Tokyo Monogatari / Tokyo Story

About the Item

Original Japanese film poster for the 1953 drama directed by Yasujiro Ozy. The film starred Chishu Ryu and Chieko Higashiyama. One of Japan’s most celebrated and prolific directors, Yasujiro Ozu directed fifty-four films over the course of his life. Ozu cultivated an unmistakable aesthetic with the help of several long-term collaborators, including the scriptwriter Kogo Nada. Director and writer shared a vision, and are said to have developed ideas for their films together over glasses of sake, in the dead of night. The resulting films are as intimate as the process of conceiving them. Ozu was primarily interested in the shomin-geki tradition of storytelling, in which the focus lies on the lives of ordinary people and families. Many critics consider Tokyo Story the epitome of Ozu’s work in this genre and indeed in his entire oeuvre. In the film, an ageing couple visits their children in Tokyo, only to discover that they are not truly welcome; the children are busy with their lives and view their elderly parents as a nuisance. With Ozu’s characteristically slow pace, viewers are introduced into a world whose normalcy conceals the tension and unease beneath the surface. Ozu reveals these unspoken domestic conflicts with poise and sensitivity, using carefully composed shots that linger like photographs. He also favoured an unusual camera placement, positioned at the eye level of people sitting on the floor, thereby increasing a scene’s intimacy. Unfortunately this low angle required his regular cameraman Shigehara to scoot along the floor on his belly all day long. He finally developed a serious stomach ailment and was replaced by a man jokingly credited with having a cast-iron stomach. The artist of this poster is unknown, but clearly displays an appreciation for the concept behind Tokyo Story. The space is filled with members of the family, but none are looking at or interacting with each other. It is a remarkable feat on the part of the artist to achieve a composition so crowded with people, but with such distance between them. This exceptionally rare country of origin poster is highly prized in Japan. This is the first time the gallery has been able to acquire this piece. Tokyo Story has appeared several times in the British Film Institute polls of "greatest films" This poster is conservation Linen-backed and would be shipped rolled in a strong tube by Fed-Ex if outside the UK.

Dimensions:

Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 20 in (50.8 cm)Depth: 0.1 in (2.54 mm)

Materials and Techniques:

Paper

Place of Origin:

Japan

Period:

1950-1959

Date of Manufacture:

1953

Condition:

Repaired: Excellent condition, with the colour remaining very bright with only very minor restoration to folds.