Nikkatsu
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese entertainment company well known for its film
and television
productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio
. The name Nikkatsu is an abbreviation of Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Cinematograph Company".
when several production companies and theater chains, Yoshizawa Shōten
, Yokota Shōkai
, Fukuhōdō
and M. Pathe
, consolidated under the name Nippon Katsudō Shashin. The company enjoyed its share of success. It employed such notable film directors as Shozo Makino and his son Masahiro Makino
.
In the course of World War II
the government ordered the ten film companies that had formed by 1941
consolidate into two. Daiei
founder Masaichi Nagata, a former Nikkatsu employee, counter-proposed that three companies be formed and the suggestion was approved. Nikkatsu, set to merge with the two weakest companies, Shinkō Kinema
and Daito, were verbally displeased. The committee formed to establish the value of each company retaliated by purposefully undervaluing Nikkatsu which lead to Shinkō becoming the dominant head of production. The reformed Nikkatsu continued to prosper as an exhibition company but ceased all film production.
The postwar film industry expanded rapidly and, in 1951
, Nikkatsu president Kyusaku Hori began construction of a new production studio. A graduate of Tokyo Keizai University
, Hori had joined the company in 1951 after quitting his initial employment as the manager of Sanno Hotel (now rebuilt as Sanno Park Tower
). Under Hori, Nikkatsu is considered to have had its "Golden Age" of Japanese cinema.
The company began making movies again in 1954
. Many assistant directors from other studios, including Shohei Imamura
and Seijun Suzuki
from Shochiku
, moved to Nikkatsu with the promise of advancement to full director status within one or two years.
The company made a few samurai
films and historical dramas
but by 1960
had decided to devote its resources to the production of urban youth dramas, comedy
, action
and gangster
films. From the late 1950s to 1971
they were renowned for their big budget action movies designed for the youth market. They employed such stars as Yujiro Ishihara
, Akira Kobayashi
, Joe Shishido
, Tetsuya Watari
, Ruriko Asaoka
, Chieko Matsubara and, later, Meiko Kaji and Tatsuya Fuji
. Director Shohei Imamura
began his career there and between 1958 and 1966 made for them such films as Pigs and Battleships
(1961
), The Insect Woman
(1963
) and The Pornographers
(1966
).
By 1971 the increased popularity of television had taken a heavy toll on the film industry and in order to remain profitable Nikkatsu turned to the production of Roman Porno (shortened Japanese-English form of "romantic pornography") and pink films, which focus on sex
, violence
, S&M
and romance
. Hori resigned over the change in focus, and many stars and directors left the company. A few, including the film directors Yasuharu Hasebe
, Keiichi Ozawa, Shogoro Nishimura
, and Koreyoshi Kurahara
, stayed. It also witnessed the emergence of such new directors as Tatsumi Kumashiro
, Masaru Konuma
and Chusei Sone
.
The advent of home video
brought an end to active production at Nikkatsu. Bed Partner (1988) was the last release in the venerable 17-year Roman Porno series. Nikkatsu declared bankruptcy in 1993.
In 2010, a revived Nikkatsu studio announced new production of The Sushi Typhoon movie series in partnership with a U.S. distributor.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese entertainment company well known for its film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio
Movie studio
A movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...
. The name Nikkatsu is an abbreviation of Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Cinematograph Company".
History
Nikkatsu was founded on September 10, 19121912 in film
The year 1912 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Mack Sennett, who had previously worked as an actor and comedy director with D. W. Griffith, formed a new company with New York City entrepreneur Adam Kessel called Keystone Studios...
when several production companies and theater chains, Yoshizawa Shōten
Yoshizawa Shōten
was a film studio and importer active in the early years of cinema in Japan. Originally involved in the magic lantern business, Yoshizawa bought a cinématographe camera off a visiting Italian and began exhibiting motion pictures in 1897. Run by Ken'ichi Kawaura, and having an office in London,...
, Yokota Shōkai
Yokota Shōkai
was a Japanese film studio active in the early years of cinema in Japan. Its origins can be traced back to when Einosuke Yokota received one of the first Lumiere cinematograph machines in Japan from Katsutarō Inaba to conduct traveling exhibitions of the device. In 1901, Yokota founded Yokota...
, Fukuhōdō
Fukuhōdō
was a Japanese film studio active in the early years of cinema in Japan.-Background:Fukuhōdō was founded in 1910 when Kenzō Tabata built a chain of modern, concrete movie theaters in Tokyo. To supply these eight theaters, Tabata started a production arm, with a studio located in Nippori...
and M. Pathe
M. Pathe
was a Japanese film studio active in the early years of cinema in Japan.-Background:M. Pathe was founded in 1906 by Shōkichi Umeya, a businessman who had distributed films first in Malaysia and Singapore and then in Japan. He took the name "M. Pathe" from the French Pathé Frères studio even though...
, consolidated under the name Nippon Katsudō Shashin. The company enjoyed its share of success. It employed such notable film directors as Shozo Makino and his son Masahiro Makino
Masahiro Makino
was a Japanese film director of more than 260 films, primarily in the chanbara and yakuza genres. His real name was Masatada , but he took the stage name Masahiro, the kanji for which he changed multiple times .-Career:...
.
In the course of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the government ordered the ten film companies that had formed by 1941
1941 in film
The year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...
consolidate into two. Daiei
Kadokawa Pictures
is a Japanese movie studio.-History:One of the most famous studios in Japan and founded in 1942 as , it is best known for having produced the giant monster Gamera film series and the Daimajin Trilogy. It also produced the Zatoichi and Nemuri Kyoshiro film series and the television series Shōnen Jet...
founder Masaichi Nagata, a former Nikkatsu employee, counter-proposed that three companies be formed and the suggestion was approved. Nikkatsu, set to merge with the two weakest companies, Shinkō Kinema
Shinkō Kinema
-Background:Shinkō was established in September 1931 out of the remnants of the Teikoku Kinema studio with the help of Shōchiku capital. The historian Jun'ichirō Tanaka writes that the studio was part of Shōchiku's effort to monopolize the Japanese film industry, using Shinkō to control some of the...
and Daito, were verbally displeased. The committee formed to establish the value of each company retaliated by purposefully undervaluing Nikkatsu which lead to Shinkō becoming the dominant head of production. The reformed Nikkatsu continued to prosper as an exhibition company but ceased all film production.
The postwar film industry expanded rapidly and, in 1951
1951 in film
The year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
, Nikkatsu president Kyusaku Hori began construction of a new production studio. A graduate of Tokyo Keizai University
Tokyo Keizai University
is a private university in Tokyo, Japan. It has campuses at the cities of Kokubunji and Musashimurayama. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1900, and it was chartered as a university in 1949.-External links:*...
, Hori had joined the company in 1951 after quitting his initial employment as the manager of Sanno Hotel (now rebuilt as Sanno Park Tower
Sanno Park Tower
The is a 44-story skyscraper located in Nagatachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the second highest building of the ward, after the Shin-Marunouchi Building....
). Under Hori, Nikkatsu is considered to have had its "Golden Age" of Japanese cinema.
The company began making movies again in 1954
1954 in film
The year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
. Many assistant directors from other studios, including Shohei Imamura
Shohei Imamura
was a Japanese film director. Imamura was the first Japanese director to win two Palme d'Or awards.His eldest son Daisuke Tengan is also a script writer and film director, and worked on the screenplays to Imamura's filmsThe Eel , Dr...
and Seijun Suzuki
Seijun Suzuki
, born Seitaro Suzuki on May 24, 1923, is a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are renowned by film enthusiasts worldwide for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility...
from Shochiku
Shochiku
is a Japanese movie studio and production company for kabuki. It also produces and distributes anime films. Its best remembered directors include Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Keisuke Kinoshita and Yōji Yamada...
, moved to Nikkatsu with the promise of advancement to full director status within one or two years.
The company made a few samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
films and historical dramas
Jidaigeki
is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...
but by 1960
1960 in film
The year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
had decided to devote its resources to the production of urban youth dramas, comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
and gangster
Yakuza film
is a popular film genre in Japanese cinema which focuses on the lives and dealings of yakuza, also referred to as the Japanese Mafia.-Ninkyo eiga:...
films. From the late 1950s to 1971
1971 in film
The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
they were renowned for their big budget action movies designed for the youth market. They employed such stars as Yujiro Ishihara
Yujiro Ishihara
was a Japanese actor and singer born in Kobe. His elder brother, Shintaro Ishihara, is an author, politician, and the current Governor of Tokyo. Yujiro debuted in 1956 in "Season of the Sun," based on a novel written by his brother...
, Akira Kobayashi
Akira Kobayashi
is a Japanese actor. His nickname is .- Biography :He successfully became an actor in the Nikkatsu Corporation. He attended Meiji University but left before graduating. Kobayashi made his debut in 1959 in the film Nangoku Tosa o Ato ni Shite . He also starred in the TV series "Wataridori" and...
, Joe Shishido
Joe Shishido
is a Japanese actor most recognizable for his intense, eccentric yakuza film roles and his artificially enlarged cheekbones. He has appeared in some 300 films but is best known in the West for his performance in the cult film Branded to Kill...
, Tetsuya Watari
Tetsuya Watari
is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. He made his screen debut in 1964, in Isamu Kosugi's .He is now the president of Ishihara Promotion.He has a younger brother, Tsunehiko Watase, who is also an actor.-Filmography:-External links:* *...
, Ruriko Asaoka
Ruriko Asaoka
born 2 July 1940 in Xinjing, Manchukuo , is a Japanese actress.- Filmography :* * * Alone on the Pacific aka Alone Across the Pacific...
, Chieko Matsubara and, later, Meiko Kaji and Tatsuya Fuji
Tatsuya Fuji
Tatsuya Fuji is a Japanese film actor. He has appeared in 50 films since 1964, and was the first Japanese actor to appear in full-frontal nudity with explicit sexual scenes in a non-pornographic Japanese film, In the Realm of the Senses, which was released worldwide in 1976, but has yet to be...
. Director Shohei Imamura
Shohei Imamura
was a Japanese film director. Imamura was the first Japanese director to win two Palme d'Or awards.His eldest son Daisuke Tengan is also a script writer and film director, and worked on the screenplays to Imamura's filmsThe Eel , Dr...
began his career there and between 1958 and 1966 made for them such films as Pigs and Battleships
Pigs and Battleships
is a 1961 Japanese film by director Shohei Imamura.- Plot :The film depicts the mutually exploitative relationship that exists between the U.S. military and the lower elements of Japanese society at Yokosuka....
(1961
1961 in film
The year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
), The Insect Woman
The Insect Woman
is a 1963 film directed by Japanese director Shōhei Imamura. It was entered into the 14th Berlin International Film Festival where Sachiko Hidari won the Silver Bear for Best Actress award.-Plot:...
(1963
1963 in film
The year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....
) and The Pornographers
The Pornographers
The Pornographers is a 1966 Japanese film directed by Shohei Imamura and based on a novel of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka. Its original Japanese title is Erogotoshitachi yori Jinruigaku nyumon , which means 'An introduction to anthropology through the pornographers'. It tells the story of porn...
(1966
1966 in film
The year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
).
By 1971 the increased popularity of television had taken a heavy toll on the film industry and in order to remain profitable Nikkatsu turned to the production of Roman Porno (shortened Japanese-English form of "romantic pornography") and pink films, which focus on sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, S&M
Sadism and masochism
Sadomasochism broadly refers to the receiving of pleasure—often sexual—from acts involving the infliction or reception of pain or humiliation. The name originates from two authors on the subject, Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch...
and romance
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
. Hori resigned over the change in focus, and many stars and directors left the company. A few, including the film directors Yasuharu Hasebe
Yasuharu Hasebe
was a Japanese film director best known known for his movies in the "Violent pink" subgenre of the Pink film, such as Assault! Jack the Ripper , Rape! , Rape! 13th Hour and Raping!...
, Keiichi Ozawa, Shogoro Nishimura
Shōgorō Nishimura
-Filmography:* Zankoku onna jōshi * Apartment Wife: Affair In the Afternoon * Affair at Twilight * Drifter's Affair * Sigh of Roses * Apartment Wife: Secret Rendezvous...
, and Koreyoshi Kurahara
Koreyoshi Kurahara
was a Japanese screenwriter and director. He is perhaps best known for directing Antarctica , which won several awards and was entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival...
, stayed. It also witnessed the emergence of such new directors as Tatsumi Kumashiro
Tatsumi Kumashiro
was a Japanese film director best known for his critically acclaimed, award-winning Roman Porno films, such as Ichijo's Wet Lust and The Woman with Red Hair...
, Masaru Konuma
Masaru Konuma
is a Japanese director most famous for his Roman Porno films for Nikkatsu during the 1970s.-Early life:Masaru Konuma was born in Otaru, Hokkaidō, on December 30, 1937. Konuma retains no memories of his father who was a teacher...
and Chusei Sone
Chusei Sone
is a Japanese film director known primarily for his stylish and popular Roman Porno films for Nikkatsu, particularly the first two installments of the Angel Guts series. Despite a somewhat uneven career, many mainstream critics consider Sone the best of Nikkatsu's Roman Porno directors.-Life and...
.
The advent of home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
brought an end to active production at Nikkatsu. Bed Partner (1988) was the last release in the venerable 17-year Roman Porno series. Nikkatsu declared bankruptcy in 1993.
In 2010, a revived Nikkatsu studio announced new production of The Sushi Typhoon movie series in partnership with a U.S. distributor.
Ownership
- 1912 Nippon Katsudō Shashin K.K. was established by the merger of four film companies: Yoshizawa ShōtenYoshizawa Shōtenwas a film studio and importer active in the early years of cinema in Japan. Originally involved in the magic lantern business, Yoshizawa bought a cinématographe camera off a visiting Italian and began exhibiting motion pictures in 1897. Run by Ken'ichi Kawaura, and having an office in London,...
, Yokota ShōkaiYokota Shōkaiwas a Japanese film studio active in the early years of cinema in Japan. Its origins can be traced back to when Einosuke Yokota received one of the first Lumiere cinematograph machines in Japan from Katsutarō Inaba to conduct traveling exhibitions of the device. In 1901, Yokota founded Yokota...
, FukuhōdōFukuhōdōwas a Japanese film studio active in the early years of cinema in Japan.-Background:Fukuhōdō was founded in 1910 when Kenzō Tabata built a chain of modern, concrete movie theaters in Tokyo. To supply these eight theaters, Tabata started a production arm, with a studio located in Nippori...
and M. PatheM. Pathewas a Japanese film studio active in the early years of cinema in Japan.-Background:M. Pathe was founded in 1906 by Shōkichi Umeya, a businessman who had distributed films first in Malaysia and Singapore and then in Japan. He took the name "M. Pathe" from the French Pathé Frères studio even though...
. - 1993 applied for Corporate Reorganization Act.
- 1996 acquired by a Japanese leisure company NamcoNamcois a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
. - 2005 sold to Index HoldingsIndex Holdingsis the holding company of the Japanese enterprise Index Group of Companies. It was founded on September 1, 1995, as a mobile content service provider and has expanded into one of Japan's most successful companies, with acquisitions into several communications and entertainment ventures, including...
, a Japanese holding company which has interests in media contents industries.
Nikkatsu SM Queens
From 1974 to 1985, Nikkatsu promoted a number of their leading Roman Porno actresses of the popular BDSM niche under the epithet .- Naomi TaniNaomi Taniis a Japanese actress who is best known for her appearances in Nikkatsu's Roman Porno films with an S&M theme during the 1970s.-Early career:Born October 20, 1948, in the Hakata ward of Fukuoka, Naomi Tani moved to Tokyo at the age of 18. After arrival in Tokyo, she was featured in a photo layout...
(1974–1979) - Junko Mabuki (1980–1981)
- Izumi ShimaIzumi Shimais a Japanese actress known especially for her roles in Nikkatsu Roman Porno series of films.-Life and career:Shima was born Keiko Ishida in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, Japan on December 3, 1953. She made her debut with the Nikkatsu studio in the August 1977 Roman Porno film Lady Chatterley In...
(1982–1983) - Nami Matsukawa (1983)
- Miki Takakura (1983–1985)