This is a very scarce B2 Japanese original movie poster for the release of “The Wind Rises” (風立ちぬ). Before its release, director Hayao Miyazaki declared that this would be his final film.

Based on Miyazaki’s own manga and the 1937 short novel of the same name by Tatsuo Hori, this is the story of Jirou Horikoshi, the aircraft engineer most remembered for his design work on the Mitsubishi A6M Reisen Zero, Japan’s famous World War II fighter aircraft. The film chronicles much of his life, depicting key historical events, including the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the Great Depression, the tuberculosis epidemic and Japan’s plunge into war. However, the story doesn’t just focus on Jirou and aviation, but it develops into a love story between him and Naoko Satomi.

The Japanese release used two poster designs, one for each of the main characters. This B2 portrays Naoko Satomi paiting in a green field. Just like in the movie, the art is memorable and breathtaking. Simple and detailed at the same time. The watercolor style background is drawn with so much care that it, by its own, is able to bring life to this movie poster.

The poster’s tag line reads “We must live”. It’s taken from Hori’s novel, but it also references the final lines from the Nausicaa manga.  Princess Mononoke also used the same line (“Ikiro!”) back in 1997.