List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Preface: Transnational and Time-Travelling Divas xi
Laura Hein
Diva Seductions: An Introduction to Diva Nation 1
Laura Miller and Rebecca Copeland
1. Kirino Natsuo Meets Izanami: Angry Divas Talking Back 13
Rebecca Copeland
2. Ame no Uzume Crosses Boundaries 34
Tomoko Aoyama
3. Searching for Charisma Queen Himiko 51
Laura Miller
4. Izumo no Okuni Queers the Stage 77
Barbara Hartley
5. From Child Star to Diva: Misora Hibari as Postwar Japan 95
Christine R. Yano
6. Yoko Ono: A Transgressive Diva 115
Carolyn S. Stevens
7. Transbeauty IKKO: A Diva's Guide to Glamour, Virtue, and Healing 133
Jan Bardsley
8. Seizing the Spotlight, Staging the Self: Uchida Shungiku 151
Amanda C. Seaman
9. The Unmaking of a Diva: Kanehara Hitomi's Comfortable Anonymity 168
David Holloway
10. Ice Princess: Asada Mao the Demure Diva 185
Masafumi Monden
Afterword: Diva tte nan desu ka? (What Is a Diva?) 203
Rokudenashiko (Translated by Kazue Harada)
Bibliography 207
Contributors 229
Index 233

Diva Nation explores the constructed nature of female iconicity in Japan. From ancient goddesses and queens to modern singers and writers, this edited volume critically reconsiders the female icon, tracing how she has been offered up for emulation, debate or censure. The research in this book culminates from curiosity over the insistent presence of Japanese female figures who have refused to sit quietly on the sidelines of history. The contributors move beyond archival portraits to consider historically and culturally informed diva imagery and diva lore. The diva is ripe for expansion, fantasy, eroticization, and playful reinvention, while simultaneously presenting a challenge to patriarchal culture. Diva Nation asks how the diva disrupts or bolsters ideas about nationhood, morality, and aesthetics.