“KIYOSHI AWAZU – 天守物語・十三夜 / SHIBUYA TŌYOKO THEATRE / BUNGAKUZA,” Japanese Theatre Poster, Original Offset 1974, Rare, B2 Size (c. 51.5 × 72.8 cm) S216

An original 1974 theatre poster by Kiyoshi Awazu (1929–2009) for Bungakuza’s double-bill production of Izumi Kyoka’s Tenshu Monogatari (天守物語) and Higuchi Ichiyo’s Jusan’ya (十三夜). The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa catalogues the work as 「天守物語・十三夜／文学座」, dated 1974, offset printing on paper, B2 format, and records it within the Kiyoshi Awazu Archive as Po-158. Kariya City Art Museum likewise records the poster as offset on paper, measuring 72.4 × 51.2 cm, confirming this as an original B2-format Awazu theatre poster from 1974.

The design advertises the 7–22 December 1974 run at the Tōyoko Theatre. Bungakuza’s own historical performance archive confirms the pairing: Jusan’ya, adapted by Mantaro Kubota from Higuchi Ichiyo and directed by Shin Tatsuoka, together with Tenshu Monogatari by Izumi Kyoka, directed by Ichiro Inui.

Awazu was self-taught and is described by the Kanazawa museum as one of the figures who led post-war Japanese graphic design. His practice moved freely across posters, theatre, architecture, print, photography and other visual media, repeatedly drawing on traditional Japanese imagery while pushing it into an unmistakably modern graphic language.

This example is especially striking for its enormous diving bird of prey, blood-orange sky, deep indigo plumage, perfect yellow moon, and the monumental pink peony that dominates the lower half of the sheet. Awazu combines imagery suggestive of Edo-period woodblock prints with an almost psychedelic 1970s palette, while the yellow and green vertical title blocks are integrated into the illustration like traditional Japanese slips or cartouches. The right-side inscription referencing Hokusai and Hiroshige further reinforces the dialogue between historic Japanese print culture and Awazu’s radically modern theatre graphics. The poster reads equally convincingly as a piece of theatrical advertising and as a stand-alone work of 1970s Japanese graphic design.

Condition: Excellent original condition overall, with exceptionally strong, saturated colour, and only very light age / handling wear consistent with a genuine 1974 theatre poster. The reds, blues, yellows and greens remain remarkably vivid, and the sheet presents beautifully without significant distracting damage. Please review the imagery provided as this is the exact poster for sale.