"Harakiri" (Seppuku - 切腹), Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1962, Ultra Rare, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) Q99

Ultra-Rare Original Japanese B2 Poster for "Harakiri" / "Seppuku" (切腹) (1962)
Size: B2 (51 × 73 cm)

This is an original, first-release Japanese B2 poster for Masaki Kobayashi’s legendary 1962 film Harakiri (切腹) — one of the defining masterpieces of Japanese cinema. Original promotional material from this title is exceptionally difficult to source, and this striking red-and-black design is among the most desirable poster styles associated with the film.

The artwork is dominated by a powerful portrait of Tatsuya Nakadai as Hanshirō Tsugumo, rendered in stark black against a vivid red ground. Below, the composition incorporates duel imagery and painted character portraits, with bold brush-style typography for the title 切腹. The overall design captures the severity, psychological tension, and moral force of the film.

Key Features

Original 1962 Japanese theatrical release poster — not a reprint or reproduction.

Ultra rare B2 format for one of the most important Japanese films of the 1960s.

Features the principal cast including Tatsuya Nakadai, Rentarō Mikuni, Shima Iwashita, Akira Ishihama, and Tetsurō Tamba.

Directed by Masaki Kobayashi, with screenplay by Shinobu Hashimoto, cinematography by Yoshio Miyajima, and music by Tōru Takemitsu.

Issued by Shochiku, the film’s original Japanese distributor.

Condition

Very Good / Excellent. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale.

The poster presents strongly, with vivid colour, sharp printed detail, and only minor signs of age and handling consistent with an original 1962 theatrical poster. 

Please note: there is black felt-tip writing on the verso, visible from the front in certain areas, most noticeably across the upper portrait section. This has been clearly photographed and has been taken into account when pricing. Additional imagery is provided so the buyer can assess the condition fully.

About the Film

Directed by Masaki Kobayashi, Harakiri is a landmark of jidaigeki cinema and a profound critique of samurai honour, feudal authority, and social hypocrisy. Set in the early Edo period, the film follows the rōnin Hanshirō Tsugumo, who arrives at the Iyi clan estate requesting permission to commit seppuku. What begins as a formal ritual request gradually unfolds into one of the most devastating moral indictments in Japanese cinema.

The film is renowned for its austere visual style, dramatic structure, and controlled intensity. Tatsuya Nakadai’s central performance remains one of the great achievements of post-war Japanese acting, while Tōru Takemitsu’s score and Yoshio Miyajima’s cinematography give the film its unmistakable atmosphere of restraint and violence held in tension.

Harakiri won the Special Jury Prize at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival and is now widely regarded as one of Masaki Kobayashi’s greatest works, standing alongside The Human Condition as a major achievement of Japanese post-war cinema.

This poster is not only a rare Shochiku promotional artefact, but a highly important collector’s piece connected to one of the most acclaimed Japanese films ever made.

It is over 64 years old!

It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

Certificate of Authenticity included.