"Equinox Flower", Original First Release Japanese Double-Sided Speed Poster 1958, Yasujirō Ozu, Ultra Rare, Speed Size (26 × 73 cm) P256
"Equinox Flower", Original First Release Japanese Double-Sided Speed Poster 1958, Yasujirō Ozu, Ultra Rare, Speed Size (26 × 73 cm)
Japanese title: 「彼岸花」(Higanbana — “Equinox Flower”)
Size: Speed Poster / c. 10.25 × 28.75 in (26 × 73 cm)
Country / Studio: Japan / Shochiku
This is an original Japanese double-sided speed poster printed in 1958 for the first theatrical release of Yasujirō Ozu’s Equinox Flower. First-release Japanese paper for Ozu is always highly sought after, but surviving speed posters are far scarcer still: narrow-format cinema display pieces printed in relatively small numbers and never intended for public sale. For a major Ozu title—and especially for his first colour film—this is an exceptionally desirable and ultra-rare format.
Film background
Set in late-1950s Tokyo, Equinox Flower follows an old-fashioned father, played by Shin Saburi, as he struggles to accept his daughter’s independent choice of husband. What begins as a seemingly ordinary family matter becomes one of Ozu’s most nuanced meditations on generational change, modernity, and the quiet upheavals within the Japanese home. The film stars Shin Saburi, Kinuyo Tanaka, Ineko Arima, Yoshiko Kuga, and Keiji Sada, and it occupies a special place in Ozu’s career as the moment he moved into colour filmmaking.
Poster design
The front is superbly composed and unmistakably Ozu. The upper image presents the central family group in a beautifully balanced domestic interior, with the women arranged in a way that feels almost architectural—formal, poised, and quietly charged with tension. Below, the great brush-style title 「彼岸花」 dominates the centre in deep maroon-purple, while the cast portraits line the lower register in neat, elegant order. It is a striking design: restrained, stately, and deeply Japanese, yet unmistakably commercial in the best sense. The colours remain warm, rich, and refined, perfectly matching the film’s emotional tone and Ozu’s first venture into colour.
The reverse is equally attractive as an original theatrical artifact, printed in monochrome with extensive publicity text, cast and production details, stills, and illustrated promotional elements. Like the Tokyo Twilight speed, it functions almost as a miniature studio press sheet on the back, giving the piece real documentary value beyond its display side.
Rarity and condition
Japanese 1950s speed posters are genuinely scarce, and examples for major Yasujirō Ozu titles are especially difficult to find. A first-release 1958 speed poster for Equinox Flower is therefore a significant survivor.
Condition is excellent overall, particularly for a fragile Japanese speed poster from the late 1950s. The front presents beautifully, with strong colour, very clean imagery, and excellent overall eye appeal. It shows only light, expected age toning, very minor handling wear, and a few soft surface impressions consistent with age and careful storage. The reverse shows more visible age toning / light storage wear, as is typical, along with handwritten annotations in the right margin, but it remains remarkably clean, complete, and highly presentable for the format. Overall, this is a superb example of an ultra-rare Ozu speed poster. Please inspect the photos carefully, as they show the exact poster for sale.
Authentication
Guaranteed original; not a reproduction or reprint. Certificate of Authenticity included.
About Japanese Speed Posters
Speed posters are narrow, vertically oriented Japanese theatre-display pieces produced in comparatively small numbers for short-term promotional use. Because they were ephemeral by nature—handled, posted, and often discarded—far fewer survived than standard B2 and larger formats. Original 1950s speed posters are especially hard to find today, making a first-release survivor for a major Yasujirō Ozu title such as this particularly desirable.
