“Go forth! Warriors of Light—once again!”
“JR EAST × FATHER OF ULTRA / ウルトラの父” (2016) – ORIGINAL JAPANESE B1 “ULTRAMAN STAMP RALLY” STATION-DISPLAY TEASER POSTER – JR EAST × TSUBURAYA PRODUCTIONS / 非売品
Extremely Rare | Excellent Condition | Railway / Station Display (Not for Sale) | 2016 Campaign Teaser | 72.8 × 103 cm (B1)
This is an original Japanese B1 railway-station teaser poster issued by JR East in collaboration with Tsuburaya Productions for the return of the enormously popular Ultraman Stamp Rally in January 2016.
The spectacular design features Father of Ultra / ウルトラの父 at monumental scale, standing within a luminous futuristic interior with his great horns framing the composition, orange eyes glowing, black cape spread behind him and one hand raised in command.
Beside him appears:
「ゆけ！光の戦士たちよ。ふたたび！」
— “Go forth! Warriors of Light—once again!”
The bottom of the poster provides the only direct clue to the approaching event:
「1月12日、帰って来るその日を待て。」
— “January 12—await the day they return.”
Rather than revealing the complete campaign, participating stations or prizes, this sheet was designed as a pre-launch teaser, creating anticipation for the return of JR East’s Ultraman railway event.
Campaign & issuing bodies (what it is)
The poster was produced for:
「JR東日本 帰って来たぞ！我らのウルトラマンスタンプラリー」
— “JR East — They’ve Returned! Our Ultraman Stamp Rally.”
The campaign began on 12 January 2016 and brought together characters from the classic Ultra series across the JR East railway network.
The small JR東日本 / JR East logo appears at the upper right, while the Ultra imagery was officially licensed by Tsuburaya Productions.
This poster belongs to the teaser phase immediately before the campaign launch. It deliberately withholds the full event title and instead presents Father of Ultra summoning the Warriors of Light to return.
The message (translation)
The central text reads:
「ゆけ！光の戦士たちよ。ふたたび！」
— “Go forth! Warriors of Light—once again!”
The lower announcement reads:
「1月12日、帰って来るその日を待て。」
— “January 12—await the day they return.”
The wording directly anticipates the campaign title 「帰って来たぞ！」 — “They’ve returned!”, making this a particularly effective piece of pre-launch advertising.
Poster design (what you see here)
The composition is wonderfully restrained.
Father of Ultra dominates almost the entire B1 sheet, his immense curved horns forming the principal structure of the image. His silver helmet, glowing orange eyes and vivid red body stand dramatically against the pale architectural surroundings.
His raised hand reads simultaneously as a salute, command and summons, perfectly matching the accompanying message to the Warriors of Light.
The huge black cape gives the character an almost ceremonial presence, while the futuristic white-and-cream setting evokes the advanced civilisation of the Land of Light.
Unlike crowded commercial Ultraman artwork, there are no monsters, explosions or multiple characters. The design depends almost entirely on the authority and recognisability of Father of Ultra.
At more than one metre tall, the effect is extremely impressive.
Father of Ultra & the Ultraman 50th Anniversary
Father of Ultra / ウルトラの父 is one of the great patriarchal figures of the Ultra universe, associated with the Ultra Brothers and the defence of the Land of Light.
His use here is particularly appropriate. Rather than showing one individual hero returning to the railway network, the campaign places Father of Ultra in the role of commander, summoning the Warriors of Light back into action.
The 2016 campaign also coincided with the 50th-anniversary year of the original Ultraman television series, first broadcast in 1966.
The poster therefore sits at the intersection of two returns: the return of JR East’s successful Ultraman Stamp Rally and the celebration of half a century of one of Japan’s most important popular-culture franchises.
Japan-only railway design & non-retail status
This is a Japan-exclusive railway-use promotional poster / 非売品, produced for public display rather than commercial sale.
It was intended to appear inside the JR East railway environment for a relatively short period before the full campaign advertising replaced it.
These posters were fundamentally working pieces of railway advertising. They were installed, removed and generally discarded after their promotional purpose had ended.
That makes surviving original examples considerably scarcer than ordinary commercial Ultraman merchandise.
We also have a period photograph showing this exact poster design displayed within the JR East station environment at the time, providing particularly valuable documentation of its original use.
About the B1 format (size & rarity)
Japanese B1 posters measure approximately 72.8 × 103 cm (28.7 × 40.6 inches)—twice the surface area of the standard Japanese B2 format.
The scale is particularly effective here. Father of Ultra becomes almost life-size in presence, while the horns, raised hand and sweeping cape have genuine architectural impact.
Original B1 railway posters are difficult to preserve because they were created for temporary public display rather than collecting.
This example is especially desirable because it combines:
Official JR East × Tsuburaya Productions campaign use
Father of Ultra
Rare pre-launch teaser design
Large B1 format
Non-retail / not-for-sale status
Period photographic evidence of station display
No official production figure is known, but original surviving examples are genuinely difficult to encounter.
Condition
This poster is in Excellent+ condition.
The principal image remains exceptionally strong and highly displayable, with vivid red, silver, black and orange colour throughout. Father of Ultra’s face, armour, cape and costume details remain beautifully defined against the pale architectural background.
There is light age- and storage-related handling, including gentle paper undulation and shallow creasing principally visible from the reverse and under angled light. There is also a small handwritten storage notation on the lower-right reverse.
These points are modest and consistent with an original large-format railway-display poster.
There are no major condition issues affecting Father of Ultra or the important campaign text, and the overall presentation remains extremely attractive.
Please refer carefully to the imagery, as this is the exact poster that is for sale.
It is an original 2016 JR East railway-display poster.
It was not commercially sold.
It is not a reproduction or reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
An extremely rare 2016 JR East × Tsuburaya Productions B1 teaser poster featuring Father of Ultra summoning the Warriors of Light to return on January 12—a superb Japan-only crossover of Ultraman history, railway culture and graphic advertising, preserved in Excellent condition and accompanied by period evidence of the design in station display.
“Go forth! Warriors of Light—once again!”
