[ Film, Kabuki, and Theater Production Company: Shochiku’s Latest Creation“J-Horror: Horrors from Japan”]
Since its founding in 1895, Shochiku has created and provided entertainment content, not only for the Japanese public but audiences all around the world, in film, Kabuki, and theatre as well as various other forms.

■Shochiku’s Film, Kabuki, Theater, and “Horror”
Shochiku entered the film industry in 1920, becoming the first to produce sound films and color motion picture films in Japan – Shochiku was always a trend-leader in challenging new things and produced several treasured works and blockbusters. These masterpieces include quintessentially Japanese horror films and innovative thrill-inducing projects that target the next generation.
*For more detail, please refer to “Shochiku Film” of Shochiku official website.
>>> Shochiku Official Web

The success comes from the experience being the only commercial producer of Kabuki, which is an artform with over 400 years of history. In Kabuki, there is a particular type of “cooling-off plays” within a genre called “kaidan-mono” (ghost story series) that utilizes creative staging to give the chills to the audience in order to forget the heat outside. It is a seasonal tradition in the summer and Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan and Kaidan Botan Doro are some of the most popular pieces that have entertained the crowd for several generations.
*For more detail, please refer to “KABUKI and THEATRE” of Shochiku official website.
>>> Shochiku Official Web

Based on such experiences and technique from film and Kabuki, Shochiku developed the project “Horrors from Japan” with the intention to also introduce it to the world – thus in 1998 “Shochiku Obakeya Honpo Project” (Shochiku Japanese Horror Creative Team) was launched. Its debut was a realistic haunted house that utilized the mastery of Japanese filmsets, accomplished great success and its popularity also spread overseas. On the other hand, they are developing new thrilling projects. For example, using immersive theater experiences or the use of technology that enhances visual and auditory stimulation that induces an innovative kind of horror.
We hope to continue to grow from the knowledge we have cultivated in over 120 years as a company, and creatively utilize these contents also by collaborating with other businesses in order to create and develop new “thrilling” contents and continuously lead in creative outputs.
We also hope to deliver our exciting “Horrors from Japan” to thrill-seekers in the world..

[ Shochiku J-Horror Creative Team]
Based on our experience in film and theater production, Shochiku’s creative team produces an authentic Japanese horror, “J-Horror.”

•A realistic haunted house that makes one feel like stepping into a horror film – this thrilling creative team uses immersive technology, new-sensory experiences, and diverse contents to create a terrifying experience.
•Projects that can be enjoyed all over the world – following the success in Japan, it was a big hit also in China in the cities of Chongqing and Shanghai.
•Haunted houses are a cultural summer tradition in Japan but also popular overseas.
•An experience that can only be done by Shochiku.

A. The Traditional J-Horror A walk-through haunted house


1. Contents & Characteristics
■ Surprise Value
Cast Members in disguise await the visitors who enter the haunted house’s labyrinth. Once inside, the Casts become ghosts and as they observe the actions of the visitors, they time their appearance personalized to each person for maximum effect.

■ Space Design
The horrific experience is staged using finely designed video, sound, and lighting. The features are the scenery and props carefully crafted with Japanese artistry. The sets of the haunted house are inspired by Japanese filmsets: wooden planks sanded down for a weathered effect and fake blood splattered on the building and props, evoking a real sense of being in Japan. Visitors are amazed at the inability to tell the difference between real and non-real.

2. Specialty
■ Incorporating staging and direction used in films and theater enables the creation of diverse types of immersive worlds. Particularly Shochiku can easily fine-tune this invented world by using their in-depth knowledge of staging used in Kabuki.
■ The story can be localized to where the project is presented for an original touch. 　
■ 350㎡ – Based on our experiences, this is the most effective size for a haunted house to provide a maximum horrific experience. We are flexible to adapt to your venue, but if it is too spacious, one becomes accustomed to the environment and the effect lessens, and if it is too small, the setting may not allow a full-immersion. We would like to provide the best “horrific” experience based on our expertise.

B. Immersive HorrorStep into the actual world of horror – a new type of entertainment


1. Contents & Characteristics
■ Immersive Experience: The visitor becomes one of the characters in the story: staging filled with realistic effects like flames and gunshots make it full of excitement.
■ Thrilling Experience: Unpredictable ambushes from the Cast Members heightens the thrill and the realistic scene is set like a filmset.
■ Mystery Solving Experience: Various hints to the story are dispersed in the venue and one must discover and solve the mystery – the ending depends on your judgment.

2. Specialty
■ Engaging in mystery solving and mission-oriented and explorative activities make the rich and in-depth experience fully satisfactory.
■ Events that evolve throughout the night allows the participant to live in the story and enjoy the out of the ordinary.
■ Adaptable to present local food to introduce the region’s culinary traditions and promote tourism.

C. Innovative HorrorTechnology meets Horror Contents
Creating thrills with special sound systems and technology
　

1. Contents & Characteristics
■ Immersive Experience: The visitors are blindfolded to take away their vision and by concentrating on auditory cues like footsteps, another dimension of horror is experienced.
■ Sound Technology: Binaural recording is used to create a 3-D sound sensation heard through individual headsets.
■ ASMR Sound: The visitor experiences sound 360 degrees, stimulating the brain and providing a new type of thrill. The horror story is made into a screenplay and narrated for the participant to experience everything acoustically.

2. Specialty
■ An original story written by a script writer, staged by a film or theater director, and narrated by a professional actor recreates a thrilling drama.
■ Not only auditory but all 5 senses are stimulated in the effect.
■ Not only ASMR sound but highly-directional sound systems are used to target individuals – some will hear sounds that others won’t. This personalizes the experience and provides a multi-layer effect based on knowledge and experience from incorporating cutting-edge technology in entertainment.