"Ebirah, Horror of the Deep", Original Japanese First-Release Movie Poster 1966, ultra rare chihōban (地方版), regional variant, linen-backed, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) P19A

EBIRAH, HORROR OF THE DEEP / GODZILLA, EBIRAH, MOTHRA: BIG DUEL IN THE SOUTH SEAS / ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ 南海の大決闘
Japan (Toho), 1966
Original first-release Japanese theatrical poster (B2 / chihōban (地方版), regional variant)
Colour-printed poster on paper, professionally linen-backed; restored by Fourth Cone Restoration

An ultra-rare country-of-origin chihōban for Toho’s 1966 Shōwa-era Godzilla adventure—known in Japan as 「ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ 南海の大決闘」 and internationally as Ebirah, Horror of the Deep / Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster.

This is the much scarcer regional chihōban design, not the standard B2 composition: a wildly theatrical montage of Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra, the Shobijin, and the captive islanders suspended beneath Mothra in a bamboo cage. Professionally linen-backed and restored by Fourth Cone Restoration, the poster now presents as excellent.

“A spectacular Shōwa kaijū sheet whose format, regional variant, and survival rate place it among the most elusive Japanese Godzilla posters of the 1960s.”

Key Facts
Film: Ebirah, Horror of the Deep / Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster
Japanese title: ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ 南海の大決闘
Director: Jun Fukuda（福田純）
Special Effects Director: Eiji Tsuburaya（円谷英二）
Screenplay: Shinichi Sekizawa（関沢新一）
Producer: Tomoyuki Tanaka（田中友幸）
Music: Masaru Sato（佐藤勝）
Cinematography: Kazuo Yamada（山田一夫）
Release: 17 December 1966, Japan
Studio / Distributor: Toho（東宝）
Poster format: B2 chihōban（地方版 / regional variant）— c. 51 × 73 cm, as offered
Conservation: Professionally linen-backed and restored by Fourth Cone Restoration
Condition: Excellent to near mint presentation on linen

Rarity and Market Context
The chihōban factor: regional paper that almost never survives
“Chihōban”（地方版）posters were regional / theatre-distribution variants—working advertising objects intended for local display, hard use, and eventual disposal. For major Toho titles, these sheets can be dramatically harder to locate than standard studio-issued B2 posters.

This example is especially desirable because it combines country of origin, first release, B2 format, and regional chihōban artwork. The composition is distinct from the more familiar standard B2 design, making it an important variant for advanced Godzilla, Toho, and Japanese film-poster collections.

This is not merely “an Ebirah poster.” It is first-release + Japanese + chihōban + restored by Fourth Cone—the collecting combination that turns a major Shōwa title into a serious rarity.

Jun Fukuda, Eiji Tsuburaya, and the Status of Ebirah
A tropical adventure entry in the Shōwa Godzilla cycle
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep shifts the Godzilla series into a sun-baked island-adventure mode: shipwrecked heroes, a secret Red Bamboo base, enslaved islanders, a nuclear-weapons plot, and a monstrous sea guardian patrolling the waters.

A three-kaijū collision course
The film stages its spectacle across land, sea, and sky: Godzilla awakens on Letchi Island, Ebirah dominates the surrounding ocean, and Mothra arrives as the mythic rescuer, carrying the story back to Infant Island and the Shobijin tradition.

Shōwa-era Toho at full colour pitch
Directed by Jun Fukuda, with special effects direction by Eiji Tsuburaya, the film has a lighter, faster, more adventure-serial rhythm than Honda’s earlier atomic allegories, while still retaining the handcrafted tokusatsu scale and theatricality that define the classic Toho cycle.

The B2 Chihōban Format
Japanese B2 posters are already the essential country-of-origin format for Toho’s monster cinema. The chihōban variant changes the survival math completely: these were regional display sheets, often used by local cinemas and then discarded.

For collectors, this makes the poster especially compelling: not only a first-release Japanese Godzilla poster, but a scarce regional variant with artwork seldom encountered in any condition—let alone conserved to this standard.

Poster Design: A Masterclass in Shōwa Kaijū Montage
This is one of the most striking regional designs for the title—dense, surreal, and unapologetically theatrical:

Monumental title typography: the enormous scarlet kanji 「南海の大決闘」 runs down the left side with furigana readings, giving the sheet the graphic force of hand-painted theatre signage.

The monster roll call: a bright yellow vertical panel announces 「ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ」 in bold black katakana—direct, collectible, and unmistakably Toho.

Mothra and the Shobijin: Mothra dominates the upper field, with the twin priestesses standing on her head, transforming the composition from monster action into mythic rescue spectacle.

The human stakes: a bamboo cage of island captives hangs below Mothra, an extraordinary image that gives the poster its narrative tension and separates this chihōban from the standard campaign artwork.

Godzilla vs. Ebirah: the lower field is anchored by Godzilla biting into Ebirah’s massive claw—an immediate, visceral monster image that foregrounds the film’s central land/sea confrontation.

Land, sea, and sky: the right-side copy explicitly sells the film as a three-zone spectacle: Godzilla on land, Mothra in the air, Ebirah in the sea.

Text and Translation Notes
Below are key on-sheet texts and their English meanings as printed on the poster:

Main title: 南海の大決闘
“Big Duel in the South Seas” / “Great Duel in the South Seas”

Monster panel: ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ
“Godzilla / Ebirah / Mothra”

Top left: カラー作品
“Colour production”

Top credits:
監督／福田純 — “Director: Jun Fukuda”
特技監督／円谷英二 — “Special Effects Director: Eiji Tsuburaya”

Right-side tagline:
陸にゴジラ、空にモスラ、海にエビラ！三大怪獣が巻き起す世紀の大決闘！
“On land, Godzilla; in the sky, Mothra; in the sea, Ebirah! The three giant monsters unleash the duel of the century!”

Production credits:
製作／田中友幸 — “Producer: Tomoyuki Tanaka”
脚本／関沢新一 — “Screenplay: Shinichi Sekizawa”
撮影／山田一夫 — “Cinematography: Kazuo Yamada”

Principal cast shown on the sheet includes:
宝田明 / 水野久美 / 砂塚秀夫 / 当銀長太郎 / 伊吹徹 / 平田昭彦 / ペア・バンビ / 田崎潤
Akira Takarada / Kumi Mizuno / Hideo Sunazuka / Chōtarō Tōgin / Tōru Ibuki / Akihiko Hirata / Pair Bambi / Jun Tazaki

Conservation
Professional linen-backing and restoration by Fourth Cone Restoration
This poster has been professionally linen-backed and restored by Fourth Cone Restoration for long-term structural stability, preservation, and display. The conservation has stabilized the sheet while allowing the original colour, typography, and surface presence to read with exceptional clarity.

Condition
Excellent presentation on linen. Prior to conservation, the poster showed signs of use consistent with a working regional theatrical sheet. Professional stabilization and restoration have addressed these issues, and the poster now presents clean, vibrant, and display-ready, with strong colour saturation, excellent image impact, and superb overall eye appeal.

Please review the provided photos — they show the exact poster offered.

Certificate of Authenticity
Certificate of Authenticity included.