Toei Company, Ltd. is a Japanese entertainment company. Headquartered in Ginza, Chūō, Tokyo, it is involved in film and television production, distribution, video game development, publishing, and ownership of 34 movie theaters. Toei also owns and operates studios in Tokyo and Kyoto and holds shares in several television companies. The company is renowned for its production of anime and live-action dramas known as tokusatsu, which incorporate special visual effects. It is also known for producing period dramas. Internationally, Toei is the majority shareholder of Toei Animation and is recognized for its franchises such as Kamen Rider and Super Sentai.
Tōei's headquarters at Toei Kaikan in Ginza, Chūō, Tokyo
Tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, tokusatsu mainly refers to science fiction, war, fantasy, or horror media featuring such technology but is also occasionally dubbed a genre itself. Its contemporary use originated in the Japanese mass media around 1958 to explain special effects in an easy-to-understand manner and was popularized during the "first monster boom" (1966-1968). Prior to the monster boom, it was known in Japan as Tokushu gijutsu or shortened Tokugi .
Poster for Godzilla (1954). The techniques developed by Eiji Tsuburaya for Toho continue to be used in the tokusatsu film and television industry.
Eiji Tsuburaya is credited as the creator of Tokusatsu. Photographed by Yoshikatsu Kanno on the Miura Peninsula, Kanagawa Prefecture in March 1960.
Protagonists of the popular tokusatsu franchises mostly of the late 1970s (from back to front, left to right): Ultraman Joneus (Ultra Series), Battle Fever J (Super Sentai), Kamen Rider Stronger and Kamen Rider V3 (Kamen Rider Series), and Spider-Man. The photo also features manga character Doraemon on the far left.