The is a Japanese joint stock company involved in the distribution of adult videos (AV) and adult toys. The firm, founded in March 1990, is headquartered in Tokyo at the Ebisu Garden Place Tower

Ebisu, Tokyo

is a neighborhood in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Conveniently near Roppongi and central Shibuya, Ebisu is easily accessed by the JR Yamanote and Hibiya lines via Ebisu Station...

. By late 2008, Hokuto was handling products from more than 150 different adult video studios, making it the largest AV distributor in Japan. The company interfaces with the public for sales and information as Outvision.

Company information

As of July 2007 Hokuto had 185 employees and total assests of 16,618,000,000 yen (about $166 million). Stockholders equity was 6,073,000,000 yen (about $60 million) and company capital amounted to 45 million yen (about $450,000). Sales for the fiscal year ending February 2007 were 28,366,000,000 yen (about $283 million) with sales for the 2008 fiscal year extrapolating to about 30 billion yen (about $300 million). Hokuto has undergone rapid growth in the past several years with sales going from 5.1 billion yen (about $50 million) in fiscal year 2001 to 6.2 billion yen ($60 million) in 2002, 9.8 billion yen ($100 million) in 2003 and 12.3 billion yen ($125 million) in 2004. Under CEO Hiroyuki Shimazaki (島崎啓之), Hokuto has caught up with and supassed its chief rival in AV sales, the Soft On Demand

Soft on Demand

, often known as SOD, is a Japanese adult video group of companies which has its headquarters in the Nakano ward of Tokyo. SOD was founded in December 1995 by Ganari Takahashi, who retired from the company in March 2005 and is currently working in agriculture...

 (SOD) group. Some companies which had formerly been part of SOD, including Dogma

Dogma studio

Dogma is a Japanese adult video company based in Tokyo which specializes in various fetish genres of pornography.-Company information:...

, Hajime-Kikaku and Aroma Planning, have recently become clients of Hokuto.

DMM

In addition to handling distribution to retailers, Hokuto also runs the DMM Corporation (株式会社デジタルメディアマート or "Digital Media Mart"), incorporated November 1999, which is a major distributor of videos in Japan for both sales and rental and also provides pay-per-view and downloadable digital adult content via its website dmm.co.jp. The director of DMM is Tatsuya Matsue (松栄立也) and the company has a capital of 30 million yen (about $300,000). The DMM website was opened in July 1998 and in September 2011 was ranked #30 in traffic for Japanese sites, #177 in Hong Kong, and #422 globally, with an audience slanted towards middle-aged men.

As of September 2011 DMM had a catalog of more than 160,000 DVDs for sale, more than 200,000 adult videos available for rental and more than 130,000 videos for digital download. It also lists information on more than 30,000 AV actresses and compiles an annual list of the top 100 ranked actresses in sales from its site. In addition, the DMM site provides facilities for a large number of AV actress blogs. DMM has also instituted an English version, en.dmm.co.jp, for pay-per-view or monthly subscription downloads only.

AV Grand Prix

Upon the demise of the SOD-sponsored AV Open

AV Open

AV Open is a major awards contest for the Japanese adult video industry. It has gone from a limited sales contest in 2006 to become, via its successor the AV GrandPrix, the major Japanese AV award with nearly 100 participating companies competing for the 2009 awards.-AV Open Origins:The AV Open...

 contest in 2007 due to fraud, Hokuto started a new competition in 2008, the AV Grand Prix. Winners were determined by sales and by fan voting at the DMM website. The 2008 AV Grand Prix was a success with 77 studios competing and an even larger 2009 contest began in late 2008.

Companies in the Hokuto group

As of mid-2010, the Hokuto group included 20 studios producing gravure (non-nude) videos and another 19 units involved in adult toys. More than 150 companies were in the business of producing adult videos in various formats and genres. Below is a list of some of the main companies involved in AV production.

• A-BOX
• ABC (Art Body Collection) - "big-bust" models
• Animalijo
• Anna and Hanako (アンナと花子) - specializes in lesbian
  Lesbian
  Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
  
   videos
• Arashi-Supergirl (嵐を呼ぶスーパーガール)
• Aroma Planning (アロマ企画) - specializes in more extreme "maniac" videos
• Art Video (アートビデオSM) - features S&M and bondage videos
• Attackers
  Attackers
  is a Japanese adult video production company located in Tokyo, Japan.-Company information:Attackers started as an independent studio but is now one of the companies that make up the large AV group, the Hokuto Corporation, which distributes Attackers video products through their DMM website...
  
   (アタッカーズ) - known for simulated rape and S&M material
• Aurora Project Annex (オーロラプロジェクト アネックス)
• AV Refugees (AV難民)
• AVS
• BeFree
• Beauty
• BI (美)
• Bravo
• CineMagic
  CineMagic Co.
  , is a Japanese adult film studio, producing and distributing its own films, usually of the bondage, S&M and simulated rape genre, as well as those produced externally.-Company information:...
  
   (シネマジック) - specializes in S&M and bondage
• consent (コンセント)
• Cross
  Cross (studio)
  is a Japanese adult video studio located in Tokyo at the Ebisu Garden Place Tower.-Company information:Cross was founded by directors Matsushima Cross and Innjean Koga in late 2005, the event being announced at a press conference at a club in Tokyo's Shinjuku district on October 19, 2005...
  
   (クロス)
• DAS
  Das (studio)
  is a Japanese adult video production company located in Tokyo, Japan.-Company information:DAS is part of Japan's largest group of AV companies, the Hokuto Corporation, located in Ebisu, Tokyo. DAS specializes in simulated rape, bukkake, nakadashi and humiliation videos using well-known actresses...
  
   (ダスッ！) - produces simulated rape and humiliation videos
• Digital Ark (デジタルアーク)
• Dogma
  Dogma studio
  Dogma is a Japanese adult video company based in Tokyo which specializes in various fetish genres of pornography.-Company information:...
  
   (ドグマ) - specializes in various extreme fetishes
• E-BODY
• EDGE (エッジ)
• Emmanuelle (エマニエル) - mature women
• EROS HEARTS
• Euro Star
• F&C (エフアンドシー) - anime
• FA Pro (FAプロ)
• Goemon (五右衛門)
• Goro Tameike
  Goro Tameike
  is a Japanese adult video director who has directed more than 450 videos. He was one of the first exponents of the genre in AV.-Life and career:...
  
   (溜池ゴロー) - mature women videos
• graphis (グラフィス)
• Hayabusa Agency (隼エージェンシー)
• Hajime-Kikaku (はじめ企画)
• Himawari Kikaku (ひまわり企画)
• Hyakka Bijin (百花美人)
• IdeaPocket
  IdeaPocket
  is a Japanese company located in Tokyo which is involved in the business of planning and producing adult videos .-Company information:IdeaPocket split off from the Attackers corporation and was founded as a separate entity in 2002 under the umbrella of the Hokuto Corporation group of companies...
  
   (アイデアポケット)
• Inflagranti Japan (インフラグランティ) - specializes in S&M fetish movies
• Kakkoii! (カッコイイ！)
• Karma (カルマ)
• kawaii
• kichu
• Kira☆Kira
• Kitagawa Production (北川プロ) - videos portraying S&M and FemDom
  Female dominance
  Female dominance is those BDSM relationships and BDSM scenes in which the dominant partner is female. Often a dominant woman, she may prefer to be called a Domme , Femdomme, Domina, or Dominatrix, depending on context or personal preference...
  
  
• M's Video Group (エムズビデオグループ) - specializes in bukkake and gokkun
  Gokkun
  is a Japanese term for a sexual activity in which a woman consumes the semen of one or more men. It also refers to the sexual act of swallowing semen after performing fellatio or participating in a bukkake...
  
   material
• Madonna
  Madonna (studio)
  is a Japanese adult video studio which specializes in the "mature woman" or "madam" genre of Japanese pornography.-Company information:Madonna is an AV studio located in Tokyo, Japan which is affiliated with the large AV conglomerate Hokuto Corporation which distributes its videos through the DMM...
  
   (マドンナ) -specializes in "mature" women
• MARIA - mature housewife videos
• Marx Brothers (マルクス兄弟)
• Men's Heaven
• Milkyprin (みるきぃぷりん♪) - known for "big-bust" models
• Miman (未満)
• Moccori Television (もっこりテレビ)
• Momotaro (桃太郎映像出版) - comprises a group of independent producers
• Moodyz
  Moodyz
  , formerly known as Mr. President, is one of Japan's largest adult video producers, featuring an extensive catalog of video titles.-Company information:...
  
  
• Mousouzoku (妄想族) - specializes in "big-bust" models
• Muku (無垢) - produces videos with "schoolgirl" models
• Munekyunkissa (胸キュン喫茶)
• Muteki
• OPPAI - featuring "big-bust" models
• Opera (オペラ) - specializes in scat fetish videos
• Otsuka-Floppy (大塚フロッピー) - specializes in scat fetish videos
• Platina (プラチナ)
• Premium (プレミアム) - specializes in stylish glamour videos
• Ran-Maru (乱丸)
• RED (レッド)
• ROOKIE - produces featured actress videos
• RYUGUJYO (竜宮城) - amateur actress videos
• S1 No. 1 Style
  S1 No. 1 Style
  or just S1 is a major Japanese producer of adult videos which has its offices in Tokyo's Meguro Ward.-Company Information:S1 is one of the many affiliated companies in the giant Hokuto Corporation group. Hokuto distributes the studio's videos via retail sales and online through its DMM website...
  
   (エスワン ナンバーワンスタイル) - glamorous AV Idol
  AV Idol
  An AV idol is a Japanese idol who works in the pornographic business, often both as an actress as well as a model as the video performances have a wide range, from just the idol strolling around their house doing chores in bikinis to hardcore porn...
  
  s
• SexiA
  Try-Heart Corporation
  The is a Japanese adult video company best known for videos produced under its label.-Company information:Try-Heart began releasing videos under the Pink Drug label at least as early as December 1995, and with production codes of the type SEA-xxx for the Sexia studio as early as April 1997 with...
  
  (セクシア)
• Shinoda Project (しのだ)
• Style Art (スタイルアート)
• Suppin (すっぴん) - amateur actresses
• Tokyo Special (東京スペシャル)
• Toyohiko Project (豊彦)
• U&K - specializes in lesbian videos
• V (ヴィ)
• VENUS - mature women videos
• Yellow Movie (イエロー)
• ZONE