"Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima" (仁義なき戦い 広島死闘篇), Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1973, STB Size (51 x 145 cm) F17

An original first-release Japanese STB / tatekan poster for Kinji Fukasaku’s Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (仁義なき戦い 広島死闘篇), issued in 1973 for the film’s original theatrical release in Japan.

This is an exceptionally rare format. STB tatekan posters were produced in far smaller quantities than standard B2s, intended for prominent cinema display, and very few survived. For this title, they are extraordinarily difficult to find today and are seldom encountered even in Japan.

The Battles Without Honor and Humanity series transformed the yakuza film. Directed by Kinji Fukasaku and starring Bunta Sugawara, the films stripped away the romantic mythology of earlier gangster cinema and replaced it with something harsher, faster, and more chaotic: a brutal portrait of power, violence, and post-war criminal networks. In that sense, the series changed the Japanese yakuza genre in much the same way The Godfather reshaped the American mafia film.

This second instalment, set in Hiroshima, is one of the key films in the cycle and remains highly regarded for its raw energy and documentary-like intensity. The design of this poster captures that mood perfectly. The composition is bold and confrontational, combining stark black-and-white imagery with violent red brushstroke typography, deep black fields, and a striking blood-red cityscape in the upper section. The lower image, built around a tense close-up and layered crowd montage, gives the piece tremendous visual force. It is a superb and highly collectible 1970s Japanese design.

Condition
Excellent. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale.

Authenticity
This poster is 100% original, printed in Japan in 1973 for the film’s first theatrical release.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.

Format
STB / Tatekan posters are the tall Japanese cinema signboard format, measuring approximately 51 × 145 cm (almost 5 feet tall). Because they were produced for display and usually discarded after use, surviving originals are far rarer than standard release posters.

A scarce and visually powerful original poster for one of the most important yakuza films ever made. It is over 53 years old!