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Enka
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. 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. 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. Etymology 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 ...
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Kiyoshi Hikawa
is a Japanese enka singer who was born on September 6, 1977 in Minami-ku, Fukuoka, Japan.Hikawa Kiyoshi: Profile
Columbia Music Entertainment. Accessed May 6, 2008.
His real name is and he is known as due to his young age and popularity. When he is marketing non-enka music, he goes by the name KIYOSHI, using capitalized letters of the Roman alphabet, instead of ''kanji'' or ''hiragana. His record company is Columbia Music Entertainment, and his agency is Nagara Productions. He was given his stage name by Takeshi Kitano, who initially supported his career. Today, Hikawa makes frequent appearances on , as well as NHK's annual ''Kōhaku Uta Gassen.


History

Hikawa was born on September 6, 1977 in Minami-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. As a high school student, Hikawa was ...
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Keiko Fuji
(5 July 1951 – 22 August 2013), known primarily by the stage name was a Japanese singer and actress. She had success in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s with her ballad-type songs. She was married on-and-off with Utada Teruzane, and was the mother of Japanese pop singer Hikaru Utada. Life and career Fuji (sometimes credited as Keiko Fujita) was born in Iwate Prefecture, where her father was a singer. Her mother was a player . As a child, Fuji sometimes accompanied her parents and sang with them when they were on tour. Her song "Keiko no Yume wa Yoru Hiraku" (Keiko's version of "Yume wa Yoru Hiraku") won the Mass Popularity Award at the Japan Record Awards in 1970. She also performed this song in the 21st ''Kōhaku Uta Gassen'' New Year's Eve TV special. Her debut album, , released 5 March 1970, topped the Oricon album chart for 20 consecutive weeks, and her next album , released 5 July 1970, continued topping that chart for 17 consecutive weeks. She topped the Oricon al ...
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Ryūkōka
is a Japanese music genre, musical genre. The term originally denoted any kind of "popular music" in Japanese, and is the East Asian cultural sphere, sinic reading of ''hayariuta'', used for commercial music of Edo period, Edo Period. Therefore, ''imayō'', which was promoted by Emperor Go-Shirakawa in the Heian period, was a kind of ''ryūkōka''. Today, however, ''ryūkōka'' refers specifically to Japanese popular music from the late 1920s through the early 1960s. Some of the roots of ''ryūkōka'' were developed from Western classical music. ''Ryūkōka'' ultimately split into two genres: ''enka'' and ''poppusu''. Unlike ''enka'', archetypal ''ryūkōka'' songs did not use the ''kobushi'' method of singing. ''Ryūkōka'' used legato. Bin Uehara and Yoshio Tabata are considered to be among the founders of the modern style of ''kobushi'' singing. Many composers and singers of ''ryūkōka'' went on to earn official distinctions; Ichiro Fujiyama and composers Masao Koga and Ryoich ...
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Ryūkōka
is a Japanese music genre, musical genre. The term originally denoted any kind of "popular music" in Japanese, and is the East Asian cultural sphere, sinic reading of ''hayariuta'', used for commercial music of Edo period, Edo Period. Therefore, ''imayō'', which was promoted by Emperor Go-Shirakawa in the Heian period, was a kind of ''ryūkōka''. Today, however, ''ryūkōka'' refers specifically to Japanese popular music from the late 1920s through the early 1960s. Some of the roots of ''ryūkōka'' were developed from Western classical music. ''Ryūkōka'' ultimately split into two genres: ''enka'' and ''poppusu''. Unlike ''enka'', archetypal ''ryūkōka'' songs did not use the ''kobushi'' method of singing. ''Ryūkōka'' used legato. Bin Uehara and Yoshio Tabata are considered to be among the founders of the modern style of ''kobushi'' singing. Many composers and singers of ''ryūkōka'' went on to earn official distinctions; Ichiro Fujiyama and composers Masao Koga and Ryoich ...
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Michiya Mihashi
Michiya Mihashi (三橋美智也 ''Mihashi Michiya'', November 10, 1930 – January 8, 1996), born Michiya Kitazawa (北沢 美智也 ''Kitazawa Michiya'') in Kamiiso, Hokkaidō, was an enka singer in postwar Japan. Along with Hachiro Kasuga and Hideo Murata, he was regarded as one of the most notable singers to have established the genre ''enka''. Mihashi was among the leading Enka singers in his time and was known for his high-pitched and elastic singing voice. He recorded around 2,500 songs. By 1983, he sold more than 100 million records. Takashi Hosokawa was his pupil. Biography Mihasa began his career as a singer of Japanese folk music or min'yō, winning a min'yō competition in his native Hokkaidō at age 11. In 1954, he made his record debut with the song "Sake no Nigasayo" (酒の苦さよ). His 1955 song "Onna Sendō Uta" (おんな船頭唄) became a hit song. In 1960, he sang the theme song for the tokusatsu series '' Kaiketsu Harimao'', which was created by Shota ...
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J-pop
J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in traditional music of Japan, and significantly in 1960s pop and rock music. J-pop replaced ''kayōkyoku'' ("Lyric Singing Music", a term for Japanese popular music from the 1920s to the 1980s) in the Japanese music scene. J-rock bands such as Happy End fused the Beatles and Beach Boys-style rock with Japanese music in the 1960s1970s. J-country had popularity during the international popularity of Westerns in the 1960s1970s as well, and it still has appeal due to the work of musicians like Charlie Nagatani and venues including Little Texas, Tokyo. J-rap became mainstream with producer Nujabes and his work on ''Samurai Champloo'', Japanese pop culture is often seen with anime in hip hop. Other trends ...
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Hideo Murata
was a Japanese rōkyoku and enka singer. He took part in the Kōhaku Uta Gassen 27 times. Murata was born as a son of rōkyoku singer and . However, he was immediately adopted by and became his stepfather. His real name was . He studied rōkyoku under one of Kumoemon Tochuken's disciples, Kumo Sakai. Murata was scouted by Masao Koga, debuting with in 1958. His 1961 single "Ōshō" sold over one million copies. Along with Hachiro Kasuga and Michiya Mihashi, he became a famous enka singer and Haruo Minami , (born ; July 19, 1923 – April 14, 2001) was an enka singer in postwar Japan. Early life He was born Bunji Kitazume (北詰文司 ''Kitazume Bunji'') in Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan. Career In 1939, at the age of 16, Bunji debuted as a performer ... was regarded as his rival. He died on June 13, 2002. References External links * Memorial Hall of Hideo Murata 1929 births 2002 deaths Enka singers Nippon Columbia artists Japanese racehorse owners and bree ...
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Shinichi Mori
known professionally as is a Japanese male enka singer and composer, who also sings folk and pop music. He has sold more than 90 million records, making him one of the best selling Japanese musicians. Mori has been married and divorced twice, first to Reiko Ohara and then to Masako Mori. His sons, Takahiro Moriuchi and Hiroki Moriuchi are vocalist of the rock bands One Ok Rock and My First Story, respectively. Career In the beginning, Mori won a competition at Fuji Television Network in 1965. He debuted with the successful song "Onna no Tameiki" of the famous composer Inomata Kōshō in 1966. His debut at ''Kōhaku Uta Gassen'' was in 1968, singing "Hana To Chō". His 1974 Japan Record Award-winning song "Erimo Misaki" was composed by Takuro Yoshida. His 1982 song "Fuyu no Riviera" was composed by Eiichi Ohtaki, former member of Happy End. His song "Ofukuro san" was covered by Sharam Q in their 1997 album ''Sharam Q no Enka no Hanamichi''. His 2003 song "Ōkami Tachi no T ...
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Hachiro Kasuga
, born Minoru Watabe, was a Japanese enka singer. He has been dubbed "the first enka singer". Having seen Ichiro Fujiyama on stage, he attempted to become a popular singer. After he graduated from the Toyo Music School, he joined the Imperial Japanese Army in 1944, and returned from Taiwan in 1945. He joined Shinjuku Moulin Rouge in 1947 and then King Records in 1949. In 1952, Kasuga made his debut with the song , which at first got into the news in Nagoya. His popularity soon became widespread. His 1954 song became more successful throughout Japan. This single sold 500,000 copies in a half year, and eventually sold more than one million copies. In 1955, he also released the single which he musically sought. The song was composed by Toru Funamura. His music, which was later called ''enka 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 tradition ...
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Nippon Television
JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed subsidiary of The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, Japan's largest media conglomerate by revenue and the second largest behind Sony. Nippon Television Holdings forms part of Yomiuri's main television broadcasting arm alongside Kansai region flagship Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation, which owns a 6.4% share in the company. Nippon TV's studios are located in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and its transmitters are located in the Tokyo Skytree. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is sometimes contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX". It is also the first commercial TV station in Japan, and it has been broadcasting on Channel 4 since its inception. Nippon Television is the home of the syndication networks NNN (for ...
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Min'yō
, ''Nihon min'yō'', Japanese ''min'yō'' or Japanese folk music is a genre of traditional Japanese music. Characteristics Styles Many ''min'yō'' are connected to forms of work or to specific trades and were originally sung between work or for specific jobs. Other ''min'yō'' function simply as entertainment, as dance accompaniment, or as a components of religious rituals. ''Min'yō'' are also distinct depending on the area of Japan, with each area boasting its own favorite songs and styles. The songs found in the far northern island of Hokkaidō and sung by the Ainu people are usually excluded from the category of min'yō. In the far south, (especially Okinawa) distinct genres of min'yō, differing in scale structure, language and textual forms, have developed as well. Instruments Most Japanese folk songs related to work were originally sung unaccompanied, either solo, or by groups (heterophonically). Some songs exhibit the same sort of "call and response" chant often ...
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Kyushu Railway Company
The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait between Fukuoka and Busan, South Korea. It also operates hotels, restaurants, and drugstores across its service region. JR Kyushu's headquarters are in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka.Corporate Summary
." Kyushu Railway Company. Retrieved on March 27, 2010.


History

When was divided in 1987, Kyushu Railway Company inherited its assets and operations on the island of