<Awarded Troupes Announced> 3rd "Japan Green Finger Stage Arts Award" Announces Awarded Troupes

On June 30, 2026, the Japan Philanthropic Foundation (Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Kazuhisa Kishimoto) announced that the awarded troupes for the 3rd "Japan Green Finger Stage Arts Award" have been decided as: iihenji (Tokyo), Gekidan Inzou -indian elephant- (Tokyo), OiBokkeShi (Okayama Prefecture), Gekidan Onsen Dragon (Tokyo), Gentou Gekijou (Kyoto Prefecture), Project Nyx (Tokyo), métro (Tokyo), MONO (Kyoto Prefecture), and yu-mei (Tokyo). (In Japanese syllabary order).

About the Japan Green Finger Stage Arts Award

Theater is a wonderful artistic culture that enriches people's lives by bringing them inspiration and joy, and can be a great force in revitalizing society. However, in Japan, there is a lack of support activities and systems for the theater world. To make matters worse, the COVID-19 pandemic has also dealt a blow with successive cancellations of stage performances. Therefore, the "Japan Green Finger Stage Arts Award" was established in 2023 out of the passionate desire of theater lovers who wish to support theater troupes and their activities.

The award aims to support theater troupes by increasing their recognition and helping them overcome financial difficulties through recognition of excellent theatrical activities in Japan.

Awarded troupes will receive the "Grand Prize" (for troupes recognized for outstanding achievements, with a prize of 2.5 million yen), the "HOPE Award" (for troupes with less than 10 years of activity recognized for outstanding achievements, with a prize of 1.2 million yen), and the "Jury Award" (for troupes recognized for unique achievements regardless of their period of activity, with a prize of 150,000 yen). The "Grand Prize" was not awarded this year.

Eligible for selection are theater troupes (including voluntary organizations) that applied during the application period, are active in theater in Japan (excluding traditional performing arts, and projects focused on dance or music), have a track record of activity for at least the past two years, have planned theatrical performances in Japan during the viewing review period (January 1, 2025 - March 31, 2026), and can be viewed by two investigators from the foundation.

The 3rd "Japan Green Finger Stage Arts Award" received applications from October 9 to November 11, 2024, and from February 28 to April 6, 2025, with a total of 84 applications.

The award selects troupes through an open call, followed by document screening and performance review, with the jury making the final comprehensive decision.

The jury consists of the following 7 members:

Takashi Yoshihara (Professor Emeritus, Kanto Gakuin University) - Jury Chair

Asako Imamura (Theater Journalist, Editor)

Hiromasa Kiuchi (Playwright, Translator, Director)

Ken Kuboi (Actor, Acting Director of Gekidan Kara-gumi)

Takeshi Ujiki (Actor, Theater Company Leader)

Hirotaka Naito (Playwright, Director, Actor, Professor at Osaka University of Arts)

Yukiko Mishima (Film Director)

Japan Green Finger Stage Arts Award: http://np-foundation.or.jp/list/midorigekidan.html

"HOPE Award" Recipient Troupes

iihenji

A theater group formed by graduates of Waseda University. Founded in 2016, debuted in 2017. Members include Aziori Nakajima, Tomoka Iio, and Nahoko Ozawa. Past major productions include "Tsumari" (selected for Shimokita Wave 2018), "Going to Get Medicine (Prologue)" (participating work in Geigeki Eyes Special Edition Vol. 3 "Hello, This is the Weak Side - To Hear Faint Voices -"), a double bill "Utsuwa" / "Going to Get Medicine" (2022 Komaba Agora Theater Sponsored Program), "We Are Not Friends" (participating work in Sato Sakichi Theater Festival 2024), and "Our Own Romantic" (MITAKA "Next" Selection 26th), among others. They aim to stage theatrical works that serve as "opportunities" for mutual consideration, valuing the resonance between "me" and "you" rather than providing answers.

https://iihenji.com/

"Old Age and Theater" OiBokkeShi

Founded in 2014 in Wake-cho, Okayama Prefecture, centered around actor and certified care worker Naoki Sugawara. Moved its base of operations to Nagi-cho, Okayama Prefecture in 2016. With the philosophy of "bringing the wisdom of theater to the field of elderly care, and the depth of elderly care to the field of theater," they create theatrical works with the elderly and caregivers, and conduct workshops that incorporate theatrical methods into dementia care nationwide. Their activities, which approach the challenges of an aging society from the unique perspective of "theater," are attracting attention from various fields beyond the boundaries of theater and caregiving in recent years.

https://oibokkeshi.net/

yu-mei

A group that presents stage productions, films, art, and writing. Founded in 2015 and based in Tokyo. Their characteristic style involves delving into individual original experiences, and their plays and art are born as a reaction to their accumulated labor experiences in reportage, animation, and drama. Their art direction and spatial design oscillate between the present and the play.

In 2024, they received the 68th Kishida Kunio Drama Award for "Heartland."

In 2025, they received the 32nd Yomiuri Theater Awards for Outstanding Director for "Yōjō" and will conduct a national tour.

The origin of the name "yu-mei" comes from "evening and dawn," "visible and invisible world" (the transition from darkness to light in life), and "the netherworld" (what happens after death).

https://www.yu-mei.com/

"Jury Award" Recipient Troupes

MONO

*Double award from 2 jury members.

Formed in 1989 by alumni of the Ritsumeikan University student theater club as "B-kyu Practice." Since 1990, all works have been written and directed by the representative, Hideo Tsuchida. Renamed "MONO" in 1991. They are acclaimed for humorously depicting people's inner conflicts and relationships through dialogue plays. They received the Excellence Award at the 64th Agency for Cultural Affairs Art Festival for their special project Vol. 4 "Waiting for Chekhov," the Excellence Award at the 2016 Osaka Culture Festival for their 43rd production "Hadaka ni Magatama," and the Grand Prize at the 1st Kansai Theater Awards for their 49th production "Warui no wa Watashi ja Nai."

https://c-mono.com/

Gekidan Inzou -indian elephant-

"Inzou," read as "in-zou," Gekidan Inzou -indian elephant- was founded in 2003 by playwright and director Atsuto Suzuki. Since 2020, under the title "Nation and Artist Series," they have staged a tetralogy of biographical plays depicting the relationship between nationalism and artists, covering Erich Kästner, Tsuguharu Foujita, George Orwell, and Karel Čapek. Major representative works include "Global Baby Factory" (2014), "Inu to Dokusai-sha" (Excellence Award for Hokkaido Drama Award, 2023), and "Josei Eiga Kantoku Daiichi-go" (2025). They have also had numerous international performances and co-productions.

https://inzou.com/

Gekidan Onsen Dragon

Formed in 2010. A troupe consisting of 5 members: Atsushi Sakamoto, Ryuichi Tsukuba, Ken Iwai, Keita Shirai, and Yu Harada. With two playwrights of different styles, they regularly stage original works that tackle universal themes such as "life and death," "love," and "nation" with a robust approach. Their strength lies in ensemble dramas supported by solid acting skills. Since their inception, they have actively engaged in international co-productions with South Korea, and from June to July 2026, they staged "Chōsei Tankō - I Wanted to Live" in Tokyo and Seoul with Onsen Dragon x Gekidan 58ROUTE.

https://www.onsendragon.com/

Gentou Gekijou

Established in 2013. A collective of diverse artists including playwrights, filmmakers, actors, dancers, and photographers who create theater. Their debut production "Miru Yukorio" won the Sendai Short Play Award at the youngest age. They produced "56db" as part of the Agency for Cultural Affairs' cultural exchange program, performing in five cities across two countries, and received high praise in a Korean newspaper as "The Silent Circus," continuing to present challenging works both domestically and internationally. From 2019 to 2021, in collaboration with the Kyoto Prefectural Center for Arts and Culture, they produced and staged three works: "Mōnen," "0 Banchi," and "Uffun." In recent years, they have collaborated with Aぇ! group on the musical "Uffun" for the ABC TV program "THE GREATEST SHOW-NEN," and have written and performed readings of novels for the orchestra concert "Century Toyonaka Masterpiece Series," creating works with artists from various fields while crossing genres. In September 2023, they staged the musical "Uffun" as the first original theater production by Fenice Sakai (Sakai City Museum of Arts and Culture), and in February 2024, they staged "Play is Pray" in collaboration with the Japan Century Symphony Orchestra as a sponsored project of the Toyonaka City Performing Arts Center. They will stage "Fist Diver" in September 2024 at THEATRE E9 KYOTO and in December at Asakusa Nine Theater. In 2025, their new work "Waltz for Daddy" was selected for the U35 Creation Support Program "KIPPU" and will be performed at ROHM Theatre Kyoto, with the same work also being performed on tour at the Ebisu Echo Theater.

https://gentou-gekijou.themedia.jp/

Project Nyx

Project Nyx was launched in 2006 by Kanna Mizushima of Shinjuku Ryozanpaku, based on the art and costumes of Aquirax Uno and the direction of Chin Kinmo. It is an experimental theater unit that breathes life into forgotten images, from timeless masterpieces to little-known gems, reviving them as contemporary performances. By bringing together artists from various genres, they aim to create new entertainment that transcends the boundaries of theater, fusing music, dance, puppetry, art, and film. Since its inception, they have championed "entertainment beauty theater" with a bewitching, glamorous, and avant-garde visual style, continuously expressing the beauty and strength of women. In recent years, they have ventured into "female Kabuki," creating borderless works that overcome gender roles and break through various conventional perceptions. In the 2022 production of Shuji Terayama's "Bluebeard's Castle," director Chin Kinmo received the Kinokuniya Theater Award for Individual Achievement, and in 2025, the work was invited to the "Under the Radar Festival" in New York, where it received high acclaim. For the 2027 fiscal year, they are preparing to stage Shuji Terayama's "The Seven Deadly Sins of Countess Kikuko Kotokari" in France and the UK. They will continue to promote Japanese underground theater internationally and pioneer new possibilities in stage arts.

http://www.project-nyx.com

métro

An theater unit led by Sarara Tsukiune. All works are written and directed by Daisuke Amagane.

Since its founding in 2008, they have presented 15 works, including stage adaptations of modern literary masterpieces by Tanizaki, Ranpo, Kyōka, Ango, Dazai, and Kenji, as well as dark social satires set against the backdrop of earthquakes, nuclear accidents, and war.

In the process, their approach evolved from simple adaptations to what they call "the performative transformation of literature," and in recent years, they have expanded their scope to include poetry and philosophy.

https://sarara.asia/metro

Japan Philanthropic Foundation

The Japan Philanthropic Foundation was established in 2020 with the aim of providing funding for social contribution activities. It solicits donations, manages and operates them as a fund, and carries out grant, scholarship, and award programs. The foundation aims to foster the "intentions" of each donor into "meaningful donations," nurturing them to create a richer society as an investment in the future. Foundation Website: https://np-foundation.or.jp/

・Inquiries

Please send inquiries regarding this award to the foundation's general email address.

info(at)np-foundation.or.jp *(at) should be replaced with @.