Enka (演歌) is a Japanese popular music genre. Although considered to resemble traditional music stylistically, modern enka is a relatively recent musical form which arose in the context of such postwar expressions of modern Japanese nonmaterial nationalism as Nihonjinron, while adopting a more traditional musical style than Japanese prewar popular ryūkōka music.
The term "enka" was first used to refer to political texts set to music which were sun...
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Enka (演歌) is a Japanese popular music genre. Although considered to resemble traditional music stylistically, modern enka is a relatively recent musical form which arose in the context of such postwar expressions of modern Japanese nonmaterial nationalism as Nihonjinron, while adopting a more traditional musical style than Japanese prewar popular ryūkōka music.
The term "enka" was first used to refer to political texts set to music which were sung and distributed by opposition activists belonging to the Freedom and People's Rights Movement during the Meiji period (1868–1912) as a means of bypassing government curbs on speeches of political dissent – and in this sense the word is derived from "enzetsu no uta" (演説の歌), meaning "speech song".
Modern enka, as developed in the postwar era, is a form of popular ballad music. Some of the first modern enka singers were Hachiro Kasuga, Michiya Mihashi and Hideo Murata. One theory holds that modern enka means "enjiru uta" (演じる歌), meaning ...
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