{"product_id":"star-wars-town-mook-ultra-rares-noriyoshi-ohrai-star-wars-fold-out-poster-original-science-fiction-special-issue-japanese-magazine-book-1978-size-21-x-30cm","title":"\"Star Wars: Town Mook (Noriyoshi Ohrai Star Wars fold-out poster\", Original Science Fiction Special Issue Japanese Magazine \/ Book 1978, Size (21 x 30cm)","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"326\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"74\"\u003eSTAR WARS \/ 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY \/ CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"74\" data-end=\"77\"\u003eOriginal Japanese science-fiction special issue with Noriyoshi Ohrai Star Wars fold-out poster and additional bound-in \/ loose SF poster material\u003cbr data-start=\"233\" data-end=\"236\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"236\" data-end=\"320\"\u003eTown Mook — 「決定版 スペースSF映画の本」 \/ “An Invitation to the Fantasia of Space SF Films”\u003c\/strong\u003e, 1978\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"328\" data-end=\"503\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"328\" data-end=\"343\"\u003eJapan, 1978\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"343\" data-end=\"346\"\u003eMagazine size (closed): \u003cstrong data-start=\"370\" data-end=\"384\"\u003e21 × 30 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e (approx. \u003cstrong data-start=\"394\" data-end=\"413\"\u003e8.25 × 11.75 in\u003c\/strong\u003e)\u003cbr data-start=\"414\" data-end=\"417\"\u003eStar Wars \/ 2001 fold-out poster (opened): \u003cstrong data-start=\"460\" data-end=\"474\"\u003e28 × 52 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e (approx. \u003cstrong data-start=\"484\" data-end=\"500\"\u003e11 × 20.5 in\u003c\/strong\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"505\" data-end=\"1179\"\u003eA wonderfully evocative survival from the late-1970s Japanese science-fiction boom: an original \u003cstrong data-start=\"601\" data-end=\"628\"\u003eTown Mook special issue\u003c\/strong\u003e published in 1978, just after \u003cstrong data-start=\"659\" data-end=\"672\"\u003eStar Wars\u003c\/strong\u003e exploded into Japan and transformed the visual culture of international SF collecting. Part magazine, part book, this substantial \u003cstrong data-start=\"803\" data-end=\"815\"\u003e132-page\u003c\/strong\u003e Japanese publication surveys major space and science-fiction cinema from the early twentieth century through the then-current blockbuster era, with extensive illustrations, stills, and features on key titles including \u003cstrong data-start=\"1034\" data-end=\"1047\"\u003eStar Wars\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"1049\" data-end=\"1074\"\u003e2001: A Space Odyssey\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"1076\" data-end=\"1114\"\u003eClose Encounters of the Third Kind\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"1116\" data-end=\"1138\"\u003ePlanet of the Apes\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"1140\" data-end=\"1161\"\u003eWar of the Worlds\u003c\/strong\u003e, and many others.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1181\" data-end=\"1461\"\u003eWhat elevates this issue far beyond a standard film magazine is its extraordinary poster content—above all the \u003cstrong data-start=\"1292\" data-end=\"1358\"\u003efold-out Star Wars poster featuring artwork by Noriyoshi Ohrai\u003c\/strong\u003e, one of the most celebrated Japanese illustrators ever associated with cinema and fantastical imagery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1463\" data-end=\"1641\"\u003eThis is exactly the kind of crossover piece that appeals simultaneously to collectors of \u003cstrong data-start=\"1552\" data-end=\"1565\"\u003eStar Wars\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"1567\" data-end=\"1586\"\u003eNoriyoshi Ohrai\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"1588\" data-end=\"1609\"\u003eJapanese SF paper\u003c\/strong\u003e, and late-1970s visual culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 data-section-id=\"wqrwph\" data-start=\"1643\" data-end=\"1704\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003eThe Noriyoshi Ohrai Star Wars fold-out poster in this copy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1706\" data-end=\"1951\"\u003eThis issue is prized above all for its \u003cstrong data-start=\"1745\" data-end=\"1774\"\u003eStar Wars fold-out poster\u003c\/strong\u003e, a compact but highly displayable example of Ohrai’s early Star Wars imagery, issued in Japan at the moment the franchise was beginning to establish its visual mythology there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1953\" data-end=\"2422\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1953\" data-end=\"2010\"\u003e1) Star Wars fold-out poster: Noriyoshi Ohrai artwork\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"2010\" data-end=\"2013\"\u003eThe highlight is the fold-out poster tucked inside the publication, featuring a dramatic \u003cstrong data-start=\"2102\" data-end=\"2146\"\u003eStar Wars composition by Noriyoshi Ohrai\u003c\/strong\u003e. Even in this smaller magazine format, the artwork has the epic, painterly density that made Ohrai such a natural fit for space opera: monumental machinery, layered figures, deep atmospheric contrast, and a sense of scale that feels cinematic rather than merely illustrative.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2424\" data-end=\"2762\"\u003eThe composition brings together iconic characters and spacecraft against a brooding science-fiction backdrop, with the Millennium Falcon dominating the foreground and Darth Vader looming in the distance. It is vintage Ohrai in embryo: already showing the grand, operatic sense of mass and spectacle that would later make him world-famous.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2764\" data-end=\"3210\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2764\" data-end=\"2814\"\u003e2) Reverse side: 2001: A Space Odyssey imagery\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"2814\" data-end=\"2817\"\u003eThe reverse of the same fold-out presents imagery from \u003cstrong data-start=\"2872\" data-end=\"2897\"\u003e2001: A Space Odyssey\u003c\/strong\u003e, creating an especially desirable pairing of two defining monuments of screen science fiction within a single original Japanese insert. The juxtaposition is extremely appealing from a collector’s perspective: Kubrick’s austere futuristic vision on one side, and Ohrai’s painterly Star Wars dynamism on the other.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3212\" data-end=\"3737\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3212\" data-end=\"3265\"\u003e3) Additional SF poster material inside the issue\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"3265\" data-end=\"3268\"\u003eThis Town Mook is also notable for including further poster matter beyond the Ohrai insert. As described, the magazine contains a \u003cstrong data-start=\"3398\" data-end=\"3430\"\u003edouble-sided bound-in poster\u003c\/strong\u003e featuring \u003cstrong data-start=\"3441\" data-end=\"3466\"\u003e2001: A Space Odyssey\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong data-start=\"3471\" data-end=\"3509\"\u003eClose Encounters of the Third Kind\u003c\/strong\u003e, as well as a \u003cstrong data-start=\"3524\" data-end=\"3554\"\u003eloose fold-out 2001 poster\u003c\/strong\u003e. That layered structure—magazine plus multiple poster elements—gives the publication an object quality closer to a deluxe special issue than to an ordinary paperback cinema magazine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 data-section-id=\"1ta2uxw\" data-start=\"3739\" data-end=\"3788\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003eHistorical context: Star Wars arrives in Japan\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3790\" data-end=\"4434\"\u003eThis issue belongs to the first great wave of Japanese popular response to \u003cstrong data-start=\"3865\" data-end=\"3878\"\u003eStar Wars\u003c\/strong\u003e, when the film’s arrival in Japan reshaped the market for imported science-fiction cinema and catalysed a wider appetite for “space SF” as a category. Rather than treating Star Wars in isolation, the editors place it into a broader lineage of international fantastical cinema, linking it to earlier classics such as \u003cstrong data-start=\"4195\" data-end=\"4203\"\u003e2001\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"4205\" data-end=\"4227\"\u003ePlanet of the Apes\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong data-start=\"4233\" data-end=\"4253\"\u003eClose Encounters\u003c\/strong\u003e. That editorial framing now feels quintessentially late-1970s: Star Wars is presented not simply as a hit film, but as the newest summit in a long history of cinematic imagination.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4436\" data-end=\"4690\"\u003eWithin that context, the Town Mook becomes more than a magazine. It is a period Japanese document of how science fiction was being curated, explained, and visually canonised for a domestic readership at precisely the moment the genre was being redefined.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 data-section-id=\"cew83\" data-start=\"4692\" data-end=\"4740\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003eNoriyoshi Ohrai: early Star Wars significance\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4742\" data-end=\"5150\"\u003eThe Star Wars insert is particularly important because it captures \u003cstrong data-start=\"4809\" data-end=\"4828\"\u003eNoriyoshi Ohrai\u003c\/strong\u003e at an early and exciting point in his relationship with the franchise. Ohrai would later become internationally renowned for his painted poster art for \u003cstrong data-start=\"4981\" data-end=\"5008\"\u003eThe Empire Strikes Back\u003c\/strong\u003e, and his sweeping, high-drama visual language is now inseparable from the imagery of late-20th-century fantasy and science-fiction marketing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5152\" data-end=\"5409\"\u003eCollectors value pieces like this because they preserve that relationship in a distinctly Japanese format: not a later reproduction, and not merely a book illustration, but an original release-era printed insert embedded in the magazine culture of the time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5411\" data-end=\"5882\"\u003eThe artist’s technique—refined through years of painting book covers, magazine illustrations, and major film imagery—gives the composition tremendous depth and theatricality. As noted in exhibition commentary, the printed version appears darker than Ohrai’s original painting, a characteristic attributed to the printing process itself; far from diminishing the image, this darker tonal register gives the poster an especially moody and powerful presence in printed form.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 data-section-id=\"kdd4rv\" data-start=\"5884\" data-end=\"5969\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003eJapanese Star Wars \/ Ohrai print ephemera of this type is highly desirable\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5971\" data-end=\"6358\"\u003eWhile posters for Star Wars exist in several better-known formats, \u003cstrong data-start=\"6038\" data-end=\"6108\"\u003eJapanese magazine-insert material featuring original Ohrai artwork\u003c\/strong\u003e occupies a particularly attractive niche within the market. Pieces like this combine several collecting categories at once: \u003cstrong data-start=\"6233\" data-end=\"6252\"\u003eStar Wars paper\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"6254\" data-end=\"6297\"\u003eJapanese cinema and publishing ephemera\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"6299\" data-end=\"6327\"\u003eNoriyoshi Ohrai material\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong data-start=\"6333\" data-end=\"6357\"\u003elate-1970s SF design\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"6360\" data-end=\"6738\"\u003eBecause these inserts were often lost, detached, damaged, or discarded, complete or well-preserved examples of the Town Mook issue with its key poster content are much scarcer than ordinary surviving magazines. The appeal is enhanced by the fact that the publication does not focus on Star Wars alone, but frames it within a larger golden age panorama of science-fiction cinema.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 data-section-id=\"1jhoq6y\" data-start=\"6740\" data-end=\"6788\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003eCondition\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"6790\" data-end=\"6871\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"6790\" data-end=\"6821\"\u003eExcellent overall condition\u003c\/strong\u003e for a 1978 Japanese magazine \/ mook of this type.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"6873\" data-end=\"7022\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"6873\" data-end=\"6883\"\u003eCover:\u003c\/strong\u003e strong colour, attractive gloss, and very good visual presence overall; light wear consistent with age and handling; presents beautifully.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"7024\" data-end=\"7179\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"7024\" data-end=\"7037\"\u003eInterior:\u003c\/strong\u003e the publication remains highly presentable, with only light general wear noted. Pages appear clean overall, with expected minor age handling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"7181\" data-end=\"7386\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"7181\" data-end=\"7201\"\u003ePoster material:\u003c\/strong\u003e highly desirable poster content present, including the Noriyoshi Ohrai Star Wars fold-out; visually striking and very well preserved overall. The unfolded poster displays impressively.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"7388\" data-end=\"7601\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"7388\" data-end=\"7411\"\u003eSpine \/ back cover:\u003c\/strong\u003e only light wear noted for age. As always with vintage Japanese paper items of this sort, please study the photographs closely for the most granular assessment of condition and completeness.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Japan Poster Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56731801944442,"sku":null,"price":500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0424\/8859\/4591\/files\/image0_ff1f7d8c-a846-4061-8213-71b3b754cb84.jpg?v=1774502639","url":"https:\/\/japanposter.co.uk\/products\/star-wars-town-mook-ultra-rares-noriyoshi-ohrai-star-wars-fold-out-poster-original-science-fiction-special-issue-japanese-magazine-book-1978-size-21-x-30cm","provider":"Japan Poster Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}