ABSTRACT
In this chapter1 I examine how the performance of women pro wrestlers transforms Japan’s gender norms. In Japan, promoters have staged women-only pro wrestling matches separate from men’s pro wrestling organizations. All-Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling Corporation (Zenjo [All Women], for short), established in 1968 was the main promoter of these matches.2 Three times between the 1970s and the early 1990s, Zenjo succeeded in promoting the women pro wrestlers as popular pop icons. As women wrestlers came into the spotlight, women’s pro wrestling changed its image from an erotic sideshow to a sport entertainment with healthy glamour.3
