“Kagemusha” (影武者), Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1980, Akira Kurosawa, B2 Size (51 x 73cm) K58 A

This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster issued in Japan for Akira Kurosawa’s late‑period masterpiece Kagemusha (影武者, “Shadow Warrior”). It’s the classic, dramatic Japanese one‑sheet style for the film—dense with atmosphere, dominated by bold title calligraphy, and anchored by Kurosawa’s unmistakable sense of war as spectacle and nightmare. The sheet also carries the authority stamp 「黒澤明監督作品」 (“A film by Akira Kurosawa”) printed vertically near the top, with Toho’s branding present as well.

Film background
Kagemusha is Kurosawa operating at full scale: a Sengoku‑era epic in which a condemned thief is forced to become the double of a dead warlord—an act of sustained impersonation that turns identity into strategy and survival into theatre. It’s a film about power as performance and the terrifying fragility of myths once the man behind them is gone.
For collectors, it also represents one of cinema’s most storied late‑career comebacks: the production’s international stature was strengthened through the high‑profile support of Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, helping bring Kurosawa’s vision to the global stage and cementing Kagemusha as a defining work of modern auteur cinema.

Poster design
This B2 is a classic Japanese impact design—equal parts calligraphy banner and war‑fog hallucination. The composition is driven by enormous flame‑orange kanji 「影武者」 down the center, rendered in aggressive brush‑stroke style that reads like a battlefield standard. Behind it, blurred armored figures and fluttering insignia emerge from deep blue‑black shadows, while the lower edge collapses into a silhouetted cavalry surge—tiny riders and spears cutting across the horizon like a final omen.

A particularly evocative detail is the vertical line of copy along the right side:
「さすがは信玄 死してなお三年の間 よくぞこの信長をたばかった！」
—roughly: “As expected of Shingen—though dead, for three years he still managed to deceive even this Nobunaga!”

It’s a perfect textual echo of the film’s central idea: authority persisting as an illusion, long after the original source is gone.

Condition
While Kagemusha exists in multiple Japanese formats, strong original B2 examples with this moody, high‑contrast printing are always sought after—especially by Kurosawa collectors who want a design that feels like the film: violent, ritualistic, and mythic.

Condition is very good overall, with typical signs of age and cinema handling: visible fold/crease lines, light surface wear/scuffing, and minor edge wear (as shown). The reverse shows normal storage/handling wear, including creasing and a small area of paper disturbance. Please inspect the photos carefully as they show the exact poster for sale.

It is over 40 years old.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.