Daiei disappears

[Aaron Gerow]

Kadokawa Tsuguhiko, the president of Kadokawa Daiei, announced that the 
company will be reorganized and begin again on April 1st as "Kadokawa 
Pictures." With that move, the name "Daiei," which has existed in the 
Japanese film world since 1942, will disappear from film production. 
Daiei was one of the major film studios, formed in 1942 and famous for 
the films of Mizoguchi Kenji, Ichikawa Raizo, Katsu Shintaro, and 
Gamera. It went bankrupt in 1971, but under restructuring continued to 
produce films, especially under the ownership of Tokuma Publishing. 
Kadokawa Publishing bought Daei from Tokuma in 2002, and changed the 
name to Kadokawa Daiei. Now the name "Daiei" will disappear from the 
company moniker, and will continue to exist only for video/DVD sales or 
revivals of the old Daiei catalog.

Aaron Gerow
KineJapan owner

Assistant Professor
Film Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
Yale University

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