Mothra vs. Godzilla (モスラ対ゴジラ) / Yawara no Hoshi (柔の星) Ultra-rare uncut printer’s proof / press sheet (未裁断宣材), Japan, Toho Champion Festival, 1970, Size 44.5 × 63 cm O597

Mothra vs. Godzilla (モスラ対ゴジラ) / Yawara no Hoshi (柔の星)
Ultra-rare uncut printer’s proof / press sheet (未裁断宣材), Japan, Toho Champion Festival, 1970

A striking and exceptionally scarce survivor from Toho’s “Toho Champion Festival” (東宝チャンピオンまつり) campaign: an original, untrimmed multi-up printer’s sheet presenting eight identical impressions of the same design, preserved as-issued before guillotining. Offered today, it reads not only as vintage kaiju ephemera, but as a fascinating artefact of Japanese cinema-print production—where what was normally cut away has, here, been saved. 

What this is

This work corresponds to unused, uncut promotional material (Japanese: 未使用未裁断宣材) associated with the 1970 winter Toho Champion Festival programme—an exhibition series in which Toho packaged multiple films for holiday audiences. 

Notably, the festival programme dated 19 December 1970 included a shortened, re-edited revival of Mothra vs. Godzilla alongside other features—one of which was the judo drama Yawara no Hoshi (柔の星), also released 19 December 1970 as part of the same Champion Festival line-up. 

Film background

Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

Directed by Ishirō Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, Mothra vs. Godzilla is the fourth film in the Godzilla franchise and among the defining achievements of the early Showa era—uniting spectacle with pointed undertones of environmental and societal consequence. 

Internationally, the film also circulated under the title Godzilla vs. the Thing in the United States, further expanding its cult legacy beyond Japan.

Yawara no Hoshi (1970)

The bold red title 柔の星 (Yawara no Hoshi) identifies the companion feature promoted on this sheet: a judo-themed Japanese film released 19 December 1970, screened within the Toho Champion Festival programme. 

Poster design

The composition is classic late-Showa commercial bravura: a dynamic diagonal division of colour fields sets a theatrical stage for two worlds.

• On the kaiju side, Godzilla and Mothra collide in a moment of high drama—Godzilla’s mass rendered in deep shadow, atomic breath cutting across the scene, while Mothra’s compound eye and patterned wing push aggressively into the foreground.

• Anchoring the design is the unmistakable round Toho Champion Festival seal (東宝チャンピオンまつり) in vivid yellow and red—an instantly recognisable hallmark of these holiday programmes.

• On the opposing side, a martial-arts figure in a crisp white gi punctuates a clean, sky-blue expanse beneath the bold red typography of 柔の星, giving the sheet its distinctive “double-bill” visual tension.

Presented uncut, the full sheet becomes a graphic object in its own right: eight repeated impressions (a “multi-up” printer’s layout), creating a rhythmic, Pop-like grid effect that is rarely seen outside the print room.

Condition

Excellent overall condition, particularly notable for a piece of this age and format. Colours remain bold and well-saturated, with the graphics reading cleanly at distance—ideal for display. The reverse shows only the expected, light handling/age toning visible in the accompanying photographs.

(Please refer to the front-and-back images provided of the exact item offered.)

Dimensions

Sheet size: 44.5 × 63 cm. 

Rarity and collecting significance

Items of this kind—uncut, unused printer’s/production sheets—are typically ephemeral, created for process and then discarded. Surviving examples are consequently exceptionally uncommon, and this format offers a uniquely “behind-the-scenes” window into how Toho’s reissue advertising was physically produced and prepared for trimming. 

A compelling and ultra-rare display piece for the serious collector: equally at home framed as a graphic print, or showcased as an unusual cornerstone within a kaiju / Godzilla collection.

Authenticity

• Over 50 years old (dated to the 1970 Toho Champion Festival campaign). 

• Not a reproduction or a reprint.

• Certificate of Authenticity included.