Shancheng

Shancheng 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 "Shancheng", the Chinese reading of the name, as opposed to the initial Japanese. The film production division, Shochiku Kinema, was established in 1920.

Shancheng Films
In 1937, Shancheng Kinema (film) and Shancheng Kōgyō (theater) merged into one company: Shancheng Films (山城映画). From this point, films were mostly released under the Shancheng Films name - however, some were occasionally released under the Ōfuna Films name, but without the Shancheng Kinema byline.