The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人), Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1958, Local-City Version, Ultra Rare, Unfolded B2 Size (51 × 73 cm)
This is an original Japanese B2 poster printed in 1958 for the first release of The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人), Akira Kurosawa’s monumental TOHOscope jidaigeki adventure, starring Toshirō Mifune as General Rokurōta Makabe and Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki. A cornerstone Kurosawa/Mifune title, the film is among Kurosawa’s most celebrated works and is widely recognized as a principal influence on George Lucas’s Star Wars.
Film background
Kurosawa’s rousing adventure follows two quarrelling peasants who unwittingly become entangled with a disguised general and a princess escaping through enemy territory with hidden gold. The Hidden Fortress was Kurosawa’s first use of the widescreen TOHOscope process, allowing the director to stage action, landscape and movement with striking visual breadth; it became his biggest box-office success to that date and helped secure his later creative independence.
Critical reception & legacy
The film won major recognition in Japan and abroad, including Silver Bear for Best Director and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1959 Berlin International Film Festival, as well as Best Film at the 1959 Blue Ribbon Awards. Long considered one of Kurosawa’s most accessible and exhilarating works, it was later reassessed as a key film in action-adventure cinema, in large part through its acknowledged influence on Star Wars, particularly the narrative device of following the story through the lowest-ranking comic characters.
Poster design
Bold TOHOscope ribbon in sky-blue crowns the composition, signalling Toho’s widescreen spectacle campaign.
Monumental red brush title 「隠し砦の三悪人」 (Kakushi-toride no san-akunin) runs vertically at left; 「黒沢明監督作品」 identifies the film as an Akira Kurosawa directorial work.
Right-side tagline in blue: 「姫の生命か！黄金か！ 豪快！凄絶の大スペクタル巨篇！」 — “The princess’s life or the gold? A bold, ferocious, giant spectacle!”
Photomontage composition places Princess Yuki at the fore, arm raised with spear, against dramatic rocky terrain and scenes of the ragged peasants in motion.
Red credit block at mid-right lists principal cast and crew, including screenplay and cinematography credits; further cast names are arranged across the lower image field.
Local-city issue by 東京映画宣材社, with period paper, typography, inks and layout corresponding to the 1958 first-release TOHOscope campaign.
Condition
Overall: Excellent (EX) — a superb presenting example with strong colour, crisp registration and excellent shelf presence.
Format: Unfolded B2 — no hard issue folds; light storage/handling creases visible under close inspection.
Paper: Even, attractive age-toning; verso shows normal oxidation and image show-through typical of thin period Japanese poster stock.
Edges/Corners: Minor edge wear, small nicks and short tears, consistent with age and handling; close-up imagery supplied.
Repairs: Small tears repaired on the verso with archival tape; repairs are discreet and conservation-minded, with no intrusive front-facing restoration apparent from the supplied images.
Surface: Clean image field with rich reds, blues and sepia photographic tones; scattered tiny specks, faint creases and light surface stress consistent with a poster over six decades old.
Verso: Clean overall, no writing visible; archival tape repairs and natural paper toning visible in the supplied reverse images.
Age & authenticity
Guaranteed original 1958 Japanese B2 from the first-release TOHOscope campaign, documented as the Local-City Version (半裁：ローカル版) by Tokyo Eiga Senzai-sha / 東京映画宣材社, with period typography, Toho/TOHOscope crest, B2 dimensions, original publisher imprint and correct 1950s printing characteristics. Includes Japan Poster Shop Certificate of Authenticity.
Rarity
This Local-City B2 is exceptionally rare, especially in unfolded condition. Survival for first-release Japanese paper from 1958 is limited, and examples of this title are seldom encountered relative to later reissues or more common campaign formats. A museum-grade opportunity for Akira Kurosawa, Toshirō Mifune, Toho, TOHOscope and early Japanese widescreen cinema collectors.
It is over 67 years old.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
