With Star Wars Celebration returning to Japan next year, we’re highlighting 12 Japanese Star Wars movie posters exhibiting designs used nowhere else in the world. Star Wars Celebration returning to Japan next year, we’re highlighting 12 Japanese Star Wars movie posters exhibiting designs used nowhere else in the world. Many Star Wars collectors have long coveted items produced exclusively for fans and audiences in Japan, be it toys, food premiums, apparel items, or posters. During the original trilogy era of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, marketing teams around the world were often given broad latitude to create Star Wars poster campaigns to suit local tastes and sensibilities, resulting in a rich variety of advertising imagery. This tradition shifted during the era of the prequels, however, when the same key advertising imagery was utilized across all markets around the globe, with the exception of — interestingly — the US, which did not enjoy the expanded poster campaigns seen in Europe and Asia. There has been a return in recent years to some regionally exclusive poster designs, including in Japan, again giving fans and collectors an opportunity to add a truly unique poster to their collection. As Star Wars Celebration heads back to Japan in 2025, StarWars.com is revisiting some of those rarities. The following 12 Japanese Star Wars movie posters feature designs and/or illustrations used nowhere else in the world, making them especially appealing to fans wishing to collect each unique poster from a specific title (or every title!). You will notice that prequel posters are conspicuously absent from the list, as there were no poster graphics created exclusively for Japan during that era. Star Wars Advance Star Wars: A New Hope was released in Japan in June 1978, and while this advance poster is spare in composition, it does convey an air of prestige surrounding the upcoming release with the deep azure starfield, silver ink logo, and alluring tagline: “Once upon a time, in a galaxy tens of thousands of light years away, an incredible adventure unfolded…” Star Wars Release by Seito There were two main Star Wars release posters used in Japan — a photo-montage that was also used in South Korea, and this illustrated version by artist Seito which mimics the composition of the US poster designed by Tom Jung. In this exclusive Japanese version, the likenesses of Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher have been adjusted and the droids have been moved to the left side of the poster, depicted more closely to their appearance in the film. This version also includes a snipe calling out the seven Academy Awards Star Wars had won earlier in the year. Star Wars 1982 Japanese Dub by Noriyoshi Ohrai While this 1982 poster commemorating the first Japanese dubbed version of A New Hope is not an official release poster, it was associated with the theatrical screenings of the special release, and is frankly too stunning a design to omit. Noriyoshi Ohrai became familiar to Star Wars poster aficionados with his lavish illustration for 1980’s Japanese Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back poster, imagery that was used in several countries around the world. This A New Hope poster, which gives center stage to the Millennium Falcon with the heroes, starships, and Darth Vader surrounding it, was offered exclusively to audience members seeing the dubbed version on the first day of release. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Photo-Montage While the Japanese poster campaign for The Empire Strikes Back was dominated by the previously-described Noriyoshi Ohrai design, this photo-montage poster was also introduced, utilizing a design technique common to Japan at the time. Though similar in many ways to the Ohrai poster, this version reads visually a bit brighter with a white lower quarter and prominently-depicted characters. “Revenge of the Jedi” Advance Similar in composition to the Japanese A New Hope advance poster, this “Revenge of the Jedi” teaser — the only other poster outside the US to utilize the working title on a poster — is exceedingly rare, and easily the most difficult to find of all the major Japanese Star Wars posters. While the English version of the title is depicted on the poster, the Japanese title, which also uses the “ Revenge ” name, actually survived the entire release campaign and appeared on all subsequent posters for the film. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Photo-Collage #1 Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (or “Revenge” if translated) received two photo-collage posters in Japan, this version likely being the first. While most of the more common Star Wars posters in Japan are oriented vertically, this horizontal poster (which has a slightly reconfigured vertical twin) is quite rare. The full wide shot of the Star Destroyer over Endor conveys the epic, cinematic quality of the film, and the overall red and blue tones stay true to the campaign’s overall color scheme. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Photo-Collage #2 This photo-collage poster for Return of the Jedi likely followed the version above, since an Ewok is depicted in the composition. Ewoks were kept under wraps before and well into the film’s release, since their appearance was to be a surprise. Luke’s battle-ready pose, as well as the configuration of characters around him, appears very similar to a more widely circulated Return of the Jedi poster illustrated by Kazuhiko Sano, and likely took its style cues from that poster. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi “Starfall” Poster Like the 1982 Japanese dubbed poster, this 1983 illustration — also by Noriyoshi Ohrai — is not an official release poster, but was available for sale at souvenir shops within Toho Theaters. Unofficially called the “Starfall” poster, it originally retailed for ¥300 (about $1.30) and was difficult to find even at the time. For this stunning illustration, Ohrai dramatically posed C-3PO and R2-D2 before a fiery depiction of the real-life Cone Nebula. Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure While 1984’s Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure was televised in the US, it premiered in movie theaters around the world, including in Japan. This photo-collage incorporates the story’s heroes — Cindel, Mace, and the Ewoks — beneath the threatening gaze of a villainous Gorax, mimicking a composition similar to many Star Wars posters that preceded it. Ewoks: Battle for Endor There were several unique photo-collage posters released in Japan to promote The Ewok Adventure sequel, Battle for Endor , but this version with flower blossoms cascading into a blue Endor sky seems to be the favorite among collectors. Featuring Cindel at center with an inset of the mischievous Teek, the design mysteriously includes a flying Pegasus (which was not featured in the film), probably to play up the film’s fantasy appeal. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Fast forward nearly three decades to the next truly exclusive Japanese Star Wars poster design, this one for the first stand-alone film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story . While Japan produced teaser and release posters similar to those used in the US and other countries, this image of a lone Jyn Erso standing beneath a giant Death Star looming overhead was an exclusive to that country. The general idea behind the image was to show that the fate of the galaxy rested on Jyn’s shoulders. “Everything starts here” reads the tagline beneath Jyn’s feet. Solo: A Star Wars Story A final Star Wars poster seen nowhere outside Japan was created for the second Star Wars stand-alone feature, Solo: A Star Wars Story . The idea for this poster was to feature the iconic characters — Lando and Chewie — on the right side of Han, with a selection of new characters on the left, all posed beneath a charging Millennium Falcon to visually signal that this is indeed a new action-packed Star Wars adventure. Star Wars Celebration Japan is set for April 18-20, 2025. Get your tickets starting May 2, and stay tuned to StarWars.com and starwarscelebration.com for the latest news.
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