{"product_id":"sapporo-1972-winter-olympic-games-original-release-japanese-advertising-poster-1971-b2-size-51-x-73cm-k188-copy-1","title":"\"Sapporo 1972: XI Olympic Winter Games\", Original Official Japanese Advertising Poster 1970, Yusaku Kamekura and Takayuki Ogawa, B1 Size (c. 72.8 × 103 cm)","description":"\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is an \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eoriginal official Japanese B1 advertising poster produced in 1970\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e for the XI Olympic Winter Games, held in Sapporo from 3–13 February 1972. Designed by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYusaku Kamekura\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, with photography by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTakayuki Ogawa\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, it is the celebrated figure-skating design and the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethird of four official posters\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e commissioned for the Games.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA landmark of postwar Japanese graphic design, the poster combines Kamekura’s disciplined modernist composition with an extraordinary overhead photograph of a figure skater in motion. Original examples in the imposing Japanese B1 format are highly sought after by collectors of Olympic history, Japanese Modernism and twentieth-century graphic art.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHistorical background\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe 1972 Sapporo Games were the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003efirst Winter Olympic Games held in Asia\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and the first staged outside Europe and North America. The event therefore represented an important international showcase for Japan, following the transformative success of the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIts visual identity was entrusted to several of the country’s foremost designers. Four official posters were produced: the first by Takashi Kōno, the second and third by Yusaku Kamekura, and the fourth by Gan Hosoya. This figure-skating composition was released in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJune 1970\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, nearly two years before the opening ceremony, as part of the international promotional campaign.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKamekura was already internationally celebrated for his defining contribution to the visual identity of the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e1964 Tokyo Olympics\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. His Olympic work established a new standard for sporting graphics, combining rigorous typography, universally legible symbols and dramatically cropped photography. The Sapporo designs continued this approach while introducing the distinctive atmosphere and physical movement of winter sport.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePoster design\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe composition is dominated by Takayuki Ogawa’s remarkable bird’s-eye photograph of a female figure skater executing a rotation. Viewed directly from above, the athlete appears almost weightless against an expansive field of blue ice, her burgundy costume and pale skates providing the principal points of colour.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe skater is surrounded by a dense web of blade marks. These overlapping arcs and scratches transform the rink into an almost abstract surface, recalling spontaneous drawing or Abstract Expressionist linework. The poster therefore records not simply one movement but the accumulated physical traces of numerous movements across the ice.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTo obtain this unusual perspective, a special crossbeam was constructed above the rink. Secured by a safety line, Ogawa photographed the skater from directly overhead and reportedly exposed more than one hundred frames before the final image was selected. The designers initially considered using pristine, mirror-like ice but concluded that the existing skate marks created a far more expressive and visually compelling background.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKamekura gives the photograph room to breathe, allowing the dark shadow cast by the skater to descend through a broad expanse of negative space. This establishes a powerful vertical axis connecting the athlete with the official emblem and typography below.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Sapporo Olympic emblem\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePositioned near the lower centre is the official \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSapporo ’72 emblem designed by Kazumasa Nagai\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, another central figure in postwar Japanese graphic design. Its precisely ordered vertical construction combines three elements:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe red disc of the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHinomaru\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, representing Japan.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA stylized snowflake derived from an historic Japanese heraldic motif, representing winter.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe five interlocking Olympic rings and the inscription \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSAPPORO ’72\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe emblem’s strict geometric structure contrasts with the spontaneous energy of the scratched ice and the skater’s suspended movement. Across the bottom, the monumental condensed lettering \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“XI Olympic Winter Games”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e provides a strong architectural foundation, with the Games’ dates printed discreetly beneath.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDesign significance\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe poster exemplifies Kamekura’s ability to reconcile apparently opposing forces: order and movement, geometry and photography, institutional authority and individual athletic expression. Its carefully controlled visual hierarchy allows the image to communicate immediately from a distance while revealing increasingly rich detail at close range.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe work belongs to a formative period when Japanese graphic designers were achieving unprecedented international recognition. Through the visual programmes created for Tokyo 1964, Osaka Expo ’70 and Sapporo 1972, designers such as Kamekura and Nagai demonstrated that Japanese Modernism could be both internationally intelligible and culturally distinctive.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis poster is consequently much more than Olympic memorabilia. It is an \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eimportant original work of Japanese graphic design\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, created by three distinguished figures: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYusaku Kamekura\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, photographer \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTakayuki Ogawa\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and emblem designer \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKazumasa Nagai\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis poster is in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eexcellent condition\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, retaining rich blue colour, strong photographic detail and a commanding overall presentation. Please refer to the supplied imagery of the exact poster for sale.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt is \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eover 55 years old\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt is \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003enot a reproduction or a reprint\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCertificate of Authenticity included.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Japan Poster Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57174076522874,"sku":null,"price":475.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0424\/8859\/4591\/files\/Scanfrom2026-08-1804_34_10PM.jpg?v=1787039436","url":"https:\/\/japanposter.co.uk\/products\/sapporo-1972-winter-olympic-games-original-release-japanese-advertising-poster-1971-b2-size-51-x-73cm-k188-copy-1","provider":"Japan Poster Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}