The company was founded in 1895 as a kabuki production company and later began producing films in 1920. Shochiku is considered the oldest company in Japan involved in present-day film production, but Nikkatsu began earlier as a pure film studio in 1912. Founded by the brothers Takejirō Ōtani (大谷竹次郎) and Matsujirō Shirai (白井松次郎), it was named “Matsutake” in 1902 after the combined "kunyomi" reading of the "kanji" "take" (bamboo) and "matsu" (pine) from their names, reflecting the traditional three symbols of happiness: bamboo, pine, and plum. The "onyomi" reading of Shōchiku first appeared in 1920 with the founding of the film production subsidiary "Shōchiku Kinema Gōmei-sha".