"Tokyo Twilight" (Tokyo Boshoku - 東京暮色), Original Release Movie Poster 1957, Ultra Rare, LINEN-BACKED, B2 Size (51 x 73cm) J142B2 (G)

This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster for Yasujirō Ozu’s 1957 film Tokyo Twilight (東京暮色 / とうきょうぼしょく)—a work widely regarded today as one of Ozu’s most piercing and psychologically shadowed family dramas. 

This is an ultra rare variant that has not been sold to our knowledge in any large Western Auction, and it is extremely scarce even in Japan.

A true museum-grade object, this example has been professionally conservation linen-backed in California after being shipped from Tokyo—a best-in-class preservation treatment chosen to stabilize the paper, support prior fold lines, and ensure the poster can be safely enjoyed and displayed for future generations.

What makes this piece especially compelling is the design: an exceptionally bold, painterly regional-style composition with monumental title typography (東京暮色), beautifully rendered lead portraits, and period color sensibilities that feel simultaneously mid-century and timeless. The lower margin bears the original printer credit 東京映画宣材株式会社, a hallmark detail often absent or compromised on surviving copies.

Key Features:

• Ultra-rare original Japanese B2 poster for Tokyo Twilight (東京暮色) (1957) — not a reproduction or reprint. 

• Professionally conservation linen-backed (museum-grade preservation), creating a far more stable, display-ready piece intended for long-term longevity.

• Japanese-poster-exclusive visual impact: striking, collector-grade design showcasing key cast and dramatic tone.
  

• Shochiku production/distribution pedigree (country-of-origin Japanese release material for a canonical studio-era title).

About the Film:
Released in Japan on April 30, 1957, Tokyo Twilight is Ozu’s final black-and-white feature, written with longtime collaborator Kōgo Noda, and starring an extraordinary ensemble including Setsuko Hara and Ineko Arima, alongside Chishū Ryū, Isuzu Yamada, Haruko Sugimura, and others. 

In contrast to Ozu’s more serenely luminous family portraits, Tokyo Twilight ventures into markedly darker terrain—touching themes of abandonment, unwanted pregnancy, and emotional fracture—earning its reputation as one of his bleakest, most wintry masterpieces. 

Reception & Legacy:
At the time of release, the film’s severity proved challenging: contemporary accounts note that Japanese audiences and critics rejected its darkness, and it notably failed to place in the annual Kinema Junpo top-ten poll—an unusual outcome in Ozu’s career. In later decades, its stature has risen significantly, with modern assessments emphasizing its emotional candor and austere power. 

About the Director (Yasujirō Ozu):
Ozu is celebrated for chronicling the inner lives of ordinary Japanese families with rare sensitivity across a career of 50+ films, and for a rigorously recognizable style—low, tatami-level framing, calm geometry, and the poetic punctuation of transitional “pillow shots.”

Collection / Provenance Note:
This poster was acquired as part of a once-in-a-decade Japan Poster Shop collection featuring titles including Tokyo Story (1953), Equinox Flower (1958), Godzilla (1954), Godzilla Raids Again (1955), The Hidden Fortress (1958, rare regional variant), and Seven Samurai (including a teaser and main style). This grouping represented an exceptional concentration of scarcity and historical importance in postwar Japanese paper.

This poster is in excellent condition for its age due to its professional conservation linen backing. Please refer to the imagery as this is the exact poster that is for sale. 

It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.