Tsukigata Productions (ツキガタプロダクション)
Tsukigata Productions (registered as Tsukigata Purotakushon, established in 1928, liquidated in 1932) was a film company that existed in Kyoto and then in Nara.
The company was established by a popular young actor of the time named Ryunosuke TSUKIGATA, also known as 'Yoko TSUKIGATA.'
It produced eight silent films and two talkie films.
Brief history/summary
Ryunosuke TSUKIGATA, an actor under contract with Shozo MAKINO's Makino Productions, established 'Tsukigata Productions' in February of 1928 under the condition of giving distribution rights to Makino.
It was at this time that Ryunosuke changed his name to 'Yoko TSUKIGATA.'
The first film the company produced was "Shudoku no Kenpo", an original screenplay written and directed by Kintaro INOUE under the name of 'Sanjiro AKISHINO.'
This film was distributed by Makino Productions and released on June 15 in the same year. Tsukigata Productions produced three films directed by Inoue as well as one film directed by Reinosuke AKU and then liquidated in 1929 after producing director Inoue's "Kenshi Okita Soji".
During August of the same year, Tsukigata's group joined Shochiku Kyoto Studio and Tsukigata changed his name back to 'Ryunosuke TSUKIGATA.'
In May of 1931, Tsukigata became independent once again with the aim of producing talkie films and established 'Tsukigata Productions' by constructing a studio at the foot of Mt. Ikoma in Nara. The first film produced by the new company was "Hakurai Bunmeigai", a film based on a novel by Sanjugo NAOKI. Although it was only a part-talkie film due to a flaw in Eion's sound system, the film ranked fifth among the top ten films selected by Kinema Junpo. The second film was "Machi no Shigaisen," a film based on a novel by Rafael Sabatini, the original author of the film "Scaramouch" (directed by Rex Ingram, 1923), and was an all-talkie film that used the P.L.C. Eiga Seisakusho system.
Both of these films were distributed by 'Obei Eiga-sha.'
However, Tsukigata incurred a debt of 150,000 yen in the production of these two films and joined Tokatsu Eigasha after liquidating the company. Fukoku Eiga-sha, established during the same year, took over the studio at Ikoma and continued its operation.