Who owns Itoyoji?
Itoyoji is owned by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical (Japan, TSE: 4967).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Integrated Report 2026, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇯🇵 Japan, Osaka
- Origin
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- Founded
- 1987
- Category
- Personal care & beauty › Oral care › Toothpaste & toothbrushes
- Parent ticker
- TSE: 4967
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Itoyoji
Itoyoji is an interdental cleaner that Kobayashi Pharmaceutical launched in 1987, putting dental floss on a toothpick-shaped handle. The idea came after a future developer saw a foreign woman discreetly using floss on a bullet train at a time when floss was not widely used in Japan. Its six-piece pack became a signature format and later advertising featured doctor recommendations.
Ownership timeline of Itoyoji
- Current owner Kobayashi Pharmaceutical [1] reported
Where Itoyoji sits in Kobayashi Pharmaceutical
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Kobayashi Pharmaceutical ownership tree →
See the full Kobayashi Pharmaceutical brand portfolio (6) →
Other brands owned by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical controls 6 brands on Brandtree.
- Ammeltz (1966)
- Bluelet (1969)
- Netsusama Sheet (1994)
- Sawaday (1975)
- Shoshugen
Other brands in toothpaste & toothbrushes, and who owns them
The 42 brands in toothpaste & toothbrushes on Brandtree belong to 23 owners. The largest is Colgate-Palmolive, with 5.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Colgate | Colgate-Palmolive | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Desensin | Dentaid | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| Close-Up | Unilever | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| Parodontax | Haleon | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| Pepsodent (United States) | Church & Dwight | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Bioniq | Dr. Wolff Group | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| CLINICA | Lion | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Elgydium | Pierre Fabre | 🇫🇷 France |
About the owner: Kobayashi Pharmaceutical
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical is a publicly listed company headquartered in Osaka, Japan, founded in 1886. Brandtree records 6 brands under its control, and it is listed as TSE: 4967.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical traces its origin to 1886, when Chubei Kobayashi opened a general merchandise and cosmetics store in Nagoya, and was incorporated in Osaka in 1919. After selling its wholesale business in 2008 it became a pure manufacturer of niche household products and over-the-counter medicines, with about 150 domestic brands and net sales of 165.7 billion yen in 2025, about 28 per cent of them overseas. It voluntarily recalled red yeast rice products in 2024.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical: full profile, brands and acquisition history →
🇯🇵 Itoyoji and other Japanese brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 456 brands that began in Japan. 23 of them (5%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Itoyoji is not one of them.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Itoyoji?
The parent company of Itoyoji is Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, a publicly listed company headquartered in Japan.
Is Itoyoji Japanese?
Yes. Itoyoji originated in Japan in 1987 and its owner, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, is also headquartered in Japan.
Is Itoyoji still owned by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Itoyoji is still owned by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Integrated Report 2026 — Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Annual report; retrieved 16 September 2026.
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