Wiping Away Tears

An exhibition at a Mito museum from May to July introduced Ōshita’s portraits of stars, completed over two decades, to a new audience. Some 50 pictures went on display.

Curator Ōsone Makiko spoke about why she chose to run an exhibition of his works. “When I was a student, I often went to the movies here in Mito, and regularly saw Ōshita’s signs. But people in their twenties today have never seen hand-painted signs. I thought it was a real shame to let this culture fade away, and I wanted to show it to young people.”

The exhibition of Ōshita’s signs was held at Jōyō Museum in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, from May 30 to July 16.

Nonetheless, the visitors who were most greatly moved were the older people viewing vivid portraits of the stars of their youth. Some women wiped away tears with their handkerchiefs as they stood in front of a picture of heartthrob Ishihara Yūjirō, who passed away 30 years ago this July.

When Ōshita was most active, crowds of commuters would walk in front of his signs outside Mito Tōei both morning and evening. “If you painted an oil painting, there wouldn’t be as many people seeing it each day. I was happy lots of people saw my work, and it motivated me to keep doing my best.”

Ōshita now rarely paints movie signs. The last major project he worked on was for the 2010 period drama Sakuradamon-gai no hen (Sakurada Gate Incident), which was filmed on an open set in Mito. He has had some heart problems in the last few years and is not in peak condition. Yet, he says his hand still moves when he’s sleeping at night. “It wants to keep painting. There were so many long days when I was rushing to complete a sign before the deadline.”

“The people at Mito Tōei told me they wanted me to always paint their signs, and I did for many years, but then it closed down. It’s sad, but I feel I fulfilled my responsibility.” Saying this, Ōshita gives a gentle smile.

(Originally written in Japanese by Itakura Kimie of Nippon.com. Photos by Ōkubo Keizō, unless otherwise stated. Banner photo: Ōshita talks in front of a sign for Shin jingi naki tatakai (New Battles Without Honor and Humanity) starring Sugawara Bunta.)

Movie Star Portraits by Ōshita Takeo

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