"Tokyo-Ga" (東京画), Original Japanese Documentary Movie Poster 1985, Very Rare B1 Size (c. 72.8 × 103 cm) LA33
Sale price$450.00
This is an original Japanese B1 theatrical poster for Wim Wenders’ celebrated 1985 documentary Tokyo-Ga (released in Japan as 東京画). A beautifully composed and highly collectible Japanese design, it pairs bold calligraphic typography with a striking collage of film imagery — capturing the movie’s dreamlike drift through modern Tokyo and its deep reverence for Yasujirō Ozu. The poster also notes the film’s 1985 Cannes Film Festival Special Invitation selection (1985年カンヌ映画祭特別招待作品), underscoring its international prestige.
Key Features:
Original Japanese B1 poster for Tokyo-Ga (1985) — not a reproduction or reprint.
Large B1 format: approx. 72.8 × 103 cm, offering considerably more visual presence than the standard Japanese B2 format.
Exceptional Japanese graphic design: a deep cobalt-blue field with oversized green calligraphy reading 東京画, elegant vertical typography, and a right-side column of stills that feel like a curated “travel diary” of images — everyday Tokyo textures, Ozu-evoking moments, and appearances by figures connected to Wenders’ cinematic pilgrimage. Design credit visible: DESIGN: M. OGASAWARA.
Rare documentary subject: Japanese theatrical posters for documentaries are typically scarcer than mainstream narrative releases, making this a particularly desirable Wim Wenders / Japanese cinema / Ozu-related crossover collectible.
About the B1 Format & Comparative Rarity: Japanese B1 posters are significantly larger than standard B2 theatrical posters and were produced in much smaller quantities. While B2 posters were the regular cinema display format, B1 examples were generally reserved for more prominent promotional placements and are far less frequently encountered today. For a documentary title such as Tokyo-Ga, surviving B1 posters are especially uncommon, and this large-format example is a notably strong collector’s piece.
About the Film: Directed by Wim Wenders, Tokyo-Ga is widely regarded as one of the most admired documentary “city films” and one of cinema’s most heartfelt tributes to another filmmaker. Wenders travels through Tokyo searching for the disappearing traces of Yasujirō Ozu’s Japan — observing everyday life, urban change, and the strange beauty of modern images, while reflecting on what Ozu’s work means to him and to world cinema. The result is a profoundly moving piece of film culture: part travelogue, part essay, part love letter to Ozu’s spirit and the elusive idea of cinematic memory.
The film includes appearances by important figures connected to Ozu and cinema more broadly, including Chishū Ryū, Yuharu Atsuta, and Werner Herzog.
About Yasujirō Ozu: Yasujirō Ozu is considered one of the greatest directors in film history, renowned for a body of work that distilled family life, generational change, and quiet emotional shifts into elegantly restrained cinema. Films such as Tokyo Story (1953), Late Spring (1949), and Early Summer (1951) helped define Ozu’s legacy: precise compositions, the famed low “tatami” camera height, and an unmatched ability to reveal life’s deepest truths through the smallest gestures. Tokyo-Ga functions as an essential companion piece to Ozu’s career — made by a director whose own filmography sits firmly in the modern canon.
It is over 40 years old!
Condition Excellent. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale.
This poster presents beautifully, with strong colour, clean imagery, and only light signs of handling consistent with age and storage. The reverse is blank, as shown.
