“You Only Live Twice”, Original First-Release Japanese Movie Poster, 1967, Ultra Rare, STB Tatekan Size (51 × 145 cm), Museum Grade Near Mint

“You Only Live Twice”, Original First-Release Japanese Movie Poster, 1967, STB Tatekan Size
Japanese title: 「007は二度死ぬ」 (007 wa Nido Shinu — “007 Dies Twice”)
Size: STB / Tatekan, approx. 20 × 57 in. / 51 × 145 cm
Format: Japanese two-panel standing-board poster
Country / Studio: Japan / United Artists
First Japanese release: 17 June 1967
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Screenplay: Roald Dahl, based on the novel by Ian Fleming
Starring: Sean Connery, Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama, Tetsurō Tamba, Donald Pleasence, Karin Dor, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn

Why this is a holy grail

This is an original Japanese STB / tatekan poster printed in 1967 for the first Japanese theatrical release of You Only Live Twice, the fifth official James Bond film and one of the most visually important Connery-era titles. Japanese sources record the film’s first Japanese opening on 17 June 1967, and describe it as the Bond series’ fifth entry and the first Bond film to bring the series directly to Japan, with Tokyo, Kobe, Himeji Castle, and other Japanese locations central to its identity.

For Bond collectors, this STB is in a different category from the standard Japanese B2 formats. The almost life-size, full-length image of Sean Connery as James Bond is uniquely powerful in this tall vertical format: Bond in black tie, silenced Walther PPK raised, a red-and-gold space helmet tucked under his arm. It is one of the most dramatic Japanese Bond posters of the 1960s and arguably the key Japanese display format for the title.

The rarity is not theoretical. Public records show the Japanese STB / tatekan format appearing only a few times in the past ten years. In practical collecting terms, this is the format serious Bond collectors wait for.

Design highlights

This is a phenomenal piece of Japanese Bond design. The poster’s entire composition is built around a nearly full-height image of Sean Connery, dressed in formal black evening wear and posed with Bond’s unmistakable combination of composure and threat. The scale is the crucial point: in the STB format, Connery becomes almost life-size, giving the image an immediacy no standard B2 can approach.

The red Japanese title 「007は二度死ぬ」 is placed boldly across Bond’s torso, with the English title YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE printed in heavy black block lettering at lower left. The design is spare, graphic, and unusually modern for a 1960s action poster, allowing the white negative space, black tuxedo silhouette, red title, and space helmet to do nearly all the visual work.

The helmet is especially striking. Its red, white, and gold colouring links the poster directly to the film’s space-race plot, in which American and Soviet spacecraft are hijacked in orbit and Bond is sent to Japan to prevent a superpower conflict. The official 007 synopsis identifies the film’s central threat as the hijacking of U.S. and Soviet spacecraft and Bond’s mission to Japan, where SPECTRE is operating from a hidden volcanic base.

At lower right, four colour stills showcase the film’s signature set pieces: Aki’s Toyota 2000GT convertible, the magnet helicopter sequence, the massive SPECTRE volcano lair, and Bond’s armed autogyro Little Nellie. These are not incidental details; they are among the defining images of the film. The official 007 archive lists the Toyota 2000GT convertible and Little Nellie among the film’s vehicles, and also notes the volcano lair’s monorail among its gadgets and technologies.

The vertical Japanese tagline along the right margin reads, in essence: “Bond Series No. 5 — that impact! A terrifying new weapon heightens the suspense!” The poster also carries the Eirin approval mark No. 42171 and the United Artists mark at lower left, both visible on the poster.

The film

You Only Live Twice occupies a special place within the Bond canon. It is Sean Connery’s fifth official appearance as James Bond, directed by Lewis Gilbert, with a screenplay by Roald Dahl and music by John Barry. The official James Bond archive lists the film’s UK release on 12 June 1967, its U.S. release on 13 June 1967, and its world premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square in London.

The film is especially significant for its Japanese setting. Bond travels to Japan after American and Soviet spacecraft are seized in orbit, threatening to trigger nuclear war. He works with Tiger Tanaka and Aki of the Japanese Secret Service, trains with ninjas, encounters Kissy Suzuki, and ultimately discovers SPECTRE’s rocket complex hidden inside a volcano.

It is also one of the great production-design films of the 1960s. Ken Adam’s volcano lair remains one of the most famous villain headquarters in cinema, and the official 007 archive notes that the volcano set cost more than the entire budget of Dr. No and required every lamp in Pinewood Studios to light it. The film also introduced one of the most enduring screen images of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, played by Donald Pleasence, and helped cement the Bond series’ move into larger-scale spectacle.

Japanese audiences had a particular connection to the film because Japan was not merely an exotic backdrop in the marketing; it was central to the plot, cast, vehicles, locations, and visual identity. The Japanese campaign therefore has special collector resonance, and this STB is the most commanding Japanese format associated with the title.

About the STB / Tatekan format

Japanese STB / tatekan posters were tall standing-board advertisements, commonly formed from two B2 sheets arranged vertically. The name comes from tate kanban, or “standing signboard.” The format was designed for cinema and street display, often in free-standing frames or theatre-front advertising boards. Art of the Movies describes the STB as a tall format measuring approximately 20 × 58 inches, made from two B2 posters placed one above the other, and notes that the format was largely discontinued by the mid-1970s.

Because they were produced for prominent theatrical display rather than long-term preservation, survival rates are dramatically lower than for standard Japanese B2 posters. Specialist Japanese-poster references likewise describe STBs as tall, slim cinema signboard posters measuring around 51 × 145 cm, produced in smaller quantities and far rarer than standard one-sheets.

That rarity is amplified here by the subject: Sean Connery, the original 1960s Bond cycle, Japan as the film’s setting, United Artists first-release status, and one of the most visually arresting Japanese Bond poster layouts ever produced.

Condition

Near Mint / Museum Grade. This is an exceptional survivor of a format that very rarely appears in this condition. The poster presents beautifully, with strong colour, clean whites, deep blacks, sharp red title lettering, and excellent overall freshness.

From normal viewing distance, the poster presents at a museum-grade level and is suitable for serious display. Please review the photographs carefully, as they show the exact poster for sale.

Authentication

Guaranteed original; first-release Japanese STB / tatekan poster for the 1967 Japanese theatrical release of You Only Live Twice / 007は二度死ぬ.

A museum-grade Bond rarity: the most dramatic Japanese display format for Connery’s fifth 007 film, and a cornerstone piece for any advanced James Bond, 1960s cinema, or Japanese movie-poster collection.