Shabon-Dama Soap to be Title Sponsor of the "61st Kamigata Manzai Grand Prize" ~ Delivering Healthy Living and Smiles Across Japan Through Comedy Under the Brand Message "Wash and Smile" ~

Shabon-Dama Soap Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture; President: Hayato Morita), a pioneer in additive-free soaps, announces that it will be the title sponsor of the "61st Kamigata Manzai Grand Prize" as part of its brand message "Wash and Smile," aiming to deliver healthy living and smiles across Japan through comedy.

In 1974, Shabon-Dama Soap Co., Ltd. ceased manufacturing and selling synthetic detergents, which had been its main business, and transitioned to manufacturing and selling additive-free soaps. At the beginning of this transition, additive-free soaps did not penetrate the market, and sales plummeted to less than 1/100, and the number of employees drastically decreased from 100 to 5. Although the company continued to operate at a loss for 17 years thereafter, it consistently adhered to its corporate philosophy of "protecting healthy bodies and clean water" and has been providing additive-free soaps that do not use fragrances, colorants, antioxidants, or synthetic surfactants. Since 2024, marking 50 years since the transition to additive-free soaps, the company has adopted the brand message "Wash and Smile" to symbolize its desire to bring health and smiles to people's lives through the daily act of "washing."

■ "61st Kamigata Manzai Grand Prize" Event Outline

• Program Name: "Shabon-Dama Soap presents Kamigata Manzai Grand Prize"

• Date: April 7, 2026 (Tuesday)

• Time: Doors open 15:45 / Show starts 18:15 / Show ends 21:00

• Audience Capacity: Approximately 1,000 people (Maximum capacity: 1,144 people)

• Broadcast Date and Time: April 7, 2026 (Tuesday) 18:30-21:00 (Live broadcast)

• Broadcasters: Kansai Telecasting Corporation, Radio Osaka *Live broadcast in the Kansai region

• Highlights of the Kamigata Manzai Grand Prize and this event:

This is a prestigious award given to manzai comedians who have been most active throughout the year in Kamigata manzai at Yose (vaudeville theaters), on television, and on stage. It is one of the longest-running award competitions in Kamigata entertainment, and past winners include legendary duos like Yumeji Itoshi and Kimi Koishi, and Yasushi Yokoyama and Kiyoshi Nishikawa, as well as contemporary powerhouses like Chidori, Diane, and Kamaitachi. It has a system where comedians are evaluated in stages, from Newcomer Award to Encouragement Award, and finally the Grand Prize, positioning it as both a "gateway and the pinnacle" for manzai comedians.

The MCs for this event will be Nakagawa-ke and Umihara Yasuyo Tomoko, and the ambassadors will be Takashi Yoshida of Black Mayonnaise, Nozomu Iwao of Football Hour, and Nao Hashimoto of Ginshari, all of whom are "M-1 Grand Prix" champions and have received the "Grand Prize" as a duo at the Kamigata Manzai Grand Prize.