DESIGNER UNKNOWN A GRAND EXPOSITION / THE IMPERIAL CORONATION. 1928.
41 3/4x26 3/4 inches, 106x68 cm. Toppan Printing Co., Japan.
Condition B+: restoration along unobtrusive vertical and horizontal folds; restoration in margins.
The Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989), assumed the throne upon the death of his father in 1926. His official coronation was two years later in a lavish, traditional ceremony imbued with ancient Japanese pageantry. The New York Times reported that over one million people took to the streets of Kyoto as part of the celebration. This rare and exceptional poster advertising an exposition held in conjunction with the coronation is a stylized, decorative map of Kyoto, displaying for visitors highlights of the city's infrastructure. The image harmoniously combines the prevailing Japanese Art Deco style with traditional Japanese cultural design elements. The chrysanthemums seen in the middle part of the design represent the "Chrysanthemum Throne" to which the Emperor was ascending; the flowers were also strewn and planted all around the city during the event. A handful of extraordinary posters were designed for the coronoation celebration, each one more staggering than the previous, however this is the only design we could locate in English. According to the inscription in the lower right hand corner, this poster was a prize-winning design.