Sony and Nissan have become household names, and Japanese animated cartoons have packs of British fans, but there are many other aspects to Japan's vigorous pop culture. In 70 informative entries, the author covers the years from 1945 to the present, pulling together film, cartoons, every genre of pop music, comedians, matinee idols, sumo wrestlers, gourmet fads, best sellers, baseball stars, quiz shows, discos, song contests and more. The interconnections between phenomena are traced - singers who become actresses who marry writers who become game-show hosts who become journalists covering politicians who were once stand-up comics - along with the complicated genealogies of pop-music dynasties. This illustrated text is an introduction to contemporary Japan which aims to show that it is something other than the land of Genji, cherry blossoms and samurai.