"TADANORI YOKOO - Chinju Hikawa Shrine", Japanese Contemporary Art Poster, Original Limited Edition Silk Screen 1997, Ultra Rare, Size (c.73 x 103cm)
This poster is ultra rare and is displayed in the world`s most prestigious galleries such as MoMA in New York City. It is very difficult / almost impossible to find in any condition.
Original Silkscreen Print on Paper, B1 Size (103 × 73 cm | 40.6 × 28.7 in)
As held in the permanent collection of M+, Hong Kong.
https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/collection/objects/chinju-hikawa-shrine-2016198/
This is an original 1998 silkscreen print by legendary Japanese graphic designer Tadanori Yokoo, created as a tribute to Hikawa Shrine (氷川神社), a prominent spiritual site in Japan. Titled Chinju Hikawa Shrine (鎮守氷川神社), the work explodes with Yokoo’s unmistakable visual intensity—blending national iconography, Shinto symbolism, and psychedelic repetition into a radiant, reverential spectacle.
A procession of white-robed, black-haired priestly figures descends diagonally in a hypnotic loop, multiplying endlessly across a red-and-blue sunburst backdrop. Gold clouds scatter across the composition, their bright flatness enhancing the dimensional illusion. At the top, twin Japanese flags frame a pink banner bearing blessings and prayers for household safety, child rearing, prosperity, and purification. The bottom center features a stylized yellow sun face—both a cosmic eye and a spiritual totem—labeled “Spirit of the Sun,” as English words like “Purified Soul,” “Faithful,” and “Eternal Life” radiate outward in concentric alignment with the visual rhythm.
Yokoo transforms the ceremonial into the sublime, merging sacred ritual with graphic bombast. The repeated figures echo Edo-era prints while also nodding to 20th-century optical art, giving the composition both historical gravity and kinetic energy. Despite the vibrancy, the tone remains one of awe, linking nationalist aesthetics to the metaphysical.
Silkscreen printing—Yokoo’s medium of choice—is a deliberately handcrafted process, marked by tactile variation and bold pigment saturation. Its materiality lends the work a unique sense of depth and immediacy. Rejecting the sterility of digital reproduction, silkscreening preserves a rawness akin to woodblock or lithographic traditions, making it a natural vehicle for Yokoo’s spiritually charged and visually chaotic worldview.
Chinju Hikawa Shrine was created at the height of Yokoo’s postmodern maturity, during a period of vibrant experimentation and cultural commentary. Now part of the permanent collection at M+ in Hong Kong, the work stands as a cornerstone of Yokoo’s late-1990s output. Rarely seen in such pristine condition outside museum walls, it is an exceptional example of his ability to fuse religious veneration, cultural memory, and graphic innovation into a single mythic tableau.
Please refer to the imagery (both front and back) as this is the exact poster that is for sale.
It is over 27 years old!
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
*Please note the price is fixed for this item. It is not included in any of our periodic sales (e.g. Black Friday)!*
