Original Japanese Koji Wakamatsu Movie Posters

Kōji Wakamatsu (若松孝二, 1936–2012) was one of the most radical and influential figures in postwar Japanese cinema, celebrated for his uncompromising filmmaking, political provocations, and pioneering contribution to Japan’s independent film movement. A central figure in the development of pinku eiga (Japanese pink cinema), Wakamatsu transformed the conventions of low-budget erotic filmmaking into a powerful medium for political dissent, social criticism, and artistic experimentation.

Emerging during the 1960s, Wakamatsu developed a distinctive cinematic language characterised by stark black-and-white photography, experimental editing, psychological intensity, and confrontational subject matter. His important works include The Embryo Hunts in Secret (1966), Go, Go, Second Time Virgin (1969), Sex Jack (1970), and Ecstasy of the Angels (1972). He also produced Nagisa Ōshima’s internationally celebrated In the Realm of the Senses (1976), further establishing his importance within Japan’s avant-garde film culture.

Wakamatsu’s films are closely associated with the political and artistic upheavals of 1960s and 1970s Japan. His collaborations with screenwriter Masao Adachi and his involvement in independent filmmaking placed him at the intersection of cinema, radical politics, and the Japanese counterculture. His work has subsequently attracted renewed international recognition through retrospectives, film festivals, and scholarly reassessment.

Japan Poster Shop’s collection of original Japanese Kōji Wakamatsu movie posters features rare theatrical material associated with his distinctive body of work, including Secret High School Girl, Sex Variation, and Erotic Liaisons.

Original Japanese posters from the pink film and independent cinema movements are particularly fascinating examples of postwar graphic design. Frequently produced in limited quantities for specialised theatrical distribution, these posters employed provocative photography, experimental compositions, and striking Japanese typography that reflected the radical nature of the films themselves.

Surviving original theatrical posters from this period can be exceptionally difficult to obtain, particularly examples associated with influential filmmakers such as Wakamatsu. Their significance extends beyond cinema memorabilia into the wider history of Japanese visual culture, underground art, and political expression.

Our collection offers an opportunity to acquire authentic Japanese theatrical ephemera connected to one of the defining figures of Japan’s independent and experimental cinema, with each poster individually catalogued for its historical significance, original release, format, and condition.