The Confusion Era: Art and Culture of Japan During the Allied Occupation, 1945-1952 Kono Takashi, "Election, April 23-30," 1950. Offset print, 72.8 x 51.5 cm. Atelier Deska By the 1950s, Japan's economic recovery was generating many opportunities for poster designs. Kono Takashi (born 1906), a leading graphic designer from the 1930s, became a major international design figure in the post-war decades, commissioned by clients promoting a wide variety of products. This poster, sponsored by the National Election Committee, exemplifies how Japanese designers were increasingly influenced by international trends in graphics.                 courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution