“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) - Gallery
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 a 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 and the relationship between nature and imagination has made it beloved around the world.
This is the extremely scarce large-format B1 version of the celebrated bus-stop theatrical artwork, one of the most recognisable images in Japanese cinema.
Design
The poster depicts Totoro and a young girl waiting beside the 稲荷前 — Inari-mae — bus stop on a rain-soaked night.
An immense Totoro occupies the right side of the composition, standing quietly beneath the trees with a small green leaf balanced on his head. Beside him stands a young girl beneath a brilliant red umbrella, her small figure emphasising his extraordinary scale.
Fine lines of rain descend across the dark forest. Wet tree trunks, roadside flowers and reflections on the ground create a remarkable sense of atmosphere, while the girl’s yellow blouse, orange-red skirt and umbrella provide vivid points of colour.
Above them, the warm pink となりのトトロ title contrasts beautifully with the shadowy woodland.
At B1 scale, the composition has exceptional presence. The forest’s subtle colours, delicate foliage and falling rain become particularly striking, giving this familiar image a depth that smaller versions cannot convey in quite the same way.
The Mysterious Girl
One of the most fascinating aspects of the artwork is that the girl is neither precisely Satsuki nor Mei as they appear in the finished film.
Her pigtails and youthful appearance recall Mei, while her clothing and proportions also suggest Satsuki. This distinctive combination connects the poster to the film’s creative development.
Miyazaki originally conceived the story around a single girl before developing the two sisters. When the promotional artwork was subsequently composed, placing both sisters beside Totoro proved difficult to resolve visually, and the final poster instead featured a girl combining characteristics of both.
The result is an unusual and memorable piece of film advertising: an image inseparable from My Neighbor Totoro, featuring a character who does not appear in this exact form within the film itself.
Japanese Copywriting
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.”
Written by Shigesato Itoi (糸井重里) for the Totoro / Grave of the Fireflies campaign, the line captures the nostalgia and emotional resonance associated with the two films.
Within the forest appears another celebrated phrase:
「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” gives the sentence its playful uncertainty, leaving open the possibility that creatures such as Totoro might still inhabit the quieter corners of everyday Japan.
The Bus Stop and Rural Japan
The weathered bus-stop sign, roadside vegetation, umbrella and puddles ground the scene in ordinary life.
This relationship between the familiar and the extraordinary lies at the heart of the image. Totoro stands beside a recognisable country road, making the encounter feel both impossible and strangely believable.
The poster beautifully expresses the film’s affection for the rural landscape and the sense of discovery that accompanies childhood.
Rarity
Original 1988 Japanese B1 theatrical examples of this bus-stop design are highly sought after and difficult to source.
Measuring approximately 72 × 103 cm, the B1 format offers roughly twice the surface area of a standard Japanese B2 poster, giving the artwork an impressive scale.
The familiarity of the image can obscure the scarcity of the original theatrical material. The bus-stop artwork has appeared on numerous later products, commercial posters and licensed reproductions, including B2 editions. Those later editions should be distinguished from an original first-release B1 theatrical sheet.
Produced when Studio Ghibli was still a young studio, this poster belongs to the beginning of Totoro’s remarkable cultural history.
For collectors of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki and original Japanese animation posters, it is a particularly significant and desirable piece.
Condition
Very Good+ condition for its age and large B1 format.
The poster was previously folded and subsequently stored flat. A visible horizontal fold line across the middle of the poster (see additional images provided), with some wear and whitening along portions of the folds, particularly where they cross the darker artwork.
There is also light handling wear, localised creasing and minor edge wear, as shown in the detailed photographs.
Very minor tears have been repaired on the verso using archival tape. The close-ups document these small repairs and the corresponding areas on the front.
The poster remains unrestored and has not been linen-backed. Its colours retain strong visual appeal: the red umbrella, pink Japanese title and warm tones of the girl’s clothing stand beautifully against the dark forest background.
We have taken the condition into account when pricing this poster. Once framed, it will display excellently, with the scale and atmosphere of the original artwork creating a striking presentation.
Please review all photographs carefully. They show the exact poster for sale, including the front, reverse, fold lines and repaired areas.
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.
