Celebrity Gods explores the interaction of new religions and the media in postwar Japan. It focuses on the leaders and founders (kyoso) of Jiu and Tensho Kotai Jingu Kyo, two new religions of Japan's immediate postwar period that received substantial press attention. Jiu was linked to the popular prewar group Omotokyo, and its activities were based on the millennial visions of its leader, a woman called Jikoson. When Jiu attracted the legendary sumo champion Futabayama to its cause, Jikoson and her activities became a widely-covered cause celebre in the press. Tensho Kotai Jingu Kyo...