"MAP OF MONSTER ISLAND" A.K.A “GODZILLA, EBIRAH, MOTHRA: GREAT DUEL IN THE SOUTH SEAS / ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ 南海の大決闘”, ORIGINAL JAPANESE THEATRICAL COMMEMORATIVE SUGOROKU GAME POSTER 1966, Ultra Rare, Large Format, c. 62 x 87.3cm

An extraordinarily rare original Japanese theatrical commemorative sugoroku game poster produced for Toho’s 1966 kaiju feature Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Great Duel in the South Seas / ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ 南海の大決闘, known in English as Ebirah, Horror of the Deep.

This remarkable piece is not a conventional film poster. It is a large-format Japanese sugoroku / すごろく board-game poster, created as a theatrical tie-in and designed to be played, handled, folded, and enjoyed by children. That original purpose is precisely what makes surviving examples so scarce today. 

The sheet presents a brilliantly imaginative monster-island map, combining hand-drawn colour illustration, photographic monster cut-outs, dice charts, arrows, start and finish points, and a spectacular roll-call of Showa-era kaiju. At the centre: Godzilla, Ebirah, and Mothra in a fantastical South Seas game-world of volcanoes, jungle, ocean, and monster combat.

A superb and highly unusual piece of mid-century Japanese tokusatsu ephemera: original, 1966, Toho, poster-sized, game-format, visually spectacular, and very rarely encountered in this condition.

Key Facts

Film: Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Great Duel in the South Seas / ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ 南海の大決闘
English title: Ebirah, Horror of the Deep / also known as Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster
Country of origin: Japan
Year: 1966 / Showa 41
Japanese theatrical release: 17 December 1966
Director: Jun Fukuda / 福田純
Special effects director: Eiji Tsuburaya / 円谷英二
Screenplay: Shinichi Sekizawa / 関沢新一
Producer: Tomoyuki Tanaka / 田中友幸
Music: Masaru Sato / 佐藤勝
Studio / publisher: Toho / 東宝
Format: Original Japanese theatrical commemorative sugoroku game poster / 上映記念すごろく
Size: c. 62 x 87.3 cm / 24.4 x 34.4 in
Printing: Single-sided colour game-poster sheet, originally folded
Condition: Very Good to Excellent vintage condition; strong colour, authentic folds, excellent display presence
Rarity: Ultra Rare — only the second example we have handled in ten years

Kaiju and the Monster Island

The composition is a vivid fantasy map of a South Seas monster island, rendered with extraordinary period charm. The background features green volcanic landmasses, smoking craters, tropical coastlines, native villages, ships, ocean routes, and erupting explosions, all surrounded by bright blue water.

Across this island world, large yellow directional arrows guide the player from one monster encounter to the next. Red numbered circles mark the game’s dramatic stages, while dice-roll charts printed beside the kaiju determine the player’s movement. The game begins at ふりだし / Furidashi, the start, and ends at the large central red circle marked 上り / Agari, the finish.

This is part poster, part board game, part kaiju atlas — a wonderfully Japanese fusion of cinema promotion, children’s play, and monster mythology.

The Incredible Array of Kaiju Features

The sheet is a miniature encyclopedia of Showa-era monster culture. In addition to the central Godzilla, Ebirah, and Mothra imagery, the numbered game route includes an extraordinary supporting cast of kaiju and tokusatsu icons:

King Kong / キングコング
Anguirus / アンギラス
Rodan / ラドン
Manda / マンダ
Moguera / モゲラ
Varan / バラン
Maguma / マグマ
Sanda and Gaira / サンダ・ガイラ
Dogora / ドゴラ
Baragon / バラゴン
King Ghidorah / キングギドラ

The main lower image shows Godzilla locked in battle with Ebirah, the giant crustacean sea monster, in crashing waves. Above them, Mothra spreads enormous orange-and-black wings across the central goal area, giving the entire sheet a striking visual axis from sea battle to airborne victory.

The result is a spectacular Showa kaiju panorama: Godzilla, Mothra, Ebirah, King Ghidorah, King Kong, Rodan, Anguirus, Manda, Baragon, and more — all gathered into a single playable island map.

The Game and Its Distinctly Japanese Character

This piece is especially desirable because it is a sugoroku, a traditional Japanese roll-and-move board game. Unlike a standard theatrical poster, it was intended to be interactive: children would unfold the sheet, follow the arrows, roll dice, move between kaiju encounters, and race toward the finish.

That functionality gives the piece a quality no ordinary poster can have. It is both cinema advertising and domestic play object — a surviving fragment of how children encountered Godzilla culture in 1960s Japan.

The printed dice charts, arrows, monster encounters, and hand-drawn island terrain give the sheet its unmistakable period identity. It belongs to the world of magazine premiums, theatre giveaways, children’s ephemera, and Showa-era promotional paper, where fantasy, commerce, and play were inseparable.

The Scale and Uniqueness

At approximately 62 x 87.3 cm, this is a large, highly displayable sheet — far larger and more visually commanding than ordinary paper premiums. Framed, it has the impact of a poster, but with the added complexity of a pictorial game board.

The horizontal landscape format allows the eye to travel across the island from Godzilla’s sea battle to King Kong, Anguirus, Rodan, Manda, Moguera, Mothra, and King Ghidorah. It rewards close viewing: every corner contains printed game instructions, dice tables, monster names, small cartoons, ships, coastlines, volcanoes, and period details.

Its appeal is therefore unusually broad: Godzilla collector, Toho collector, tokusatsu historian, vintage Japanese graphic design collector, and board-game collector all meet in one object.

Rarity and Survival

This is an exceptionally scarce object because it was made to be used. Sugoroku sheets were typically folded, played with by children, stored casually, damaged, or discarded. Unlike theatrical posters kept by cinemas or collectors, game sheets often lived a short and practical life.

Surviving examples are therefore difficult to find, and examples retaining strong colour and full display presence are rarer still. This is only the second example we have handled in ten years, which speaks to both the rarity of the format and the difficulty of locating one in attractive condition.

For collectors of early Godzilla and Showa kaiju material, this is a particularly evocative survival: not just a poster, but a playable monster island from 1966.

Film Context

Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Great Duel in the South Seas was released by Toho in Japan in 1966. The story takes place on a South Seas island and brings together Godzilla, Mothra, and Ebirah, with the human plot involving shipwreck, the Red Bamboo organisation, Infant Island, and the threat of the sea monster Ebirah.

The film marked a colourful mid-Showa shift toward island adventure, lighter action, and tropical spectacle. Its setting makes this sugoroku design especially apt: the sheet transforms the film’s South Seas world into a playable kaiju map.

Text and Translation Notes

Main title:
ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ 南海の大決闘
Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Great Duel in the South Seas

Commemorative wording:
上映記念
Commemorating the theatrical screening

Game title:
すごろく
Sugoroku / Japanese board game

Start:
ふりだし
Start / beginning point

Finish:
上り
Finish / goal

The title block at the lower right confirms the piece as a theatrical commemorative sugoroku, not a modern decorative reproduction.

Condition Report

Very Good to Excellent vintage condition.

The sheet retains strong colour, vivid 1960s graphic impact, clear printed details, and excellent overall display presence. The island colours remain bright, the red and yellow game graphics are bold, and the monster imagery is still highly legible.

As expected for a playable paper game of this age, there are original fold lines, light handling creases, minor edge and corner wear, and small areas of age-related surface wear. These are consistent with the object’s original use and do not detract from its striking appearance when displayed.

The folds should be considered part of the piece’s authentic history: this was a paper game sheet made to be unfolded and played, not a flat modern poster.

This is the exact item shown in the photographs.

Authenticity Statement

This is an original 1966 Japanese Toho theatrical commemorative sugoroku game poster for Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Great Duel in the South Seas / ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ 南海の大決闘.

It is not a modern reproduction, not a later decorative print, and not a standard contemporary poster. It is the genuine period article: Toho, Showa 41 / 1966, poster-sized, game-format, folded as issued, and produced as a theatrical tie-in for one of the great mid-century Godzilla kaiju films.

A major Showa-era kaiju rarity: original, colourful, playable, poster-sized, packed with monsters, and exceptionally difficult to find in this condition.