“Akira Kurosawa Special” / 「黒澤明の全貌」, Original Japanese Film Festival Poster 1986–1987, Very Rare, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) Q286
This is a very rare original Japanese B2 film-festival poster for Akira Kurosawa Special / 黒澤明の全貌 — a major retrospective screening event celebrating the work of Akira Kurosawa.
The festival ran across two calendar years, beginning on 27 December 1986 and concluding on 30 January 1987, as shown by the printed ’87 date before January. Held at Center Cinema / センターシネマ, the programme presented an extraordinary selection of Kurosawa’s films, from his early wartime and post-war works through to Kagemusha.
This is not a standard single-film theatrical poster, but a retrospective cinema-event poster — an unusually rich and highly displayable piece of Kurosawa-related Japanese film ephemera.
Festival background
The poster advertises 黒澤明の全貌 — literally, “The Complete Picture of Akira Kurosawa” — a special screening programme presenting a broad survey of Kurosawa’s career.
The schedule includes 20 films, spanning nearly four decades of Japanese cinema:
Sanshiro Sugata / 姿三四郎
They Who Step on the Tiger’s Tail / 虎の尾を踏む男達
No Regrets for Our Youth / わが青春に悔なし
One Wonderful Sunday / 素晴らしき日曜日
Drunken Angel / 酔いどれ天使
Stray Dog / 野良犬
Rashomon / 羅生門
The Idiot / 白痴
Ikiru / 生きる
Record of a Living Being / 生きものの記録
Throne of Blood / 蜘蛛巣城
The Lower Depths / どん底
The Hidden Fortress / 隠し砦の三悪人
The Bad Sleep Well / 悪い奴ほどよく眠る
Yojimbo / 用心棒
Sanjuro / 椿三十郎
High and Low / 天国と地獄
Red Beard / 赤ひげ
Dodes’ka-den / どですかでん
Kagemusha / 影武者
As a single printed object, the poster functions both as festival advertising and as a compact visual map of Kurosawa’s career.
Poster design
This B2 design is exceptionally strong. A vivid emerald-green background is paired with bold black-and-white photographic imagery, giving the poster immediate impact from across a room.
At the centre is a large monochrome portrait of Akira Kurosawa, wearing his signature cap, dark glasses, and leather jacket. This image anchors the entire composition and gives the poster a strong authorial presence: the director himself becomes the central visual figure around which his films are arranged.
Surrounding Kurosawa is a dense but beautifully organised grid of film titles, release years, English titles, Japanese calligraphy, screening dates, and stills from the films. The typography is a major part of the design: each film title appears in bold white Japanese brush-style lettering, accompanied by clean vertical English text.
The structure makes the poster highly informative but also highly graphic. It has the clarity of a schedule, the density of an archive, and the visual force of a modernist festival poster.
The black footer announces the event period:
12月27日（土）〜 ’87 1月30日（金）
and lists the venue:
センターシネマ
The ticket details are also printed at the bottom, including a special advance ticket at ¥1,000 and a five-film pass at ¥4,000.
Collector significance
This is a highly desirable piece for collectors of Akira Kurosawa, Japanese cinema, and film-festival poster design.
Its appeal lies in several important qualities:
Very rare Kurosawa retrospective poster
Features Akira Kurosawa himself as the central image
Includes 20 major films from across his career
Strong 1986–1987 festival context
Excellent emerald-green graphic design
Highly displayable B2 format
Superb crossover appeal for collectors of Kurosawa, Mifune, Japanese cinema, and retrospective film programming
Unlike a single-title poster, this piece represents Kurosawa’s body of work. It is therefore especially appealing as a summary object — a poster that celebrates the director’s full artistic legacy rather than one individual release.
Condition
Very Good / Excellent condition. Please review the photographs carefully, as they show the exact poster for sale.
The poster has fantastic display appeal, with strong green colour, crisp black-and-white imagery, and bold typography throughout. There are visible signs of age, handling, fold lines, and light creasing consistent with an original festival poster of this period. These points have been taken into account when pricing.
Once framed, it will display extremely well.
This is an original 1986–1987 Japanese film-festival poster.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
It is nearly 40 years old.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
