"TADANORI YOKOO - Shimaya Dashi Stock Base Poster", Japanese Contemporary Art Poster, Original Offset 1978, Ultra Rare, B2 Size (c.51 x 73cm)

This is an original Japanese offset poster printed in 1978. This poster is ultra rare and is displayed in the world`s most prestigious galleries such as MoMA in New York City. It is very difficult / almost impossible to find in any condition.

Japan Poster Shop has acquired a substantial and unique collection of original Tadanori Yokoo posters from one of the most prolific collectors in Japan. This individual has a very colorful life story, having invested and dedicated many decades to his love for Tadanori Yokoo`s vibrant designs. 

This original B2 offset-printed poster was designed by Tadanori Yokoo in 1978 for Shimaya Dashi no Moto, a popular Japanese soup stock base. A surreal explosion of consumer culture and cosmic absurdity, the artwork reflects Yokoo’s signature use of collage, saturated color, and provocative juxtapositions—transforming an everyday food product into a psychedelic dreamscape.

In the scene:

• Three deep-sea divers clad in yellow suits emerge into a coral-like underworld where myth and modernity collide.

• A colossal bronze statue points toward a burst of light—where tanks, UFOs, temple roofs, and an ethereal diving figure all converge.

• Iconic Yokoo visual codes—pop surrealism, sacred meets sci-fi, and tongue-in-cheek consumerism—infuse the image with layered commentary.

At the bottom, the Shimaya logo and product appear unobtrusively, allowing the artistic vision to dominate. Signed TADANORI YOKOO in plate at the lower right, this poster is a rare artifact of Yokoo’s foray into commercial design at the height of his 1970s output.

A standout collector’s item that bridges fine art, advertising, and postwar Japanese visual identity.

Yokoo is a celebrated graphic designer whose iconic posters and album covers for artists like The Beatles, Miles Davis, and Carlos Santana left a lasting impact on global pop culture. His psychedelic designs blended traditional Japanese elements with influences from Pop art, Surrealism, and American graphic design, foreshadowing the poster styles of 1960s San Francisco. Yokoo’s work was featured alongside artists such as Frank Stella and Andy Warhol in the 1968 MoMA exhibition "Word and Image." Known for pushing visual boundaries, he provocatively incorporated symbols of Japanese imperialism — such as the rising sun, Mount Fuji, and bullet trains — often juxtaposing them with crude or controversial imagery. His graphic style was rooted in Japanese ukiyo-e printmaking and collage, and a transformative journey to India deepened his fascination with mysticism, inspiring his use of Buddhist symbolism in his art.

Please refer to the imagery (both front and back) as this is the exact poster that is for sale. 

It is over 47 years old!

It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

Certificate of Authenticity included.