Morisawa & Co
Ikko Tanaka
Japanese, 1930–2002
1986
An offset lithograph poster in which Ikko Tanaka magnifies and fragments a kanji letterform to advertise Morisawa & Co., treating type itself as a bold visual image.
A massive, black calligraphic character is cropped to the edges of a white field so it becomes an abstract, sculptural shape, lightly balanced by a narrow column of purple text at the upper right and a small wordmark at the lower left.
This poster exemplifies Tanaka’s influential fusion of Japanese calligraphic tradition and Western modernist graphic principles, helping to redefine typographic poster design and corporate identity in late twentieth‑century Japan.
Medium
Offset lithograph
Dimensions
40 3/8 x 28 5/8" ( 102.5 x 72.7 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the designer
Accession
625.1990
Palette
Exhibitions
