This is an original Japanese first-release B1 poster, printed for the 1978 Japanese theatrical release of Star Wars — Japanese title: スター・ウォーズ. This is the exceptionally rare large-format B1 Seito “Style A” poster, measuring approximately 73 × 103 cm / 29 × 40 in, double the size of the standard Japanese B2 format.
Featuring exclusive painted artwork by the acclaimed Japanese illustrator Seito, this is one of the most celebrated Japan-only poster designs for the first Star Wars film. Luke raises the lightsaber in a burst of light, Leia stands wind-swept in flowing white, Darth Vader’s image looms across the star field, X-wings sweep toward the Death Star, and the iconic English tagline appears at top: “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”
Directed by George Lucas and starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Peter Cushing, David Prowse, and James Earl Jones, Star Wars became one of the most influential films ever made — redefining modern special effects, franchise filmmaking, and global popular culture. The Japanese release campaign is especially important within Star Wars poster collecting because it used distinctive illustrated artwork created for the Japanese market, rather than simply adapting standard international key art.
Star Wars opened in Japan one year after its U.S. release, with advance screenings beginning on June 24, 1978, followed by general release on July 1, 1978. This poster reflects that moment precisely: the lower-left award callouts proudly reference the film’s major Academy Awards success, aligning with the Japanese theatrical rollout after the film’s 1978 awards-season triumph.
The design is Seito’s legendary “Style A” composition — a dramatic, painterly reinterpretation of the Star Wars mythos. The sheet includes many of the most desirable elements of the Japanese campaign: the English opening line at top, Vader’s monumental presence in the cosmos, the Death Star rendered in a striking orientation, X-wings in formation, the bold blue STAR WARS logo at lower right, the red Japanese title スター・ウォーズ beneath, and the dense Japanese credits block with 20th Century Fox, Dolby, and Eirin marks.
At lower left, the poster features a row of Oscar statuettes and award callouts. At the 50th Academy Awards, Star Wars won six competitive Oscars, plus the Academy’s Special Achievement Award — a total often promoted in period advertising as seven Academy Awards.
Of all Japanese posters produced for the first Star Wars film, the B1 Seito Style A is among the most elusive. The standard Japanese B2 version is already highly collectible, but the B1 format is in a different category altogether. These larger posters were produced in far smaller numbers and intended for major theatrical display in cinema lobbies, large theatres, and prominent advertising cases. Their size made them difficult to store, and most examples were folded, displayed, pasted, discarded, or damaged through use.
With no official print records publicly available, a cautious collector-market estimate would place B1 production at only a fraction of the standard B2 campaign — likely at least 10× rarer at production, and scarcer still in surviving, collectible condition today. For serious Star Wars collectors, this is the grail format for Seito’s 1978 Japanese campaign artwork.
This example was sourced in Japan by Japan Poster Shop and is only the second B1-format example of this design we have personally encountered in Japan.
We sent this poster from Tokyo to California, where it was professionally conserved, restored, and linen-backed by Fourth Cone Restoration, one of the premier restoration studios in the field. The work provides long-term stabilization and ensures the poster is fully display-ready.
This is an important original Japanese theatrical poster from one of the most culturally significant films of the modern era. It is not a reproduction or modern reprint — this is an original 1978 Japanese first-release B1 movie poster.
It is over 47 years old.
Condition
Excellent; appears near mint. Professionally restored and linen-backed by Fourth Cone Restoration. Please review the photos — they show the exact poster for sale.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
