“My Neighbor Totoro” (となりのトトロ), Ultra-Rare Original Japanese First-Release Movie Poster 1988, B1 Size (c. 72 × 103 cm) HAK-A
This is an original Japanese B1 theatrical poster produced for the first release of Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro in 1988. Written and directed by Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, the film opened in Japan on 16 April 1988, distributed by Toho as the celebrated double feature with Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies.
Today, My Neighbor Totoro stands among the defining works of Japanese animation. Totoro himself became the emblem of Studio Ghibli, while the film’s evocation of childhood, rural Japan, nature and the uncertain boundary between imagination and reality has made it one of the most internationally recognised works in Japanese cinema.
This is the extremely scarce large-format B1 version of the original 1988 bus-stop theatrical artwork. At approximately 72–73 × 103 cm, it has roughly twice the surface area of the standard B2 format. Original B1 examples of this image are exceptionally difficult to source, and an unrestored example surviving in Excellent+ / approaching Near Mint condition represents an extraordinary opportunity.
Design
The poster presents what has become arguably the single most recognisable image in Studio Ghibli’s history: Totoro and a young girl waiting beside the 稲荷前 (Inari-mae) bus stop on a rain-soaked night.
The scene is constructed with extraordinary restraint. An immense Totoro occupies the right half of the composition, standing quietly beneath the trees with a small green leaf balanced on his head. Beside him, dwarfed by his scale, stands a young girl beneath a brilliant red umbrella.
Rain falls in hundreds of fine vertical lines across the entire composition. The road surface reflects the surrounding light; the wet tree trunks recede into near-blackness; flowers and undergrowth emerge subtly from the shadows. Against this almost monochromatic environment, the red umbrella, orange-red skirt, yellow blouse and pale boots of the girl become brilliant points of colour.
The effect at B1 scale is remarkable. Totoro becomes almost life-sized in his presence, while the extraordinary depth and subtle colour variation within the forest background become much more apparent than on smaller-format versions of the image.
The Mysterious Girl
One of the most fascinating aspects of the artwork is that the girl depicted on this original poster is neither quite Satsuki nor quite Mei as they appear in the finished film.
She has the twin pigtails and youthful facial characteristics associated with Mei, but her proportions, clothing and age suggest the older Satsuki. This is not an error or later alteration. The image preserves an important stage in the development of Miyazaki’s story.
Early in the conception of Totoro, Miyazaki developed the story around a single young female protagonist. During the evolution of the film, that character was ultimately divided into the sisters Satsuki and Mei, allowing Miyazaki to explore childhood from two different ages and perspectives.
The earlier single-girl conception nevertheless survived in this key promotional artwork.
That makes the poster particularly important historically: it is not merely advertising for the finished film, but a surviving visual trace of an earlier version of My Neighbor Totoro.
The image became so closely associated with the film that it continued to be reproduced in later official contexts despite the character no longer corresponding precisely to either sister.
Japanese Copywriting
The typography is exceptionally restrained and forms an integral part of the artwork.
Across the white upper border appears:
「忘れものを、届けにきました。」
“We came to deliver something you had forgotten.”
The celebrated line was written by Shigesato Itoi (糸井重里), one of Japan’s most influential copywriters and creative figures. It was used in connection with the original Totoro / Grave of the Fireflies double-feature campaign and beautifully encapsulates the nostalgic emotional character of the two films.
Rather than describing Totoro as fantasy, the campaign suggests that something once known has simply been forgotten.
Within the forest appears another of the most famous lines associated with the film:
「このへんないきものは、まだ日本にいるのです。たぶん。」
“This strange creature is still somewhere in Japan. Probably.”
The final たぶん — “probably” is crucial. Rather than presenting Totoro as straightforward fantasy, the sentence playfully leaves open the possibility that creatures such as him may still inhabit the forgotten corners of rural Japan.
Above Totoro appears the wonderfully simple pink title:
となりのトトロ
Its warm, hand-drawn character contrasts beautifully with the dark forest and gives the image an almost storybook quality.
The Bus Stop and Rural Japan
Even the apparently incidental details contribute to the poster’s extraordinary atmosphere.
The weathered circular bus-stop sign reads 稲荷前 — Inari-mae, while the surrounding forest, roadside vegetation and rain-soaked ground evoke the disappearing landscape of post-war rural and suburban Japan that lies at the emotional centre of the film.
Miyazaki’s fantasy is deliberately grounded in ordinary objects: an umbrella, a bus stop, puddles, trees and a country road.
Totoro therefore appears not in a separate fantasy world but inside recognisable everyday Japan. That relationship between the mundane and the miraculous became one of the defining characteristics of Studio Ghibli’s cinema.
Original 1988 Theatrical Provenance
The lower section retains the complete original Japanese production and distribution information.
Most prominently it states:
「原作・脚本・監督 ● 宮崎 駿」
“Original Story, Screenplay and Direction: Hayao Miyazaki.”
The remaining credit line identifies the original production organisations and staff, including Tokuma Shoten, Studio Ghibli and Toho, establishing the sheet firmly within the original theatrical campaign.
Crucially, the lower-right corner carries the period Eirin theatrical classification mark, together with the printed numerical identifiers visible in the supplied close-up photographs.
These small production details are especially important today because this artwork has subsequently been reproduced in numerous officially licensed and decorative forms. The combination of correct B1 dimensions, original theatrical credit block, period Eirin markings, printing characteristics and paper stock distinguishes an authentic first-release theatrical sheet from later reproductions.
Rarity
This is where the poster becomes particularly important.
Original 1988 Japanese posters for My Neighbor Totoro are among the most sought-after pieces of Studio Ghibli film advertising, and the B1 format is substantially more difficult to obtain than the familiar B2.
This design was NEVER produced for the first theatrical release in a B2 size. It was only produced in a B2 size for commercial promotional posters starting in the early 1990s. As this is the most popular design of any Ghibli poster it is the best selling B2 reproduction at the official Ghibli store - these are widely resold as originals and can be found everywhere on the internet.
The B1 measures approximately 72.8 × 103 cm, giving approximately twice the printed area of a B2. It was a large theatrical advertising format rather than the convenient size most likely to be retained by individual collectors.
The historical context matters enormously. In 1988, Studio Ghibli was only a few years old and Totoro had none of the enormous international cultural status it possesses today. The film was released theatrically alongside Grave of the Fireflies and its initial cinema performance was relatively modest compared with the phenomenon it later became.
Nobody producing or displaying this poster in 1988 could reasonably have anticipated that Totoro would eventually become the corporate symbol of Studio Ghibli and one of the most recognisable characters created in Japan.
Consequently, original large-format paper was not treated as future blue-chip animation memorabilia. Posters were working advertising material: displayed, handled, replaced and frequently discarded.
From the outset, this poster was printed in very small quantities. After Totoro became extremely successful in late 1988 / early 1989, Studio Ghibli produced new B2 designs in order to promote the film - this early 1988 B1 design could be described as Totoro`s birth certificate on paper.
Surviving B1 examples are therefore scarce. Surviving examples in exceptionally strong, unrestored condition are scarcer still.
There is also an important distinction between this original theatrical paper and the many later reproductions of the famous bus-stop artwork now circulating internationally. The ubiquity of the image can disguise the rarity of the actual 1988 theatrical artifact from which that visual legacy originates.
For a serious collection of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese animation or twentieth-century Japanese graphic art, the original 1988 B1 bus-stop poster is a genuine museum-grade centrepiece.
Condition
Excellent+ condition, approaching Near Mint, and an extraordinary state of preservation for an original large-format theatrical poster dating from 1988.
The poster retains exceptionally rich colour and remarkable overall freshness. The deep browns, charcoal greys and forest greens remain beautifully saturated, while Totoro’s blue-grey body and cream stomach retain excellent tonal separation. Most strikingly, the red umbrella, orange-red skirt and vivid pink となりのトトロ title remain exceptionally bright.
The extensive dark background is particularly unforgiving of wear, yet the principal image remains remarkably clean. Fine details—including the falling rain, foliage, reflections in the wet road surface and weathering of the Inari-mae bus-stop sign—remain beautifully defined.
The poster is unbacked and has not been linen-backed or permanently mounted. There are no prominent structural fold lines across the artwork.
There are only very minor age-related handling impressions, subtle natural paper undulation and a small number of extremely light surface or marginal marks visible under close inspection and angled light. The outer borders remain exceptionally strong for a B1 theatrical sheet of this age.
The reverse is remarkably clean, bright and uniform, with no foxing, adhesive staining, tape residue, water damage or widespread discolouration. Only very light natural handling and paper movement consistent with age and the substantial dimensions of the sheet can be seen.
For an unrestored original 1988 B1, the preservation is exceptional.
Once conservation-framed using archival materials and UV-filtering museum acrylic, this poster will display spectacularly. Given its present unbacked state and remarkable preservation, we would recommend retaining the poster in its original condition rather than undertaking unnecessary restoration or permanent mounting.
Please review all photographs carefully; they show the exact poster for sale, front and back, together with detailed close-ups of the artwork, typography, original theatrical credits and Eirin markings.
This is an ultra-rare original Japanese B1 theatrical poster from the first Japanese release of My Neighbor Totoro in 1988.
It is not a reproduction, later commercial poster or reprint.
It is over 38 years old.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
