“Akutō” (悪党 / Conquest), Original Japanese First-Release Movie Poster 1965, Kaneto Shindō / Jun’ichirō Tanizaki / Kyōko Kishida / Eitarō Ozawa, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) E283 O773

This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster for the first release of Akutō, written and directed by Kaneto Shindō from Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s play Kaoyo (顔世). A joint production by Tokyo Eiga and Kindai Eiga Kyōkai, the film opened in Japan through Toho on 21 November 1965.

Set during the wars between Japan’s Northern and Southern Courts in the fourteenth century, the film stars Eitarō Ozawa as Kō no Moronao, a powerful official of the Ashikaga shogunate, and Kyōko Kishida as Kaoyo, the wife of one of his retainers. Unable to win her over, Moronao enlists the monk Kenkō, played by Jūkichi Uno, to write love letters on his behalf. When persuasion fails, he turns his military authority against her husband. Nobuko Otowa, Isao Kimura, Taiji Tonoyama and Kōji Takahashi also appear.

The poster is dominated by a pair of enormous eyes. Enlarged until the photographic grain is clearly visible, the face fills the background while the two characters of 「悪党」 descend through its centre in vermilion brushstrokes. The ragged ends of the strokes stand out against the deep black shadows. Below, two tinted portraits draw the eye to the women’s expressions; armoured warriors gather at the left, flames rise at the right, and a procession carrying severed heads on poles stretches across the foot of the sheet.

The circular Toho emblem appears at the upper right beside the vertical credits for Tanizaki and Shindō. Tanizaki’s credit explicitly names Kaoyo, preserving the name of the woman at the centre of the story alongside the film’s stark title, Akutō (“villain”).

Excellent condition overall.

Please review the photographs, which show the exact poster offered.

Over 60 years old.
Not a reproduction or reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.