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20th century Japanese poster art in pictures | Art and design

20th century Japanese poster art – in pictures

At a new exhibition at Poster House in New York, a range of wartime and postwar posters are being celebrated, showing a move from patriotism to consumerism and beyond. Designers used posters to address major cultural issues from climate change to nuclear disarmament

Main image: Dance Party, 1973, Tadanori Yokoo. Photograph: The Merrill C Berman Collection

Mon 27 Mar 2023 02.11 EDT

  • Petticoat Osen: A Tale of Forgetfulness, 1966, Tadanori Yokoo

    This poster for Jōkyō Gekijō’s performance of Petticoat Osen is emblematic of Tadanori Yokoo’s playful and subversive approach to design. The bright hues and dynamic composition not only channel the powerful emotions, energy and bravado of Edo-period kabuki theater, but are also representative of an experimental artistic style that combines western imagery with Japanese motifs, symbols and photography, creating a synthesis between avant-garde happenings, consumer culture and everyday objects

  • ‘The Mitsui Store at Suruga-cho in Edo’ from the series 36 Views of Mt. Fuji, 1832, Hokusai Katsushika

    This print offers a view of the rooftop of Echigoya (sometimes called Mitsui Clothing Store), a kimono-fabric retailer established in 1673 and the predecessor to the Mitsukoshi department store, founded in 1903. Signs on both sides of the Suruga-cho thoroughfare display the historic Mitsui crest, and this elevated vantage point effectively contrasts the bustle of the vast number of retail businesses with the peaceful solitude of Mt Fuji

  • Japan, 1988, Yūsaku Kamekura

    This poster was made for the Japan Graphic Designers Association (JAGDA) that played a crucial role in the development of Japanese poster design after the war. The letters spelling ‘Japan’ at the center of this composition reference contemporary technological advances while paying homage to traditional Japanese art forms

  • Matsuda Quick Special Oil Colours, c 1961, designer unknown

    Matsuda Gaso was established in 1948 by Matsuda Mokuhei and still produces high-quality oil paint and other art materials. Many artists complained that Japanese oil paint was of poor quality, prompting Matsuda to release its Super Oil Paint in 1952, incorporating high-grade poppy oil to prevent discoloration and fading. In 1961, it also released a quick-drying oil paint called Speed Color

  • The Cell, 1966, Kazumasa Nagai

    Nagai Kazumasa produced posters for the Japanese editions of the Life Science Library book series, originally published between 1963 and 1967 by Time Life. The 26 volumes were available by subscription from Life magazine and introduced natural-science topics to a broad audience. This poster promotes the 1966 Japanese edition of The Cell, written by John E Pfeiffer, and reflects Nagai’s interest in abstraction and psychedelic colors

  • Shopping Sugoroku, 1914, Ryūshi Kawabata

    Sugoroku (double sixes) is a popular Japanese board game played with a set of dice. The examples here are from a version of the game known as picture sugoroku, which consists of illustrated game boards loosely resembling those of chutes and ladders. Many picture sugoroku games of the early 20th century were created as advertisements, printed on poster-size paper and included as supplements to popular women’s magazines

  • Hiroshima Appeals, 1983, Yūsaku Kamekura

    This is the first poster from the series Hiroshima Appeals, a collaborative poster campaign created by JAGDA and the Hiroshima International Cultural Foundation. It was intended to convey hope for peace after the devastating bombing of Hiroshima. This series continued until 1990, resulting in a total of 21 posters. Through the use of vividly colored burning wings, Kamekura Yūsaku captures the moment of catching fire, alluding to the sudden blast that enveloped Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, one of two atomic bombings at the end of the second world war

  • Rikyū, 1988, Kōichi Satō

    In this poster for the 1989 film Rikyū (about the 16th-century tea master Sen no Rikyū), Satō creates an aura around the central motif of a bowl of tea with gradations of vibrant color. Rikyū was associated with wabi-cha, a style of tea ceremony characterized by simplicity, restraint and an austere beauty. Satō’s image of a single raku-ware tea bowl – a highly prized tea-ceremony vessel made from clay fired at a low temperature – is accompanied by a poetic text that translates as ‘beauty is unwavering’

  • Expo ’70, 1967, Yūsaku Kamekura

    In 1970, after the positive international response to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Japan hosted its first World Expo, attracting a record 64 million visitors. Kamekura’s winning design for the official poster for overseas use depicts his minimalist, geometric interpretation of the five petals of a cherry blossom – a culturally resonant symbol of Japan, prized for its ephemeral beauty

  • PB Grand Prix, 1968, Keiichi Tanaami

    This poster is a higher-quality screenprint version of a sugoroku game board that Tanaami designed as a supplement to the Japanese edition of Weekly Playboy of 9 July 1968. The ‘PB’ in the title stands for Playboy, and the winner of the game is the first to reach the actress Matsuoka Kikko. At each numbered position, players are instructed to perform various humorous tasks such as ‘call Playboy’s photographer’, ‘treat everyone to supper’, or ‘remove your belly-button lint’

  • Suntory Orange 50, 1978, Tadanori Yokoo

    Originally founded in 1899, Suntory is famous for developing the Japanese taste for western-style alcohol like wine and whiskey. It also offered its own domestically produced brands of whiskey and beer. In addition to alcoholic beverages, Suntory is a leading manufacturer of food and soft drinks, including Orange 50 – an orange-flavored drink that was made between 1974 and the mid-1980s (the ‘50’ denoting 50% orange juice)

  • Dance Party, 1973, Tadanori Yokoo

    This poster advertises the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)’s television drama Dance Party, a period piece set during the Meiji era (1868–1912) and adapted from the mystery novel Meiji Enlightenment Ango Detective Story by Sakaguchi AngoText provided by Poster House.
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