This book traces the history of 'girls' aesthetics,' where adult Japanese women create art works about 'girls' that resist motherhood, from the modern to the contemporary period and their manifestation in Japanese women's theatrical and dance performance and visual arts including manga, film, and installation arts.

Nobuko Anan is Lecturer in Film, Media and Cultural Studies at Birkbeck College, University of London, UK. She has published articles on Japanese women's performance and visual arts in anthologies and journals such as TDR and Theatre Research International. She received her PhD from Theatre and Performance at University of California Los Angeles, USA.