“Crest of Betrayal” (忠臣蔵外伝 四谷怪談), Original First-Release Japanese Movie Poster 1994, Gustav Klimt “The Kiss” Design, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) S168

This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster produced for the first Japanese cinema release of Kinji Fukasaku’s Crest of Betrayal (忠臣蔵外伝 四谷怪談 / Chūshingura Gaiden: Yotsuya Kaidan), starring Koichi Sato and Saki Takaoka. The film opened in Japan on 22 October 1994, distributed by Shochiku, and was directed by Kinji Fukasaku, with a screenplay by Fukasaku and Motomu Furuta. The remarkable supporting cast includes Keiko Oginome, Tsunehiko Watase, Masahiko Tsugawa, Hiroyuki Sanada, Takahiro Tamura and Yuko Natori.

Fukasaku ingeniously combines two of Japan’s most enduring dramatic traditions: Chūshingura, the story of the Forty-Seven Rōnin, and Tsuruya Nanboku IV’s Tōkaidō Yotsuya Kaidan, Japan’s most celebrated ghost story. At its centre are former Akō retainer Tamiya Iemon and Oiwa, whose tragic relationship becomes intertwined with the vendetta against Lord Kira. The result is an extraordinary fusion of samurai drama, doomed romance and supernatural horror.

Poster design
An exceptionally sophisticated and unusual Japanese first-release design built around Gustav Klimt’s masterpiece The Kiss (Der Kuss). The central reproduction is explicitly credited on the poster itself to Gustav Klimt and the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, placing one of the most famous images of romantic intimacy in Western art at the centre of Fukasaku’s violent Japanese ghost story.

Rather than altering Klimt’s figures into the film’s characters, the poster deliberately presents the original Klimt composition as a visual metaphor. Its enveloping gold, intricate ornament and seemingly tender embrace take on a far darker meaning when paired with a story of obsessive love, betrayal, murder and supernatural revenge.

Immediately beneath the image appears the superb red tagline:

「あなたの接吻　血の味がする……」

— “Your kiss tastes of blood…”

The enormous amount of white negative space gives the poster an almost museum-catalogue quality. Across the top, the Romanised title CHUSHINGURAGAIDEN YOTSUYAKAIDAN is printed in elegant brown serif lettering, while the Japanese 忠臣蔵外伝 四谷怪談 appears below the Klimt image in bold black brush calligraphy.

At the bottom is the 百年松竹 — “100 Years of Shochiku” emblem, linking the film to Shochiku’s centenary campaign. The collision of Klimt, Japanese calligraphy, supernatural horror and prestige period cinema makes this one of the most refined and unexpected Japanese film-poster designs of the 1990s.

Film significance
The film was a major critical success. At the 18th Japan Academy Film Prize, it won Best Picture, Best Director for Kinji Fukasaku, Best Screenplay, Best Actor for Koichi Sato, Best Actress for Saki Takaoka, Best Cinematography and Best Lighting, with further nominations and awards across the technical categories.

The combination of Fukasaku at the height of his late career, Shochiku centenary prestige, an award-winning cast, and the extraordinary use of Klimt’s The Kiss gives this poster significant appeal well beyond conventional Japanese movie memorabilia.

It is nearly 32 years old!

Condition
Excellent+. A particularly clean and beautifully preserved example. The extensive cream-white field remains remarkably fresh, while the gold and jewel-like colours of the Klimt image, brown English typography, red tagline and black Japanese calligraphy retain excellent strength.

The poster is unfolded, with only extremely minor age / storage handling visible and no significant issue affecting the central image or typography. The verso is exceptionally clean, with no substantial staining, tape damage or other major condition concerns.

Please review the front and reverse photographs carefully—they show the exact poster for sale.

It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

Certificate of Authenticity included.