"Dodes'ka-den", Original Release Japanese B1 Poster 1970, B1 Poster Size (c.72.8 cm × 103 cm)
This is an original Japanese B1 poster printed in 1970 for the first release of Dodes'ka-den (どですかでん), Akira Kurosawa’s first colour feature.
Film background Adapted from Shūgorō Yamamoto’s novel A Town Without Seasons, Dodes'ka-den weaves a mosaic of lives in a Tokyo shantytown—centred on young Rokkuchan, a mentally disabled boy who imagines driving an imaginary trolley, chanting “dodes’ka-den, dodes’ka-den” (“clickety-clack”). Kurosawa’s bold chromatic palette and episodic structure marked a radical departure from his earlier jidaigeki epics, earning an Academy Award® nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and later cult status among cinephiles.
Poster design
- Printed in the large B1 cinema-poster format, this design features:
- A striking full-colour composition reproducing Kurosawa’s own expressive artwork—an explosive yellow sun filled with sketched figures from the film, set against a vivid green field.The artwork is by Akira Kurosawa himself.
- Kurosawa’s sweeping “Akira Kurosawa” signature across the centre, bridging the radiant upper tableau with the shantytown landscape below.
- A richly illustrated hillside of makeshift homes rendered in loose, urgent lines, with Rokkuchan depicted in profile at the lower right.
- Hand-lettered Japanese title どですかでん beside a red sun motif, with cast/crew credits to the upper right and the Toho distribution mark (配給 東宝株式会社) printed beneath.
- Original Eirin approval seal (映倫 70531) at the lower left—an important hallmark of an authentic first-release Japanese poster. B1 posters are far less commonly encountered than standard B2s, making a surviving first-release Kurosawa title in this format especially scarce and desirable.
This poster is in very good condition. Please refer to the imagery (both front and back) as this is the exact poster that is for sale.
It is over 55 years old!
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
