"Sunohara Katsuyoku - "Umi no Ha" (Tooth of the Sea)", Japanese Contemporary Art Poster, Original Offset Screen 1982, Ultra Rare, Size (c.75 x 108cm)

This is an original Japanese offset poster printed in the 1982. 

Jōkyō Gekijō (状況劇場 / Situation Theatre), 1982
Artwork by Sunohara Katsuyoku (春原克行) – signed in image

This is a dramatic and extremely rare B1-size original Japanese poster created for Umi no Ha: Kurokami Kaikyō-hen (海の牙・黒髪海峡篇 / Tooth of the Sea – The Black-Haired Strait Chapter), a surrealist theatre production written and directed by Jūrō Kara for his legendary underground troupe, Jōkyō Gekijō (Situation Theatre).

The artwork is signed in print by Sunohara Katsuyoku, the troupe’s principal visual collaborator and a towering figure in the Japanese underground poster art movement. Known for his dreamlike and provocative imagery, Sunohara's illustration here is a masterwork of theatrical surrealism: a ghostly woman in a windswept kimono holds a mirror that reflects her own face, framed in a red halo. Flames lick the hem of her robes, and behind her, whales and dolphins rise from an uncanny sea, while a train emerges eerily from storm clouds. Ghostly footprints trail into the sand, hinting at a vanishing or transformation — a frequent motif in Kara’s philosophical narratives.

The cast list (including Kara himself) is printed in crimson along the right. Performance locations are listed on the left, including Tokyo Takeshima Ishibashi, Tamagawa, and Ueno Park, dating this poster to around 1982, when this chapter of the Umi no Ha cycle was staged. The bold English text at the bottom, “BOOK STREET OPEN!”, links this production to a wider cultural campaign sponsored by Seibu Department Stores, emphasizing its role in postwar Japanese artistic experimentation.

This poster, with its visually arresting symbolism and signed artwork, is not only a standout piece of Japanese countercultural theatre history, but also a rare collectible for enthusiasts of psychedelic graphic design, avant-garde print, and Sunohara’s visionary style.

Please refer to the imagery (both front and back) as this is the exact poster that is for sale. 

It is over 43 years old!

It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

Certificate of Authenticity included.