Toho Co., Ltd.

Background
Toho Co., Ltd. (東宝株式会社) 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. It was formed as Toho Eiga Co., Ltd. from the merger of P.C.L., Jenkins Osawa Studio, and Toho Eiga Haikyu of the Tokyo-Takarazuka Theater Company which itself was formed in 1932. In 1937, the documentary film department, Toho Bunka Eiga, was established. In 1943, it was merged with the Tokyo-Takarazuka Theater Company, forming Toho Co., Ltd. and renaming their production facilities as Toho Studios.

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 29 of the company's films. Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla 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. Toho is a member of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ), and is one of Japan's Big Four film studios.

1st Logo (October 1, 1937-1938)
Visuals: On a black background, the Toho emblem (a circle with the characters "東宝" inside reading from top to bottom, previously used in Toho Eiga Haikyu's logo) is seen in white. Below is the company name "東宝映画株式會社" in Japanese.

Technique: None. Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on early films such as Learn from Experience Part I.

2nd Logo (1938)
Visuals: On a black background, a small Toho emblem is seen, with the company name "東宝映畫" below.

Technique: None. Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown

3rd Logo (1938-1939)
Visuals: The Toho emblem and company name in Japanese is seen inside a white frame. Two versions of this exist: one with a wooden background and one with a black background. The name may be displayed as either "東宝映画株式會社" or "東宝映畫株式會社" (both reading right to left).

Technique: None. Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown

4th Logo (1938)
Visuals: On a light background, a large Toho emblem in black is seen. Over the emblem is the Japanese text.

Technique: None. Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown

5th Logo (1938)
Visuals: On a textured white background with black patterns, the Toho emblem and company name is seen drawn on.

Technique: None.

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown

6th Logo (1939)
Visuals: Over a brick wall is the Toho emblem and the company name below. The inside of the Toho emblem is smooth.

Technique: None.

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown

7th Logo (1940)
Visuals: On a space background, we see the giant Toho emblem, surrounded by a rotating ring that has the company name inscribed.

Technique: Live action.

Audio: The opening theme.

Availability: Seen on films from the period such as Tabi yakusha (旅役者) and Son Goku (孫悟空).

8th Logo (1941-April 1, 1942)
Visuals: Over a rocky background with a light source on the bottom, we see the Toho emblem in white, floating above the screen. Then the company name in black tilts into view, casting a shadow in the front due to the light source being behind the text.

Technique: Live action and practical effects.

Audio: A custom fanfare.

Availability: Seen on films from this period such as Midori no daichi.

9th Logo (December 3, 1942)
Visuals: There is the Toho emblem and company name in a dark environment, barely visible. A light then illuminates the logo, casting a prominent shadow to the right.

Technique: Live action.

Audio: The opening theme of the film.

Availability: Can be seen on The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya (Hawai Mare Oki Kaisen).

10th Logo (1942)
Visuals: There is the Toho emblem against what appears to be a starlit mountain ridge background, with the company name written underneath in katakana instead of the usual kanji.

Technique: Unknown.

Audio: Unknown, most likely the opening theme of the film.

Availability: Unknown.

11th Logo (1943)
Visuals: Over a wall with an embossed map of East Asia, a metallic Toho emblem is seen, along with the company name in white below.

Technique: None.

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown

1st Logo (April 13, 1944)
Visuals: On a sunburst background (which can be barely seen), a large model of the Toho emblem is seen suspended above ground. Below is a rotating model of a musical staff, with the company name inscribed.

Technique: Live action.

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Seen on films from the period such as Akira Kurosawa's The Most Beautiful.

2nd Logo (1946-1948)
Visuals: Over a dark textured background is the Toho emblem and company name, both seemingly three-dimensional and sporting a slight shadow.

Technique: None.

Audio: A custom fanfare.

Availability: Seen on films from the period such as Akira Kurosawa's One Wonderful Sunday. Also known to plaster older logos.

3rd Logo (1946)
Visuals: There is the Toho emblem between two lit torches. The torches are placed over a platform which has the company name inscribed over it.

Variant: A still version of this exists, with the torches being a painting.

Technique: Live action.

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown

4th Logo (1947)
Visuals: On a black background, we see the Toho emblem. The screen then zooms out from the emblem, revealing the company name below.

Technique: A zoom-out effect.

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown

5th Logo (1947-1948)
Visuals: On a black background, the Toho emblem is seen over a small area of glimmering lights. The company name is below.

Technique: Live action.

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown

6th Logo (1947-1948)
Visuals: On a black background, the Toho emblem in white is seen, but thinner, with the company name below.

Technique: None.

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Seen on early Shintoho productions, preceding said company's logo.

7th Logo (1948)
Visuals: On a grey background, the Toho emblem is seen in white, with the company name below.

Technique: None.

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown

8th Logo (1948)
Visuals: On a marble background, the Toho emblem is seen in white. The company name is below.

Technique: None.

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown

9th Logo (1949-1950)
Visuals: There is a model of a town. The Toho emblem and company name, both three-dimensional, are seen suspended over it.

Variant: There's an animated version where the logo begins with the Toho emblem and name darkened, then being lit up.

Technique: None. The variant is live action.

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown

10th Logo (November 8, 1949, 1953)
Visuals: Over a flower field, we see the Toho emblem zooming in. The arched company name enters from the right of the screen to below the emblem.

Technique: Cel animation.

Audio: A custom fanfare.

Availability: Seen on early Shintoho productions, preceding said company's logo. Such productions include Ohara Shôsuke-san.

11th Logo (1950)
Visuals: On a cloud background, the Toho emblem in black is seen, with a banner displaying the company name below. Animated sun rays are seen behind the logo.

Technique: Live action.

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown.

12th Logo (1950-1952)
MCOVY5KKdQ0 9EAk2R_BoAU wc4NnLb6ln8 Visuals: The Toho emblem and company name is seen inside a frame.

Technique: Unknown

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown

13th Logo (October 9, 1952-1955)
7yd3tQmrYCY 6MPrKJ4JFb8 5Yc62s-Cs7M Visuals: On a black background with spinning lines and a shining center (like a sunburst), there is a large Toho emblem. The company name then wipes in below the emblem.

Variants: In 1952, the company celebrated its 20th anniversary (from its beginnings as the Tokyo-Takarazuka Theater Company, founded in 1932). In this variant, after the logo animates, it fades into a textured background with an ornate frame and with the text "東宝創立20周年記念映画" ("Toho's 20th anniversary film").

Technique: Practical effects.

Audio: None or the opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Seen on some films from the time, most notably Godzilla and Seven Samurai.

Legacy: The spinning lights are notable for being used for the first time here, and for the rest of the logos below.

14th Logo (September 15, 1953)
Visuals: Similar to before, except the lines are aquamarine is shown over a sky background with some clouds below. The emblem and the company name (which are already there) is in orange.

Trivia: This was the first appearance of the spinning lines in color, and the first color logo from the company.

Technique: Practical effects.

Audio: The opening theme.

Availability: Seen on Hana no naka no musumetachi.

15th Logo (1954-1965)
Visuals: Similar to before, but the emblem is smaller and is shown on a dark blue space background with two versions, one with golden stripes with the various colors of the rainbow spectrum, and clear, light blue stripes with the colors of the rainbow spectrum more apparent.

Variant:
 * On films in TohoScope, "TOHO" and "SCOPE" are on the left and right sides of the circle in a huge font.
 * The distribution variant reads "TOHO COMPANY LTD. DISTRIBUTION" in Japanese. The rotating stripes are much slower and slightly blurry in this variant.

Technique: Practical effects.

Audio: None or the opening theme.

Availability: Seen on releases from this period, such as Rodan, The Hidden Fortress, and The Mysterians. The distribution variant is much more common and is known to plaster older logos on many films, such as Stray Dog (1949) and Sugata Sanshiro (1943). The 1950s "TohoScope" color version makes a surprise appearance on the 2016 movie Shin Godzilla, after the 1993 version.

16th Logo (October 14, 1958)
Visuals: On a grey marble background, there is a Toho emblem with film projector lines connected into emblem, then there is "TOHO PAN SCOPE" in a Gothic font with "PAN" in the center of emblem, and the Kanji in white is seen below.

Technique: None.

Audio: The opening theme.

Availability: Seen only on Varan the Unbelievable (1958), a Toho film which was shot in Toho Pan Scope 2:1 format, similar to Univisium.

17th Logo (March 20, 1965-1997)
Visuals: Again, similar to before, but the logo is shown on a blue space background with mostly clear stripes that correspond to the various colors of light seen in the center of the logo. Small sparks of light are seen emitted from the center.

Variants:
 * Some movies had an English-translated logo (with "TOHO" written in the circle and/or "TOHO COMPANY, LTD." in English, replacing the kanji). A still shot of this variant can be seen on the trailer for the anime film Metropolis.
 * The distribution variant also has "TOHO COMPANY, LTD. DISTRIBUTION" in Japanese, unlike previous logos. There are color and B&W variants and still version which used on trailer of Toho distributed films. It was seen on Toho distributed films like Kuroneko (1968), Under the Flag of Rising Sun (1972), Dodes'ka-den (1970), Tokyo Olympiad (1965) and others.
 * The print circle was seen on Godzilla Unleashed for the Nintendo DS, as well as some Classic Media DVD releases of Toho material.

Technique: Practical effects.

Audio: None or the opening theme of the movie.

Availability:


 * Should be saved on most anything made by Toho in the era. It can also be seen on several anime productions such as the Doraemon and Crayon Shin-Chan films, Metropolis (2001), and Akira, Macross: Do You Remember Love?, among others.
 * It can also be seen on Koneko Monogatari (1986), which was reedited and redubbed outside of Japan as The Adventures of Milo and Otis (a Columbia Pictures release). Additionally, it can be found on Japanese prints of Studio Ghibli films starting with Only Yesterday. It also plasters the 1952 logo on the 1972 PBS broadcast and 1984 Embassy Home Entertainment release of Seven Samurai. It may have also appeared on the earliest Japanese prints of My Neighbor Totoro.

Legacy: One of the most well-known Japanese logos.

18th Logo (March 6, 1993-)
Visuals: An updated version of the last logo. The stripes are colored purple and various light blue colors, but also some green and yellow stripes are thrown in as well.

Variant: Starting with Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva in late 2009, the Japanese characters' font has been changed.

Technique: The animation appears to be CGI, unlike the previous logos.

Audio: Usually silent or the opening theme of the film.

Availability:


 * Seen on newer releases from the company, such as Ringu, Shin Godzilla (before the 1954 TohoScope logo), the Pokémon films (albiet plastered by the 1998 Miramax Films logo on American prints of Pokémon films from 2001-2004 from Pokémon 4Ever to Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys) and Jujutsu Kaisen 0.
 * It also appears on Japanese prints of MonsterVerse and Nintendo films since 2014 that were distributed elsewhere by Warner Bros. Pictures or Universal Pictures.
 * Also seen on recent Japanese prints of Studio Ghibli or Mamotu Hosoda-operated Studio Chizu films, sometimes before Nippon Television Networks logo.

19th Logo (1st North American logo) (December 3, 2020)


Visuals: On a realistic space background, a blue ice comet flies around the bottom of the screen, with the background rotating with it. We then go inside the comet, which reveals several blue and purple streaks coming towards the center with a white light in the middle, as the letters of "TOHO" in off-white fly in from the middle of the screen. A large white ring also comes in as well. After they settle, the background fades to a mostly unaltered version of the 1993 logo's background, and the "東宝" kanji fade in.

Technique: CGI.

Audio:
 * June-September 2022: During the ice comet flying animation, a quiet whoosh can be heard. There is a calm synth theme during the "TOHO" name flying and the ring flying, as well as over the blue and purple streaks animation. Another calm theme is heard at the end during the logo formation, with the background and kanji letters fading in.
 * November 2022-: During the comet sequence, a majestic orchestral fanfare is heard, along with different quiet whooshes and a film projector sound effect. At the end, during the streaks, the company name, and the ring flying animation, a different film projector soundbite is heard, which ends in a "clang" sound effect during the background and kanji letters animation.
 * Sometimes (mainly Monster Hunter, this logo's currently lone appearance), it has the opening theme of the movie.

Availability: As of now, it has only appeared on Monster Hunter (2020).