“The Family Game” (家族ゲーム), Original Japanese First-Release Movie Poster 1983, ATG, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) — U43

This is an original Japanese B2 poster printed in 1983 for the first theatrical release of The Family Game, Yoshimitsu Morita’s celebrated satire starring Yūsaku Matsuda. Released through the Art Theatre Guild (ATG), the film combines unsettling humour with a sharp examination of education, ambition and middle-class family life.

Adapted from Yōhei Honma’s novel, the story follows a household that hires an unconventional private tutor to improve its younger son’s academic performance. Matsuda’s unpredictable tutor disrupts the family’s carefully maintained routines, exposing the tensions beneath their ordinary domestic existence. Jūzō Itami, Saori Yuki and Ichirōta Miyakawa also star.

Morita’s distinctive staging makes even familiar activities feel strange, particularly the famous meals at which the family and tutor sit shoulder to shoulder along one side of a dining table. This arrangement becomes the centrepiece of the poster, translating the film’s awkward intimacy into a memorable graphic image.

The design brings together a vivid turquoise background, hot-pink lettering and yellow-and-pink halftone figures. The five diners form a tightly compressed group across the lower half, their lowered eyes and concentrated expressions suggesting a household absorbed in its own rituals. Matsuda occupies the centre, surrounded by bowls, chopsticks and the everyday objects of family life.

Above them, the enormous Japanese title 「家族ゲーム」 stretches across the sheet in angular pink lettering, beneath the widely spaced English heading “THE FAMILY GAME.” Black zigzag ribbons weave across the composition, carrying the playful promotional line:

「家中がピリピリ鳴ってます ウルサイんだ」
“The whole household is buzzing with tension—it’s noisy!”

The lively colours and playful typography give the poster an immediate pop-art appeal, while the rigid arrangement of the figures introduces the discomfort central to the film. Black production credits along the bottom and the distinctive ATG emblem complete the composition.

An especially striking piece for collectors of Yūsaku Matsuda, Yoshimitsu Morita, ATG cinema and Japanese graphic design of the 1980s.

Condition: Excellent.

Please review all photographs, including the front and reverse, as they show the exact poster for sale.

Japanese B2 size: approximately 51 × 73 cm.
Stock code: U43.

It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

Certificate of Authenticity included.