Enka

For other uses, see Enka (disambiguation).

Enka
Stylistic origins
Cultural origins1950s, Japan

Enka (演歌) is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern enka, however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than ryūkōka music, popular during the prewar years.[1]

Modern enka, as developed in the postwar era, is a form of sentimental ballad music. Some of the first modern enka singers were Hachiro Kasuga, Michiya Mihashi, and Hideo Murata.[2] The revival of enka in its modern form is said to date from 1969, when Keiko Fuji made her debut. The most famous male enka singers are Shinichi Mori and Kiyoshi Hikawa.

  1. ^ Christine Reiko Yano. Tears of Longing: Nostalgia and the Nation in Japanese Popular Song Archived 2020-05-15 at the Wayback Machine. Google Books. via Harvard Univ Asia Center. 2003. 42. ISBN 978-0-674-01276-9
  2. ^ "The day that enka singer Hachiro Kasuga died" (in Japanese). Nippon Television. 2008-10-22. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2009-02-09.