Shochiku: Difference between revisions

===Background===

Shochiku was founded in 1895 as a kabuki theater company. Its name was read as "Matsutake" after the founders, Matsujirou Shirai and Takejirou Otani, until 1937, when it was officially changed to "Shochiku", the Chinese reading of the name, as opposed to the initial Japanese. The film production division, Shochiku Kinema, was established in 1920.

'''Logo:''' On a brick wall, we see the name of the company: "松竹キネマ株式會社" ("Shochiku Kinema Co., Ltd."), written from right to left. Below that is the Shochiku Kinema symbol and the year 1929, and on the bottom of the screen is the name of the studio, Kamata Films ("蒲田映画"), also written from right to left, used by Shochiku.

'''Logo:''' Over a set of clouds on a dark background, an archer is seen standing on the Shochiku Kinema symbol about to shoot an arrow. The same text from before is seen, with "松竹キネマ株式會社" arched above the archer, Kamata Films' company name on the sides of the archer, as well as the year 1930 below everything else.

'''Logo:''' On a stone background featuring an abstract human figure holding a sword on the left side and an image of a lion lying down, with the year 1932 written on it, toward the bottom. The name of the Kamata Films studio is on top of the screen. Below that is the Shochiku Kinema symbol. Below the lion is the name of the Shochiku Kinema company.

===Background===  

'''Logo:''' The logo opens to a scene of the symbol of the consolidated Shochiku company on a spinning paper fan or wheel. The characters "松竹映畫" (meaning "Shochiku Films") "flip" into the frame above the fan. These are followed by the characters "製作" on the bottom left of the fan and "提供" on the bottom right (meaning "production" and "offering/sponsoring", respectively, here used in the sense of the English "presents"). Then, the company's full name appears below the fan, and the image fades out.

'''Logo:''' The logo opens with a bouquet of flowers and a glass-like ring spinning around it. Five stars and the words "Shochiku Films" can be seen on the ring. Below the bouquet is the year 1947, written in transparent numbers.

'''Logo:''' On a background with stars that shine occasionally, the Shochiku symbol can be seen. A bouquet of flowers balancing on a spinning globe, lit from the back, appears behind it. The symbol retreats into the background and disappears when it reaches the bouquet. Then, the words "Shochiku Films" appear above the bouquet. The year 1948 on the globe appears from the right and the globe stops spinning when the numbers are directly under the bouquet.

'''Logo:''' The logo opens with the camera zooming in on a spinning globe on a background of shining stars. When it gets close, the zooming stops and a light appears behind the globe. The words "Shochiku Films" "flip" in from the bottom of the screen and the Shochiku symbol appears beneath them. Then, the year 1949 or 1950 appears below the symbol and the logo fades out.

'''Logo:'''  The logo opens with a globe spinning on top of clouds. It stops spinning and the words "Shochiku Films" appear. Then, the Shochiku symbol and the year 1951 appear below the words and the logo fades out.

| GrandScope (black and white)

| GrandScope (color, standard variant)

| GrandScope (color, orange "グランドスコープ" variant)

'''Logo:''' We see a picture of Mount Fuji with moving clouds. The kanji "松竹映画" (which means "Shochiku Films") and a small fan (Shochiku's emblem) fade in.

'''Availability:''' Seen on a lot of Japanese movies and tokusatsu of the time period such as the aforementioned ''Carmen Comes Home''. Shochiku released some very famous films directed by Yasujiro Ozu (up to and including his final film in 1962, ''An Autumn Afternoon'') among others, so be on the lookout.

'''Logo:''' It's basically a redone variant of the previous logo, with an orange light behind the mountain at the beginning of the logo to constitute the transition between the beginning and duration of the day. The text and the Shochiku fan fades in, which looks streamlined from its previous appearance.

'''Logo:''' We see a view of Mt. Fuji with clouds at the bottom, and it zooms closer to the mountain. As the clouds clear, we see the Shochiku text, and under it is the Shochiku fan with the word "Shochiku" below it.

'''Logo:''' The logo opens with the aurora borealis or northern lights. They ripple and transform into a stylized Mount Fuji. A gold version of the new Shochiku logo (the Shochiku fan and the company's name in a bold Times-like font) fades in. The logo shines and the top of Mt. Fuji fades from blue to yellow.

'''Availability:''' Seen on Shochiku films from the era. Outside of Japan, it is usually kept intact on US releases of Japanese films and anime released by Shochiku such as the 2003 version of ''Zatoichi'' (distributed by [[Miramax Films|Miramax]]), ''Tsubasa Chronicle/xxxHoliC: The Movies'', ''Vexille'', ''Shinobi: Heart Under Blade'' (all distributed by [[Funimation]]) and the ''K-On!'' movie (distributed by Sentai Filmworks).

'''Logo:''' From a bird's-eye view, a drop of black ink falls onto a white canvas, its splash spreading out to create an artistic 3D rendition of Mount Fuji. The camera then moves to show the mountain at the now-familiar front angle as the darkest ink of the mountain dissolves into white particles, revealing a blue-gray hue behind. When the camera is at the front angle, the kanji "松竹" (which means "Shochiku"), the Shochiku fan and "Shochiku" in a much smaller font fade in.