The Confusion Era: Art and Culture of Japan During the Allied Occupation, 1945-1952 Designer Unknown, "Don't Sell Salt Illegally. Make an Effort to Deliver All Your Production to the Government," 1949. Offset print, 52.3 X 36.6 cm. Tobacco and Salt Museum, Tokyo   Following the death in 1947 of a Tokyo district court judge from malnutrition owing to his refusal to eat any foods that had been purchased on the black market, the government launched a campaign against illegal trading. Tobacco and salt, which had been government monopolies since 1898 and 1905 respectively, were frequent black market commodities, and the government agency responsible for them, the Senbaikyoku (from 1949 to 1985 established as Nihon Senbai Kosha) produced a number of posters, including this one, and "Don't Sell Salt Illegally. The World Is Monitoring Salt," 1950, urging citizens to comply with government regulations. courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution