“1985 Nausicaä Calendar”, Original Japanese Promotional Poster 1984, B3 Size (36 × 52 cm) L296

This is an original Japanese B3 promotional poster produced in 1984 for the official 1985 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind calendar. Featuring delicate watercolour artwork by Hayao Miyazaki, the poster was issued shortly after the film’s landmark Japanese theatrical release and represents an exceptionally attractive early piece of Nausicaä promotional material.

Printed in the horizontal Japanese B3 format, the design promotes a calendar comprising entirely newly created illustrations, rather than imagery reproduced directly from the animated film.

Film background

Released in Japan on 11 March 1984, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ / Kaze no Tani no Naushika) was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, based upon his own manga serialised by Tokuma Shoten.

Set in a distant future transformed by ecological collapse, the film follows Princess Nausicaä, a compassionate young leader attempting to prevent conflict between rival human kingdoms while seeking to understand the immense toxic forest spreading across the Earth.

Rather than presenting nature and humanity through a simple conflict between good and evil, the film explores environmental destruction, militarism, fear, coexistence, and the moral responsibilities of leadership. Nausicaä’s courage is defined not through conquest but through empathy and her ability to recognise value in forms of life feared by others.

The film also marked the first major collaboration between Hayao Miyazaki and composer Joe Hisaishi, establishing one of the most important creative partnerships in modern animation.

Poster design

This exceptionally graceful horizontal design differs markedly from the dramatic montage compositions used for the film’s theatrical campaign. Instead, it adopts the soft watercolour and pencil aesthetic associated with Miyazaki’s concept drawings and early illustrated publications.

Nausicaä is shown running towards the viewer through a vast field of golden grass, her arms extended as though maintaining her balance against the wind. She wears a pale rose-coloured dress and cap, while the landscape stretches behind her beneath a luminous turquoise sky filled with broad white clouds.

The image evokes the prophecy central to the film:

“Clothed in blue robes, descending upon a golden field.”

Although Nausicaä is depicted here in warmer colours, the brilliant golden landscape unmistakably recalls the film’s climactic vision and its themes of renewal, reconciliation, and ecological hope.

The figure is rendered with deliberately light and visible drawing lines, while the surrounding grass and sky are built from transparent washes of yellow, blue, and white. This restrained technique gives the poster the intimate quality of an original storybook illustration rather than conventional commercial advertising.

Across the lower margin appears the elegant title:

“1985 NAUSICAÄ CALENDAR”

The unusual Roman-letter styling and warm coral-red typography complement the subtle palette without competing with the illustration.

At lower right, the blue and yellow promotional emblem reads:

「オール書下し！」

Approximately:

“All newly drawn!”

This announces that the calendar contained newly created illustrations produced specifically for the publication, an important distinction from calendars assembled from existing animation stills or theatrical artwork.

The fine print credits:

© NIBARIKI, TOKUMA SHOTEN

Nibariki was Miyazaki’s personal creative company, while Tokuma Shoten published the original Nausicaä manga and played a central role in the film’s production and subsequent development.

Historical significance

The success of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind provided crucial momentum for the establishment of Studio Ghibli in 1985, the same year represented by this calendar. Although the film technically predates the studio’s formal creation, it is widely regarded as the foundational work from which Ghibli emerged.

This poster therefore occupies a particularly important transitional moment: produced after the film’s breakthrough success but immediately before the establishment of the studio that would permanently transform Japanese animation.

Its gentle, newly commissioned Miyazaki artwork also makes it substantially different from standard theatrical material, offering a more personal and contemplative interpretation of Nausicaä and her world.

Condition

Very Good + / Excellent. The poster retains its delicate pastel colour, clean image field, and excellent overall display character. Light evidence of period handling is consistent with an authentic Japanese promotional sheet of this age. Please review the photographs—they show the exact poster for sale.

This is an original Japanese B3 promotional poster produced for the official 1985 Nausicaä calendar.
It is not a reproduction or a modern reprint.

It is approximately 42 years old.

Certificate of Authenticity included.