Yamamoto Nohgakudo to Receive "Walk of Fame" Award at Sibiu International Theatre Festival

Yamamoto Nohgakudo (Chuo-ku, Osaka; Representative Director: Akihiro Yamamoto), a public interest incorporated foundation, has been selected to receive the "Walk of Fame" award at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival — one of Europe's three major theatre festivals — to be held in Romania in June. This marks the first time in the award's history that a theater institution, rather than an individual performer, has received this honor.

Sibiu International Theatre Festival and Yamamoto Nohgakudo

The Sibiu International Theatre Festival (FITS) is a prestigious arts event held in the ancient city of Sibiu, Romania, since 1993, and is one of Europe's three major theatre festivals. It brings together outstanding performing arts from a wide range of genres from around the world. In its 33rd edition, running from June 19 to 28 over 10 days, more than 5,000 artists from over 80 countries will gather throughout the city for approximately 850 performances and events, drawing over 100,000 visitors from around the world. This year's theme is "SOUL," emphasizing that the human soul — whether of artists or audiences — transcends technology.

Yamamoto Nohgakudo first received an invitation to the festival in 2016 as the first Japanese noh theater to participate, performing the noh play "Adachigahara" to great acclaim. Since then, the theater has received invitations every year, presenting 23 noh performances and 2 workshops, consistently sharing the appeal of noh with audiences from around the world who gather in Sibiu. Even in 2020, when the festival moved entirely online due to the global pandemic, Yamamoto Nohgakudo was selected as one of five Japanese productions streamed from Japan. In 2023, to mark the festival's 30th anniversary, a new noh production titled "Faust" was staged in collaboration with local actresses and vocalists as a counterpart to the festival's signature work — "Faust" directed by Purcărete — and was met with widespread acclaim.

The "Walk of Fame" Award

Established in 2013 as an iconic ceremony of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, the Walk of Fame honors the excellence of artists who have had a profound impact on theater, literature, and broader cultural imagination. Over the past 13 years, 77 prominent figures in the world of performing arts and acting have received the honor, including Isabelle Adjani and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Japanese recipients to date include the late 18th-generation Nakamura Kanzaburo, Kazuyoshi Kushida, Hideki Noda, Yoshi Oida, and Kunosuke Sasaki.

This year, a total of eight recipients will be honored, including Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Elfriede Jelinek, alongside Yamamoto Nohgakudo — making it a historic first: the first time a theater institution (rather than an individual) has received this recognition anywhere in the world. To mark the occasion, on June 27, a commemorative plaque engraved with the recipient's name will be embedded in the promenade along the citadel walls of Citadel Park in Sibiu, followed by an award ceremony.

Prior to the Walk of Fame ceremony, Yamamoto Nohgakudo will present noh performances on June 19 and June 20. On June 28, the day after the award ceremony, a talk session is planned between Akihiro Yamamoto — the theater's representative director and noh performer who has led the Sibiu appearances — and internationally acclaimed theater critic Octavian Saiu, discussing the trajectory of Yamamoto Nohgakudo's activities in Sibiu and the appeal of noh as a performing art with universal resonance.

International Performances by Yamamoto Nohgakudo

Yamamoto Nohgakudo is actively engaged in overseas performances as part of its mission to pass on noh as "a living performing art for the modern age." In June, in addition to its appearances at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, the theater will also perform at the Romanian National Opera in Bucharest and the Serbian National Theatre in Belgrade.

As part of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival program, on June 19 at the Evangelical Cathedral of Saint John and on June 20 at the Gong Theatre, the theater will perform "Hitori Okina" followed by the noh play "Tomoe," in collaboration with the Jellyfish Band led by Sachiko Nakajima — producer of the Jellyfish Pavilion, a theme project of the 2025 World Exposition, Osaka.

Before the Romania performances, performances are also planned in Serbia. The theme of the 2027 World Expo in Serbia is "Play," which aligns with the Jellyfish Pavilion's theme of "Play," creating an opportunity to convey the appeal of noh — once described as "the play of warriors" — to audiences around the world. Further performances in various cities across Italy are also planned for later in the year.

Scheduled Overseas Performances in June 2026