"KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE" (Toei; Yamato Transport tie-up), 1989 Original first-release Japanese Yamato Transport 70th Anniversary promotional poster (B2 Size) Colour-printed poster on paper, — Excellent condition — Very Rare

KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE / 魔女の宅急便

“The rare Kiki poster in which the film’s title, Jiji and the sponsor’s black-cat identity become one perfectly matched piece of 1989 advertising.”

Japan (Toei; Yamato Transport tie-up), 1989
Original first-release Japanese Yamato Transport 70th Anniversary corporate promotional poster (B2)
Colour-printed poster on paper, unrestored / unbacked (as issued)

A genuinely distinctive Studio Ghibli sheet: the original 1989 Yamato Transport 70th Anniversary campaign poster, pairing Kiki and Jiji with the company’s famous Kuroneko mark and the beautifully judged promotional line こころを暖かくする宅急便です。

This is not the standard theatrical B2 poster. It is the dedicated Yamato Transport corporate campaign version created for the film’s original release. Yamato’s own corporate history reproduces this exact design as a poster made at the time of release, while the company has stated that copies were displayed at TA-Q-BIN centres nationwide. Kiki’s Delivery Service opened theatrically in Japan on 29 July 1989. 

Key Facts

Film: Kiki’s Delivery Service (Majo no Takkyūbin / 魔女の宅急便)
Director / Screenplay / Producer: Hayao Miyazaki（宮崎駿）
Original Story: Eiko Kadono（角野栄子）
Studio: Studio Ghibli（スタジオジブリ）
Music: Joe Hisaishi（久石譲）
Japanese theatrical release: 29 July 1989
Theatrical distributor: Toei（東映）
Corporate partner: Yamato Transport（ヤマト運輸）
Joint-project credit: Tokuma Shoten・Yamato Transport・Nippon Television Network
Campaign: Yamato Transport’s 70th anniversary
Poster format: Japanese B2 — approximately 51.5 × 72.8 cm / 20.3 × 28.7 inches
Poster orientation: Vertical
Poster type: Non-retail corporate image-advertising and branch-display sheet
Central image: Kiki and Jiji looking from the bakery window
Period identifier: Small “89.8” code printed at the lower-right edge.

Rarity and Market Context

The corporate-display factor: the distribution channel that changes the survival pattern

Unlike the regular theatrical posters supplied to cinemas, this version was produced for Yamato Transport’s own promotional network and displayed in TA-Q-BIN centres during the original campaign. These were functional advertising pieces rather than retail merchandise: they were mounted, handled and commonly removed or discarded once the campaign ended. That documented use helps explain why intact examples are considerably rarer and less familiar than the standard Kiki theatrical artwork.

This poster`s extreme scarcity is due to its corporate-only purpose, first-release dating and highly specific anniversary branding, from the outset far less were printed than the theatrical release poster.

Condition rarity: presentation still matters

Corporate display posters were working advertisements and often survive with pinholes, tears, tape residue, heavy creasing or substantial edge damage. This example remains complete and visually strong, with vivid colour, a clean central image and all of the crucial anniversary, film and Yamato branding present.

This poster was not used at the time and it is in excellent condition. It presents impressively and is a very desirable unrestored survivor of this unusual campaign.

Why This Poster Is the One Everyone Wants

The perfect title-and-logo convergence

The word 宅急便 — Takkyūbin / TA-Q-BIN is Yamato’s proprietary delivery-service name rather than the generic Japanese term takuhaibin（宅配便）. Yamato’s own history explains that the film’s use of the company’s trademarked service name—and the visual connection between Jiji and Yamato’s black-cat identity—were reasons the company joined Tokuma Shoten and Nippon Television in the production.

The black-cat visual rhyme

Jiji appears prominently at the left of the principal image, while Yamato’s mother-cat-and-kitten mark anchors the bottom of the poster. Yamato originally adopted the parent-and-kitten symbol to communicate careful handling, making the pairing far more meaningful than a conventional sponsor logo placed beneath unrelated film artwork.

A genuine 70th-anniversary artifact

The upper-right corner incorporates Yamato’s period 70th-anniversary device, together with the message that the company had reached 70 years through the trust of its customers. This fixes the poster unmistakably to 1989, the year Yamato marked seven decades since its 1919 founding.

A documented first-release design

The exact layout—headline, window scene, pink KIKI typography, film-credit block and Yamato branding—is reproduced in Yamato’s official corporate history and captioned as a poster created for the movie’s release. It is therefore not merely associated with the campaign through collector lore; it is documented by the company that commissioned it.

Cross-category collecting appeal

This is simultaneously a piece of Studio Ghibli history, vintage Japanese corporate advertising and Kuroneko Yamato memorabilia. Very few Ghibli posters integrate a sponsor so completely into the title, imagery and emotional message of the film.

A coming-of-age image with emotional weight

Rather than showing Kiki in flight, the artwork catches her in a quiet, reflective moment beside Jiji. That restraint fits the film’s central story of a resourceful young witch establishing her independence, building a delivery business and learning how to recover from self-doubt.

Poster Design: Corporate Advertising Meets Ghibli Restraint

This is a carefully controlled piece of late-1980s Japanese image advertising:

Emotional headline: The enormous calligraphic line across the top communicates warmth and trust before the viewer encounters either film credits or a product message.

Character focus: Kiki’s thoughtful expression and Jiji’s wide-eyed alertness create an intimate, human-scale scene rather than a conventional action composition.

Colour punctuation: Kiki’s brilliant red bow supplies the primary visual accent against the dark bakery interior and restrained cream-coloured paper.

Double black-cat motif: Jiji in the artwork and the Kuroneko mother-and-kitten symbol below create an immediate visual link between story and sponsor.

Cinematic negative space: The generous unprinted lower field keeps the dense film credits, synopsis and corporate mark from competing with the central image.

Brand hierarchy: Yamato’s logo is prominent but never overwhelms the film artwork, allowing the sheet to function equally well as a Ghibli poster and a sophisticated corporate image advertisement.

Period typography: The combination of elegant Minchō-style film lettering, bold roadshow type, handwritten-style headline and red TA-Q-BIN logotype is unmistakably late-1980s Japanese design.

Text and Translation Notes

Main headline:

こころを暖かくする宅急便です。

Translation:
“A delivery service that warms the heart.”

Yamato’s commemorative history explains the deliberate double meaning: Yamato was “delivering” a heartwarming film to audiences, while TA-Q-BIN itself was presented as a service that warms the hearts of the person sending a parcel and the person receiving it.

Upper-right corporate text:

ヤマト運輸
お客さまの信頼に支えられて
ヤマトは創業70年

Translation:
“Yamato Transport. Supported by the trust of our customers, Yamato marks 70 years since its founding.”

Film-title and credit block:

アニメーション映画 魔女の宅急便

Translation:
“Animated Film: Kiki’s Delivery Service.”

原作／角野栄子（福音館書店刊）より

Translation:
“Based on the original work by Eiko Kadono, published by Fukuinkan Shoten.”

宮崎駿監督作品

Translation:
“A film directed by Hayao Miyazaki.”

徳間書店・ヤマト運輸・日本テレビ放送網提携作品

Translation:
“A joint production/tie-up by Tokuma Shoten, Yamato Transport and Nippon Television Network.”

Original-release line:

’89夏全国洋画系ロードショー

Translation:
“Summer 1989 nationwide roadshow.”

The phrase yōga-kei（洋画系）refers to the period theatrical circuit used for the nationwide release; “Summer 1989 nationwide roadshow” is the cleanest natural English rendering.

Lower-left synopsis text:

Printed over a large translucent pink KIKI graphic, the paragraph explains that thirteen-year-old Kiki hangs her red radio from the end of her broom and leaves home with the black cat Jiji on her journey toward independence. She arrives in a seaside town dominated by a large clock tower and encounters a new home, new people and unfamiliar experiences.

The copy describes the film as a fresh and enjoyable portrayal of the emotions and worries of adolescence, following Kiki as her encounters help her grow from a girl into an increasingly independent young woman.

Lower corporate mark:

The original yellow-and-black mother-cat-and-kitten oval, accompanied by Yamato’s bold red:

宅急便

Translation:
“TA-Q-BIN.”

Copyright and period markings:

The sheet bears the period copyright line:

© 角野栄子・二馬力・徳間書店

Together with the small 89.8 code at the lower-right margin, the 70th-anniversary device and the original-release roadshow copy, these are important period identifiers.

Conservation

Unrestored / unbacked: originality preserved

The poster is offered unrestored and unbacked, with no linen backing or restoration work. The reverse remains blank and shows very minor and natural paper ageing.

Condition

Excellent condition, particularly for an original corporate-display poster now more than three decades old.

The colour remains strong, with especially vivid reds, a deep central image field and clearly legible typography and logos. The sheet is complete and retains excellent overall visual impact.

The poster is in excellent condition and a highly presentable original example of a very uncommon Yamato Transport / Studio Ghibli campaign sheet.

Please refer to the imagery provided—it shows the exact poster offered for sale. This is the exact poster you will receive upon purchase.

Certificate of Authenticity included.