Five-Company Agreement
Encyclopedia
The was an agreement signed 1953 September 10 between five major Japanese entertainment companies (Shochiku
, Toho
, Daiei
, Shin-Toho, and Toei
).
Although nominally it prohibited hiring away a cosignatory company's actors and directors, in reality intention of the agreement was to prevent actors being hired away by Nikkatsu
, which had recently begun making films. It was executed
mainly under the leadership of Masaichi Nagata, then president of Daiei.
After the Second World War, Nikkatsu (which had been primarily active in the hotel business and such) began taking steps to return to movie production under president Hori Kyuusaku, constructing Tamagawa
Film Studio (in reality, Nikkatsu Film Studio) and trying to hire directors and actors away from the five companies. To oppose this, those companies bound under Nagata's leadership agreed to the following:
In September 1958, Nikkatsu (who had resumed film production in 1954) also participating, it became the Six-Company Agreement; in 1961, it once again became the Five-Company Agreement with the dissolution of Shin-Toho due to bankruptcy
. On November 1 of that same year, the five companies ceased to offer films for television, and restricted television performances of films with company-exclusive actors. Because of this, the five companies, as well as the TV stations, began to promote many actors in the new medium.
Deprived of shows with which to fill their schedule, television channels began to broadcast American films instead of Japanese films. As a distribution system had not yet been established, and there being little foreign money in public circulation at the time, the brokers known as "transporters" came onto the scene. The president of Pacific Ocean Television (太平洋テレビ Taiheiyou Terebi), ???? Shimizu (清水昭 Shimizu something; see talk page), said to have been a politician's secretary, emerged as the ringleader. Given the demand for American films, inevitably the demand for organization of Japanese-side staff (production / scriptwriting / film development) rose; and, as at that time there were also points in which TV channels' knowhow was lacking, there became no work other than that in inferior circumstances, particularly voice acting in Japanese dubs.
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...
, Toho
Toho
is a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It is headquartered in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group...
, 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...
, Shin-Toho, and Toei
Toei Company
is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution corporation. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan, a modest vertically-integrated studio system by the standards of the 1930s United States; operates studios at Tokyo and Kyoto; and is a...
).
Although nominally it prohibited hiring away a cosignatory company's actors and directors, in reality intention of the agreement was to prevent actors being hired away by Nikkatsu
Nikkatsu
is a Japanese 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".-History:...
, which had recently begun making films. It was executed
Execution (disambiguation)
-Society:*A term for contract killings*A writ of execution, ordering the enforcement of a judicial judgment*Capital punishment, the act of putting a person to death, specifically, the execution of the sentence of death upon someone condemned...
mainly under the leadership of Masaichi Nagata, then president of Daiei.
After the Second World War, Nikkatsu (which had been primarily active in the hotel business and such) began taking steps to return to movie production under president Hori Kyuusaku, constructing Tamagawa
Tamagawa
may refer to the following places in Japan:*Tamagawa, Ehime, a former town in Ehime Prefecture that is now part of the city of Imabari*Tamakawa, Fukushima, a village in Fukushima Prefecture*Tamagawa, Saitama, a village in Saitama Prefecture...
Film Studio (in reality, Nikkatsu Film Studio) and trying to hire directors and actors away from the five companies. To oppose this, those companies bound under Nagata's leadership agreed to the following:
- Hiring away actors and directors from each other would be forbidden.
- The occasional lending of actors and directors was also done away with.
In September 1958, Nikkatsu (who had resumed film production in 1954) also participating, it became the Six-Company Agreement; in 1961, it once again became the Five-Company Agreement with the dissolution of Shin-Toho due to bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. On November 1 of that same year, the five companies ceased to offer films for television, and restricted television performances of films with company-exclusive actors. Because of this, the five companies, as well as the TV stations, began to promote many actors in the new medium.
Deprived of shows with which to fill their schedule, television channels began to broadcast American films instead of Japanese films. As a distribution system had not yet been established, and there being little foreign money in public circulation at the time, the brokers known as "transporters" came onto the scene. The president of Pacific Ocean Television (太平洋テレビ Taiheiyou Terebi), ???? Shimizu (清水昭 Shimizu something; see talk page), said to have been a politician's secretary, emerged as the ringleader. Given the demand for American films, inevitably the demand for organization of Japanese-side staff (production / scriptwriting / film development) rose; and, as at that time there were also points in which TV channels' knowhow was lacking, there became no work other than that in inferior circumstances, particularly voice acting in Japanese dubs.