Toho Co., Ltd. is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of 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, CoMix Wave Films, TMS Entertainment, and OLM, Inc. All nine of the highest-grossing Japanese films are released by Toho. Other famous directors, including Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Masaki Kobayashi, and Mikio Naruse, also directed films for Toho.
The Shochiku Company, Limited is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those 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.
Shintoho Co. Ltd. was a Japanese movie studio. It was one of the big six film studios during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. It was founded by defectors from the original Toho company following a bitter strike in 1947.
Moonlight Mask is a superhero appearing in Japanese tokusatsu and anime television shows and movies since his TV debut in 1958. The six theatrical films were made in black and white/ToeiScope format. Created by writer Kōhan Kawauchi, Moonlight Mask is best described as Japan's answer to The Lone Ranger, Batman and Zorro.
Gappa is a 1967 Japanese kaiju film directed by Haruyasu Noguchi. The film is about a group of Japanese reporters who discover an infant monster called a Gappa on Obelisk Island. The reporters cage the creature and take it to Japan where it becomes a media attraction. This angers the natives of the island and Gappa's full-grown parents, who head toward Japan to find their child. Its plot virtually duplicates that of the 1961 British film Gorgo.
Yotsuya Kaidan (四谷怪談), the story of Oiwa and Tamiya Iemon, is a tale of betrayal, murder and ghostly revenge. Arguably the most famous Japanese ghost story of all time, it has been adapted for film over 30 times and continues to be an influence on Japanese horror today. Written in 1825 by Tsuruya Nanboku IV as a kabuki play, the original title was Tōkaidō Yotsuya Kaidan. It is now generally shortened, and loosely translates as Ghost Story of Yotsuya.
The X from Outer Space is a 1967 Japanese science fiction kaiju film that was directed by Kazui Nihonmatsu and stars Eiji Okada and Toshiya Wazaki.
Ghost-Cat of Gojusan-Tsugi is a 1956 Japanese horror film directed by Bin Kado and produced by Daiei Film. It was filmed in black-and-white in the Academy ratio format.
Empire of Passion is a 1978 French-Japanese film produced, written and directed by Nagisa Ōshima, based on a novel by Itoko Nakamura. The film was a co-production between Oshima Prods. and Argos Films.
Ultraman: Monster Movie Feature is a 1967 Japanese superhero kaiju film directed by Hajime Tsuburaya, with special effects by Koichi Takano. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the first film in the Ultraman franchise, consisting entirely of re-edited material from Ultraman. In the film, an extraterrestrial defends Earth from giant monsters who pose a threat to humanity.
Kaidan Kasane-ga-fuchi, also known as The Depths, or The Ghost of Kasane, is a 1957 black-and-white/ Scope Japanese horror film directed by Nobuo Nakagawa for Shintoho Films. The screenplay was based on a story called Shinkei Kasanegafuchi by Encho Sanyutei. The film was never dubbed in English and is only available in subtitled format. It was a short film, running 57 minutes.
Ghost-Cat of Arima Palace is a 1953 Japanese horror film directed by Ryohei Arai and produced by Daiei Film. Filmed in black and white in the Academy ratio format, it stars Takako Irie and Kotaro Bando.
Ghost Stories of Wanderer at Honjo is a 1957 black-and-white, full screen Japanese film directed by Goro Katono. It is Japanese horror film (J-Horror) based on the story Seven Wonders of Honjo by Akira Sugawa. It was never dubbed in English, nor shown in the United States. The Japanese title translates as Ghost Story of the Seven Wonders of Honjo.
Black Cat Mansion is a 1958 Japanese supernatural horror film directed by Nobuo Nakagawa for Shintoho. The film is presented in a nonlinear narrative, taking place in the characters' present and past, and in the distant past. It is one of several Japanese "ghost cat" films, featuring a cat-like supernatural entity.
Ghost of Chibusa Enoki, aka The Mother Tree, is a 1958 black-and-white, full screen Japanese film directed by Goro Katano. It is in the Japanese horror film (J-Horror) genre. The film was not dubbed in English nor shown theatrically in the United States.
The Ivory Ape is a 1980 Japanese-American action film co-produced by Rankin/Bass and Tsuburaya Productions. It was filmed in Bermuda, with a Japanese effects crew, and at Tsuburaya Studios in Tokyo.
The Vampire Doll is a 1970 Japanese horror film directed by Michio Yamamoto.
Niisan Takahashi was a Japanese screenwriter.
The Snow Woman is a 1968 Japanese fantasy horror film directed by Tokuzō Tanaka and produced by Daiei Film. The film is an expanded adaptation of the Yuki-onna short story as it appeared in the 1904 collection Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn.
