P51 Antique Japanese Advertising Poster – Kikkoman Soy Sauce (キッコーマン醤油), Woman in Kimono, Pre-War Japan, 1936

Striking and rare Japanese vertical advertising poster promoting Kikkoman Soy Sauce (キッコーマン醤油), one of Japan’s most famous and prestigious food brands. This poster dates to 1936 (pre-war Shōwa period) and was created by the renowned illustrator Renzaburō Yoshizawa (吉澤廉三郎).

The composition features an elegant young woman in a beautifully painted modern kimono, turning back with a gentle smile. The background uses a bold, expressive orange brushstroke, giving the image strong visual impact and a modern, painterly feeling typical of high-end Japanese commercial art of the 1930s.

The poster was produced at a time when Kikkoman was expanding nationwide as a symbol of quality, trust, and modern Japanese domestic life. The text identifies the product as Kikkoman Soy Sauce, and the vertical format and sophisticated illustration style reflect the golden age of Japanese advertising, when yōga (Western-style painting) techniques were widely used for premium commercial posters.

According to period documentation, this poster was made in 1936, the same year Kikkoman first began selling sauce products in this new marketing push. The design deliberately depicts a refined, modern housewife figure, aimed directly at the main consumer of seasoning products at the time.

The soft realism of the face, the elegant pose, and the confident, modern color palette place this firmly within the best era of pre-war Japanese poster art.

This is a museum-quality example of pre-war Japanese food advertising and a highly collectible Kikkoman poster.

Product: Kikkoman (キッコーマン) Soy Sauce
Subject: Woman in kimono, modern lifestyle, food advertising
Artist: Renzaburō Yoshizawa (吉澤廉三郎)
Company: Kikkoman / Noda Shoyu Co., Ltd.
Period: Pre-war Japan, Shōwa 11 (1936)
Technique: Lithographic advertising poster
Country: Japan
Size: Approximately 92 × 61 cm
Condition: Original vintage poster with visible age-related wear, creases, edge wear, small losses and surface marks consistent with age and use