“Onibaba” / 「鬼婆」, Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1964, B3 Size (c. 51.5 × 36.4 cm) — G236

This is a rare original Japanese B3 theatrical poster produced for the 1964 first release of Onibaba / 「鬼婆」, written and directed by Kaneto Shindō and distributed in Japan by Toho.

Printed in a horizontal format, this striking design combines an immense close-up of watchful eyes, expressive black calligraphy, photographic scenes and a statement by the director. Its unusually detailed layout presents both the film’s disturbing imagery and the ideas behind its creation.

Film background

Set in fourteenth-century Japan during civil war, Onibaba follows an older woman and her daughter-in-law living amid an extensive wilderness of tall reeds.

With the men taken away by war, the women survive by killing passing soldiers, selling their armour and disposing of their bodies in a deep pit. Their precarious arrangement is disrupted when a neighbour returns from the fighting and begins a relationship with the younger woman.

Fear of abandonment and jealousy drive the older woman towards increasingly desperate measures. An encounter with a masked samurai introduces the terrifying image that has become inseparable from the film: a grinning, horned demon mask.

The principal cast includes Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Satō, Taiji Tonoyama, and Jūkichi Uno.

Shindō brings together historical drama, psychological horror and a stark examination of human survival. Kiyomi Kuroda’s black-and-white cinematography transforms the reed beds into an enclosing landscape, while Hikaru Hayashi’s music intensifies the film’s restless atmosphere.

Poster design

The composition is dominated by a wide, closely cropped photograph of a pair of eyes, printed in muted reddish-brown tones across the upper centre.

Below, the enormous title:

「鬼婆」

spreads across the sheet in sweeping black brush calligraphy. Its irregular strokes and pointed extensions give the lettering an almost physical presence, connecting the eyes above with the dark landscape beneath.

Three rectangular film stills run down each side. These six photographs, accompanied by vertical Japanese captions, introduce the characters and trace the story’s movement through desire, fear and confrontation.

The left-hand sequence presents the human relationships at the centre of the drama. The right-hand photographs introduce the demon mask, bringing the film’s most recognisable horror imagery into the surrounding narrative.

Between the title characters is a small profile photograph of Kaneto Shindō, wearing a cap and glasses. The accompanying text describes the director devoting himself to the production during more than three months in the reed fields.

Across the upper image, the promotional line reads:

「稲妻走る芒ヶ原、殺し、剥ぎ、喰らい 性の衝動に狂う二匹の牝！」

“Across lightning-lit fields of reeds—killing, stripping and devouring, two females driven wild by sexual desire!”

The deliberately harsh language reflects the campaign’s emphasis on instinct, physical need and the collapse of ordinary social restraints.

A dark photographic band extends across the bottom. Reeds fill the landscape, while a large image of the horned mask emerges at lower right in subdued purple-brown tones.

At lower left, the heading:

「創作意図」

“Creative intention”

introduces a statement attributed to Shindō. It discusses hunger, sexual desire and the persistence of human vitality amid the devastation of war. This substantial passage gives the sheet particular interest as a record of how the filmmaker’s intentions were presented alongside the film’s sensational imagery.

The lower credits identify Shindō as director and screenwriter, list the principal cast, and name Tokyo Eiga, Kindai Eiga Kyōkai and Toho.

Release and format note

This is a Japanese B3 poster, measuring approximately 51.5 × 36.4 cm in landscape orientation.

Its compact format accommodates a remarkably rich combination of title artwork, captioned stills, production information and the director’s statement.

An appealing piece for collectors of Kaneto Shindō, Japanese horror, independent Japanese cinema and original 1960s theatrical advertising.

Condition

Very good+ condition.

Previously folded, subsequently stored flat. 

Reference: G236.

Please review all photographs, including the front and reverse, as they show the exact poster for sale.

This is an original Japanese theatrical poster from the film’s 1964 release campaign.

It is now over 60 years old.

It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

Certificate of Authenticity included.