This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed in 1972 for the first release of Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (子連れ狼 死に風に向う乳母車)—a ferocious, stylish classic of 1970s chanbara cinema and one of the most iconic entries in the Lone Wolf and Cub film series. The film is directed by Kenji Misumi (三隅研次) and stars Tomisaburō Wakayama (若山富三郎) as Ogami Ittō, with Akihiro Tomikawa (富川晶宏) as Daigoro.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades is the third film in the six-part series adapted from the hugely influential manga by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, following the former shogunate executioner turned wandering assassin Ogami Ittō as he travels Japan with his young son in the infamous baby cart.
Film background
Set in Edo-period Japan, the story continues Ogami’s path of vengeance after betrayal and the murder of his wife. With Daigoro beside him, he sells his sword to survive—while enemies from the shogunate and rival clans close in. This chapter is especially prized by collectors for its escalating set pieces and the way it crystallises the series’ central tension: tenderness and brutality existing side by side, bound together by fate and duty.
Poster design
A superb, high-impact Japanese design built around confrontation and scale: an enormous close-up of Ogami Ittō’s face dominates the left, paired with the watchful profile of Daigoro—an instantly emotional father/child juxtaposition. Across the lower field, bold red silhouettes and weapon shapes suggest chaos and pursuit, while the central image of Ogami pushing the baby cart anchors the narrative in one glance. The large yellow title typography 子連れ狼 explodes from the red ground, with the subtitle calligraphy beneath—graphic, dramatic, and unmistakably early-’70s Japanese campaign power.
Condition
Excellent. Please review the photos (front and back)—they show the exact poster for sale.
It is over 53 years old!
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
