Original Japanese A1 graphic‑design poster, printed 1986
Size: c. 59.4 × 84.1 cm (approx. 23.4 × 33.1 in, ISO A1) • Design: Tadanori Yokoo • Published by PARCO / Galerie Vivant, Tokyo • Offset lithograph
Why this matters
A towering figure of Japanese pop and post‑modern design, Tadanori Yokoo brought collage, cinema, ukiyo‑e quotation and pop color into a single visual language. His Message from Tokyo contributions were produced in the economic‑boom 1980s for PARCO/Vivant and have become touchstones of the era. Large‑format originals are increasingly scarce—especially with the full credit line intact and the back remaining blank.
About this piece
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Format: Exhibition/advertising poster (portrait).
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Medium: Offset lithograph on coated stock with rich gold and vermilion inks.
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Designer: Tadanori Yokoo (横尾忠則).
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Publisher/Imprint: PARCO / Galerie Vivant, Tokyo.
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Printed credit (lower margin): “© 1986 DESIGN TADANORI YOKOO / PARCO / GALERIE VIVANT / PHONE 03‑574‑6725 / JAPAN.”
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Verso: Blank.
Design & iconography
Yokoo’s layered collage fuses high and low Tokyo iconography into a single postcard‑from‑the‑metropolis. A JAL jet arcs through a cyan sky (complete with “ANCHORAGE ALASKA” passport‑stamp motif) above the famed Nijūbashi bridge at the Imperial Palace. Red uprights echo a torii gate, framing a ukiyo‑e‑style wave rendered in electric blue, coral and sweeping strokes of gold. Scattered circular seals and dense vertical Japanese text punctuate the expanse of warm black. The angled headline “MESSAGE FROM TOKYO” slices across the bridge—pure Yokoo: cinematic, witty, and unmistakably urban.
Translations of the main captions
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国立劇場 — National Theatre (Tokyo).
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MESSAGE FROM TOKYO — English headline set diagonally across the central panel.
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ANCHORAGE ALASKA — Passport‑style stamp adjacent to the jet image.
(Other typographic elements reproduce period program copy and decorative seals.)
Rarity & significance
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Key 1980s Bubble‑era Yokoo poster at true A1 scale.
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Scarce original issue credited to PARCO / Galerie Vivant.
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A striking wall piece: torii‑like columns, Imperial Palace bridge, airline glamour and ukiyo‑e surf in one audacious composition.
Condition
Excellent. Strong, unfaded color. Clean, blank verso. Please review the photographs—this is the exact piece offered.
Details
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Country: Japan
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Year of issue: 1986
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Designer: Tadanori Yokoo (横尾忠則)
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Size: A1 — c. 59.4 × 84.1 cm (23.4 × 33.1 in)
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Printing: Offset lithograph on coated paper
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Publisher: PARCO / Galerie Vivant, Tokyo
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Authentication: Original period printing with full credit line; not a reproduction
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COA: Included
