“Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons” (子連れ狼 冥府魔道), Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1973, Rare STB Tatekan Size (51 × 145 cm / 20 × 57 in) C227A
This is an original Japanese STB / tatekan poster printed in 1973 for the first theatrical release of Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (子連れ狼 冥府魔道 / Kozure Ōkami: Meifumadō), the fifth film in the celebrated Lone Wolf and Cub cycle. Directed by Kenji Misumi and based on the landmark manga by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, the film stars Tomisaburō Wakayama as Ogami Ittō and Akihiro Tomikawa as Daigorō.
This is a rare and highly desirable STB / tatekan theatrical format, measuring approximately 51 × 145 cm / 20 × 57 in. Significantly larger than a standard Japanese B2, the format gives the design a monumental, near-billboard presence.
Film background
Baby Cart in the Land of Demons follows the disgraced shogunate executioner Ogami Ittō and his young son Daigorō as they continue along the Meifumadō — the “demon path” of exile, assassination, vengeance, and spiritual damnation.
The film is one of the most solemn and atmospheric entries in the series, built around clan secrecy, assassination contracts, political intrigue, and the unbreakable bond between father and son. Alongside Tomisaburō Wakayama, the cast includes Michiyo Yasuda / Michiyo Ōkusu, Shingo Yamashiro, Akira Yamauchi, Hideji Ōtaki, Taketoshi Naitō, and Minoru Ōki.
The Lone Wolf and Cub films occupy a central place in 1970s Japanese chanbara cinema. Violent, stylised, and emotionally severe, the series transformed a hugely popular manga into one of the most distinctive samurai film cycles of the decade. Wakayama’s Ogami Ittō remains one of the great screen assassins: massive, controlled, fatalistic, and almost mythic in stillness.
Poster design
This STB design is exceptionally powerful. The upper section is dominated by a dramatic close-up of Ogami Ittō and Daigorō, framed between drawn blades and surrounded by masked enemies. The image immediately communicates the emotional core of the series: father and child, encircled by death, moving forward without retreat.
The monumental yellow calligraphy reads 子連れ狼 — “Lone Wolf and Cub.” To the left, the blue calligraphy reads 冥府魔道 — “Meifumadō,” the demon path / underworld road travelled by Ogami and Daigorō.
The right-side vertical copy reads:
「黒田五十三万石の命運は預った！ゆくぞ大五郎！『チャン!!』わが子を背負った狼が走る魔道に最大の危機！」
roughly:
“The fate of the 530,000-koku Kuroda clan is entrusted to me! Let’s go, Daigorō!” “Chan!” The wolf carrying his child faces his greatest crisis on the demon path!
The lower half shifts into one of the most poetic images in the series’ poster art: a vast orange sun, a lone mounted figure, and the baby cart moving across a dark ridge. At lower left are additional character vignettes, including a pale-haired swordsman and a poised female warrior. The contrast between the sword-framed portrait above and the silhouette journey below gives the poster extraordinary cinematic force.
About the format
Japanese STB / tatekan posters were tall, two-panel cinema signboard posters, generally formed from two stacked B2 sheets and designed for theatre-front displays or standing poster frames. Measuring approximately 51 × 145 cm, they were made for impact rather than permanence.
Because they were large, handled in sections, displayed in cinemas, and often discarded after use, surviving STB examples are much harder to find than standard B2 posters. For a visually iconic series such as Lone Wolf and Cub, the STB format is especially desirable, allowing the design to unfold vertically from intense close-up to vast landscape.
Condition
Excellent condition. Please review the photos carefully; they show the exact poster offered.
This poster is an original Japanese theatrical STB / tatekan poster from the 1973 first-release campaign.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
It is over 50 years old!
Certificate of Authenticity included.
