Toho

Toho Co., Ltd.

Native name	東宝株式会社
Type	Public
Traded as	:
Industry	Motion picture, theater, television
Founded	August 12, 1932; 84 years ago (1932-08-12) (as Tokyo-Takarazuka Theater Company) Tokyo, Japan
Founder	Ichizō Kobayashi
Headquarters	Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Key people	Yoshishige Shimatani (President)
Number of employees	2010+
Website	toho.co.jp/en

Toho Co., Ltd. (東宝株式会社, Tōhō Kabushiki-gaisha^?) is a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside Japan, it is best known as the producer and distributor of many kaiju and tokusatsu films, the Chouseishin tokusatsu superhero television franchise, the films of Akira Kurosawa, and the anime films of Studio Ghibli. Other famous directors, including Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Masaki Kobayashi, and Mikio Naruse, also directed films for Toho.

Toho's most famous creation is Godzilla, who features in 28 of the company's films. Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, and Rodan are described as Toho's Big Five because of the monsters' numerous appearances in all three eras of the franchise, as well as spin-offs. Toho has also been involved in the production of numerous anime titles. Its subdivisions are Toho-Towa Distribution, Toho Pictures Incorporated, Toho International Company Limited, 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.