater/2293/ Fox La Brea Theatre in Los Angeles, CA]. Cinema Treasures. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.</ref> Toho also had a theater in [[San Francisco]] and opened a theater in [[New York City]] in 1963.<ref>"Toho" ''Far East Film News'' December 25, 1963.</ref> The [[Shintoho]] Company, which existed until 1961, was named New Toho because it broke off from the original company.<ref name="Cinematheque">{{Cite web |title=Nudes! Guns! Ghosts! The Sensational Cinema of Shintoho |url=http://thecinematheque.ca/nudes-guns-ghosts-the-sensational-cinema-of-shintoho  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806234425/http://thecinematheque.ca/nudes-guns-ghosts-the-sensational-cinema-of-shintoho |archive-date=August 6, 2019 |access-date=May 10, 2022 |work=[[The Cinematheque]]}}</ref> Toho has contributed to the production of some American films, including [[Sam Raimi]]'s 1998 film, ''[[A Simple Plan (film)|A Simple Plan]]''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cox |first1=Dan |title=Fonda has 'A Simple Plan' |url=https://variety.com/1997/film/news/fonda-has-a-simple-plan-111797668/ |website=Variety |access-date=15 July 2018|date=1997-12-21 }}</ref> and [[Paul W. S. Anderson]]'s 2020 [[military science fiction]]/[[kaiju]] film, ''[[Monster Hunter (film)|Monster Hunter]]''.<ref name="Toho">{{cite web |title=映画 モンスターハンター |url=https://www.toho.co.jp/movie/lineup/monsterhunter-movie.html |access-date=May 10, 2022 |work=Toho |language=Japanese |archive-date=February 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214124353/https://www.toho.co.jp/movie/lineup/monsterhunter-movie.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2019, Toho invested ¥15.4 billion ($14 million) into their Los Angeles-based subsidiary [[Toho International|Toho International Inc.]] as part of their "Toho Vision 2021 Medium-term Management Strategy", a strategy to increase content, platform, real-estate, beat JPY50 billion profits, and increase character businesses on Toho intellectual properties such as Godzilla. Hiroyasu Matsuoka was named the representative director of the US subsidiary.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/japan-godzilla-toho-expansion-in-hollywood-1203192294/|title='Godzilla' Owner Toho Poised for Expansion in Hollywood|first=Patrick|last=Frater|work=Variety|date=April 18, 2019|access-date=April 18, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=April 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418100048/https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/japan-godzilla-toho-expansion-in-hollywood-1203192294/}}</ref>

In 2020, Toho acquired a 34.8% stake in the animation studio TIA, with ILCA and Anima each retaining a 32.6% stake. In 2022, Toho acquired Anima's 32.6% stake to take a controlling 67.4% stake in TIA, making the studio a subsidiary, and ultimately renaming the studio into Toho Animation Studios.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Pineda|first1=Rafael Antonio |title=TOHO Acquires Controlling Stake in TIA, Renames it to Toho Animation Studio|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-09-20/toho-acquires-controlling-stake-in-tia-renames-it-to-toho-animation-studio/.189873|website=Anime News Network|access-date=December 18, 2022|date=September 20, 2022}}</ref>

In December 2023, Toho announced their intent to acquire a 25% stake in Fifth Season for $225 million via Toho International. Following the completion of the deal, Fifth Season will be valued at $900 million; [[CJ ENM]] will remain the majority shareholder in the company, with former owner [[Endeavor (company)|Endeavor]] also continuing to serve as a strategic shareholder. CEOs Graham Taylor and Chris Rice stated that this investment would empower the company to continue the expansion of its premium slate and create opportunities for collaboration between Fifth Season, Toho and CJ ENM to produce global content as well as content produced in Japan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Japan's Toho Acquires 25% Stake In Fifth Season; Korea's CJ ENM Remains Majority Shareholder|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|first=Liz|last=Shackleton|date=10 December 2023|access-date=11 December 2023|url=https://deadline.com/2023/12/fifth-season-toho-japan-cj-enm-korea-1235661178/}}</ref>

Following the success of ''[[Godzilla Minus One]]'' (2023) as their first self-distributed film in the U.S., Toho declared in March 2024 that Godzilla is their "[[Intellectual property]] (IP) treasure" and they had regained retailing rights overseas (which were once abandoned), and now are able to sell, advertise, and distribute their own products to consumers outside Japan directly.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2024 |title=東宝「ゴジラ-1.0」アカデミー賞受賞が開く海外市場 |url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUC047V10U4A300C2000000/ |access-date=March 13, 2024 |website=[[The Nikkei]] |language=ja}}</ref> The company also said that the film winning [[Academy Award for Best Visual Effects|Best Visual Effects]] at the [[96th Academy Awards]] is helping them gain more recognition and advancing more business extension overseas.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 12, 2024 |title=「ゴジラビジネス」完全覚醒 東宝、商品化権買い戻し - 日本経済新聞 |url=https://www.nikkei.com/nkd/industry/article/?n_m_code=151&ng=DGKKZO79160790R10C24A3TB0000 |access-date=March 13, 2024 |website=[[The Nikkei]] |language=ja}}</ref>In April 2025, Toho announced plans to invest ¥15 billion ($105 million) into Godzilla, including a ''Godzilla Minus One'' sequel, video games, merchandise, and amusement park attractions, as part of a larger ¥120 billion ($830 million) investment into expanding its film and anime projects.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kim |first=Sohee |date=2025-04-14 |title='Godzilla' Studio Toho to Invest $830 million in global push |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-14/-godzilla-studio-toho-to-invest-830-million-in-global-push |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]]}}</ref>

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