“Bengal Tiger: White Bone Highway Demon Legend” (ベンガルの虎 白骨街道魔伝), Official Japanese Curio / Seibu Exhibition Poster 1988, B1 Size (73 × 103 cm) IA22
This is an official Japanese B1 art poster printed in 1988, not the 1973 street poster itself, but a premium authorised reproduction of the original 1973 theatrical poster for Jūrō Kara’s avant-garde play “Bengal Tiger: White Bone Highway Demon Legend” (ベンガルの虎 白骨街道魔伝). It was produced for the Sawako Goda: Gekidan Jōkyō Gekijō Poster Exhibition at Seibu Department Store and published by Curio, making it an important vintage exhibition printing in its own right and a highly desirable object from the history of Japanese angura culture.
Rather than being treated as an ordinary later copy, this 1988 issue is valued by collectors as an authentic vintage art print: an official collaborative printing connected directly to the original artists and to the retrospective exhibition of one of the defining bodies of post-war Japanese theatre graphics.
Background
The underlying image was created for the 1973 Situation Theatre production written and directed by Jūrō Kara, one of the central figures of Japan’s underground theatre movement. Kara’s Jōkyō Gekijō became legendary for its nomadic Red Tent performances and for pushing Japanese theatre into new territory—politically charged, visually extreme, erotic, grotesque, and defiantly anti-establishment.
This poster also represents an extraordinary convergence of major post-war Japanese artists. The illustration is by Sawako Goda (1940–2016), one of the most distinctive graphic voices of the underground scene, whose theatre posters are now regarded as some of the most important images in the history of Japanese countercultural design. The visual concept is tied to Eikoh Hosoe, among Japan’s most celebrated photographers, while the production itself belongs to the world of Jūrō Kara. That combination alone gives the piece unusual importance.
Poster design
This is a remarkable large-format composition, and one of the most visually arresting images to emerge from 1970s Japanese theatre. A snarling Bengal tiger lunges across the lower half of the image, while above it reclines a woman in a dark patterned kimono—identified in the original production context with lead actress Li Li-hua / Li Reisen imagery often associated with the play’s visual world. The tension between animal ferocity and sombre theatrical elegance gives the work its unmistakable ero-guro intensity.
At the top, the huge hand-drawn red calligraphy explodes across the black field, while cascading blue and pink text runs down the right and lower sections with cast and performance information. The overall effect is theatrical, violent, and dreamlike. In B1, it has tremendous wall presence and feels closer to a major art print than to ordinary poster ephemera.
A particularly important detail for collectors is the presence of the CURIO logo and SEIBU credit at lower right, which confirms that this is the sought-after 1988 exhibition edition rather than the original 1973 paste-up street sheet.
Printing and format
B1 size: approximately 73 × 103 cm
Printed by high-quality offset lithography on substantial semi-gloss stock
Produced as a premium exhibition poster, not as a casual later reproduction
Condition
Very Good. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale. The poster presents strongly overall, with rich colour, deep blacks, and impressive display appeal. There is light age-related handling, some edge wear, and signs of prior storage and mounting visible chiefly on the reverse, all consistent with an authentic vintage 1988 exhibition poster. Nothing materially detracts from the overall front presentation. We have taken the condition into account when pricing. Once framed, this poster will display excellently.
It is over 38 years old!
It is not the original 1973 street poster, but it is an official 1988 Curio / Seibu exhibition printing, and not a modern reproduction or later reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
