P35 Antique Japanese Advertising Poster – Hohnen Salad Oil (豊年サラダ油), Pre-War Japan, c. 1920s–1930s

Rare and visually striking Japanese advertising poster promoting Hohnen Salad Oil (豊年サラダ油), produced by the Hohnen Oil Company (豊年製油株式会社), one of the major edible oil manufacturers in pre-war Japan.

This poster dates from the Taishō to early Shōwa period (circa 1920s–1930s), before World War II, a time when Western-style cooking and modern packaged food products were being actively introduced to Japanese households. The bold graphic composition features a large tin and bottle of Hohnen Salad Oil rendered in a strong, modern commercial design style, combining Western product presentation with Japanese typography and layout.

The text at the bottom identifies the manufacturer as Hohnen Oil Co., Ltd., Tokyo (豊年製油株式会社), a historically important company in Japan’s food industry, still well known today. Posters like this were used in shops and wholesalers to promote modern cooking oils as clean, healthy, and progressive household products.

The design reflects the emergence of early Japanese modern advertising, influenced by European and American commercial graphics, and represents an important visual document of Japan’s developing consumer culture in the interwar period.

This is a superb example of pre-war Japanese commercial art, combining strong branding, bold color fields, and early modern graphic design aesthetics.

Product: Hohnen Salad Oil (豊年サラダ油)
Company: Hohnen Oil Co., Ltd. (豊年製油株式会社)
Subject: Edible oil / food advertising
Period: Pre-war Japan, c. 1920s–1930s (Taishō – early Shōwa)
Technique: Lithographic advertising poster
Country: Japan
Condition: Original vintage poster with age-related wear
Presentation: Framed with museum glass
Size: 78 × 53 cm