SHINTOHO MOTION PICTURE COMPANY

leading Japanese motion-picture studio, known for its production of war films and action pictures appealing to mass audiences. Formed in 1947, it was originally financed by the Toho Motion Picture Company. Within two years, after the motion picture Sambyaku-rokujugo-ya (1948; Three Hundred and Sixty-five Nights) was a financial success, Shintoho began to open its own distribution outlets and to move toward independence from Toho. In 1951, financial difficulties, resulting from lack of adequate distribution facilities and from rivalry with Toho, forced a month-long close. Mitsugi Okura, the owner of a small theatre chain, became the head of the studio in 1955. He risked its future on the epic film Meiji Tenno to Nichi-Ro dai senso (1957; Emperor Meiji and the Great Russo-Japanese War). Its tremendous success saved the company. Shintoho has since produced war films that appeal to ultraconservative viewers, as well as films of sex and violence directed toward urban mass audiences.