“Yojimbo” (用心棒), Original Japanese First Re-Release Movie Poster 1967, Toho, Theatre Used Condition, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) R9A

This is an original Japanese B2 poster printed in 1967 for the first theatrical re-release of Yojimbo (用心棒), Akira Kurosawa’s celebrated 1961 samurai film. Starring Toshirō Mifune alongside Tatsuya Nakadai, the film combines dark humour, explosive swordplay and a memorable antihero in one of Kurosawa’s most influential works.

This particular example is theatre used, with visible surface abrasion along the bottom edge and light signs of handling and theatrical display. Please look closely at the additional imagery provided. We have taken the condition into account when pricing. Once framed, this poster will display excellently.

Film background
Originally released in 1961, Yojimbo follows a wandering masterless samurai who arrives in a town controlled by two rival criminal gangs. Calling himself Sanjūrō, he offers his services as a bodyguard while manipulating both factions, using deception and formidable swordsmanship to turn their greed and hostility against them.

Mifune’s dishevelled, calculating swordsman became one of cinema’s defining antiheroes, matched by Nakadai’s menacing Unosuke, whose pistol introduces a deadly challenge to traditional sword fighting. The film’s combination of sardonic humour and sudden violence profoundly influenced international action cinema, notably inspiring Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars (1964), starring Clint Eastwood.

Poster design
The composition is dominated by Toshirō Mifune as Sanjūrō, leaning forward with his sword drawn across the foreground. Behind him, a street confrontation unfolds against the town’s stark rooflines, while Tatsuya Nakadai’s pistol-wielding Unosuke appears at lower left. Smaller character scenes complete the dramatic photographic montage.

The enormous scarlet brush lettering of 用心棒 spans the upper portion, with 黒沢明監督作品 — “A film directed by Akira Kurosawa” — printed beneath it. The vertical blue advertising copy at right announces:

「映画の面白さここに結集！痛快に豪壮に漲る黒沢のすべて」
“All the excitement of cinema brought together here! Kurosawa’s artistry overflowing with exhilaration and grandeur!”

The Toho roundel appears at upper right, while a distinctive musical-notation border runs along the top, right and bottom edges. Printed award notices include Mifune’s Best Actor award at the 1961 Venice Film Festival, emphasising the acclaim the film had already achieved by this re-release.

Condition
Very Good / Excellent — theatre used condition. Please review the photos; they show the exact poster for sale, including both the front and reverse.

This poster is an original Japanese theatrical B2 from the 1967 first re-release campaign.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

It is 59 years old!

Certificate of Authenticity included.