[1] Gekidan Mingei, meaning "The People's Art Theatre Company,"[1] was founded in 1950 by Jūkichi Uno,[2] Osamu Takizawa,[2] Tanie Kitabayashi, Hideji Ōtaki, and others.
[1] However, it met with success, and by 1960, it had grown to comprise 119 members, including 52 actors, 13 directors, 16 administrative staff, and 39 apprentices.
[1] In the 1950s, Gekidan Mingei was viewed as strongly left-wing, with many of its members boasting affiliations with the Japan Communist Party (JCP).
[3] In 1960, the members of Gekidan Mingei participated in the Anpo protests against revision of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty.
[4] However, many younger members of the troupe wanted to protest more vigorously, like the radical student activists in the Zengakuren student federation, and resented that the senior members of the troupe forced them to adhere to the JCP's policy of "passive dispersal.