“Kwaidan” (怪談), Original Japanese First-Release Movie Poster 1965, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) ZA913

This is an original Japanese B2 poster from the first-release campaign for Masaki Kobayashi’s Kwaidan (怪談), the lavish, hypnotic four-part anthology adapted from traditional ghost stories popularised by Lafcadio Hearn (小泉八雲). Comprised of four celebrated episodes—“The Black Hair”, “The Woman of the Snow”, “Hoichi the Earless”, and “In a Cup of Tea”—the film is revered for its bold, theatrical colour design and its unsettling, modernist sense of dread. Kwaidan won the Special Jury Prize at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Design
One of the most striking Japanese horror poster designs of the era: a gallery-like collage of cast portraits floats over an expressive field of painterly black and crimson strokes, punctuated by an ominous, watchful eye at upper left and dense calligraphic texture at upper right. The monumental gold title 「怪談」 sweeps across the lower half like a brush-written incantation, while tiny travelling figures at the base hint at the folkloric journeys within. A musical-staff border frames the image, echoing the film’s carefully constructed, almost operatic mood, with the copy at left proudly announcing Kobayashi’s authorship and the film’s “full colour” presentation.

Condition
Excellent. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale. 

This poster is an original Japanese theatrical B2 from the 1965 first-release campaign.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

It is over 60 years old!

Certificate of Authenticity included.