Shōwa Modern

昭和モダン / 1920s–1930s / Style / Advertising Posters

Prewar Japan's commercial modernism, typified by Sugiura Hisui's Mitsukoshi and subway posters: Deco crossed with nihonga, the modern girl's city and refined lettering drawing the dawn of consumer culture.

Shōwa Modern — Sugiura Hisui, Tokyo Underground Railway poster, 1927 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Sugiura Hisui, Tokyo Underground Railway poster, 1927 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Shōwa Modern — South Manchuria Railway poster — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — South Manchuria Railway poster — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Shōwa Modern — JOAK poster — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — JOAK poster — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

At a glance

Visual cues

Deco crossed with nihonga
The modern girl's city
Stylized lettering
Department stores and transit

Best used for

Department store and event bills selling a city mood, not merchandise
Rail and tourism advertising that must carry the lift of going out

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Dictionary entry

Type: Kana stylized and thickened, set vertically without Latin mixed in
Composition: A figure cropped to the torso, background ordered by geometric bands
Material: Flat color holding nihonga pigment murk, contours tightened by thin line
Caution: Setting Deco ornament beside a kimono without the newness that city once had produces a period costume rather than a modern poster.
Further study: Sugiura Hisui and Mitsukoshi / NIPPON magazine and Natori Yōnosuke / the reappraisal of prewar commercial art

Related entries

Art Deco (アール・デコ)Shared effects: Luxury / Exhilaration.Compare Shōwa Modern and Art Deco
Angura Poster (アングラ演劇ポスター)Shared effects: Exhilaration / Nostalgia.Compare Shōwa Modern and Angura Poster

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