is a

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese 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 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 r� ...

. The revival of ''enka'' in its modern form is said to date from 1969, when

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 ...

made her debut. The most famous male ''enka'' singers are

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 twi ...

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 The (abbreviated as ) or Popular Rights Movement was a Japanese political and social movement for democracy in the 1880s. It pursued the formation of an elected legislature, revision of the Unequal Treaties with the United States and Europea ...

during the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

(1868–1912) as a means of bypassing government curbs on speeches of political dissent – and in this sense the word is derived from , meaning "speech song." Another theory holds that modern ''enka'' means , meaning "performance song." The genre called ''enka'' is also said to be an expedient classification for record labels as well as

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 ...

. For example, Harumi Miyako, who has been usually considered as an ''enka'' singer, said "I don't think that I sing 'enka'" and "In fact, there was no such term as 'enka' when I debuted."Original text: "わたし、自分が演歌をうたってるとは思ってませんから。"
"じっさい、あたしがデビューしたころは、特に演歌なんて言い方はしなかったですよ。"

Musical style

Modern ''enkas mainstream scale is called or "Minor Scale without Four and Seven (''fa'' and ''te'')," and is a modified version of or "Major Scale without Four and Seven (''Fa'' and ''Si'')," which came from an older Japanese scale, the . One of the earliest Japanese songs that was said to have partly used it is

Rentarō Taki was a Japanese pianist and composer of the Meiji era. Taki was born in Tokyo, but moved to many places during his childhood owing to his father's job. He graduated from the Tokyo Music School in 1901. One of his famous pieces is " Kōjō no Tsu ...

's " Kōjō no Tsuki," which was called in the

. The seventh-

scale degree In music theory, the scale degree is the position of a particular note on a scale relative to the tonic, the first and main note of the scale from which each octave is assumed to begin. Degrees are useful for indicating the size of intervals a ...

is not used in "Kōjō no Tsuki", a song of

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes n ...

. The music, based on the pentatonic scale, has some resemblance to

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

. Enka lyrics are usually written similarly around the themes of love and loss, loneliness, enduring hardships, and persevering in the face of difficulties, even suicide or death. Although enka is a genre of '' kayōkyoku'', it is considered to be more expressive and emotional, though there is no clear consensus on the matter. Archetypal enka singers employ a style of

melisma Melisma ( grc-gre, μέλισμα, , ; from grc, , melos, song, melody, label=none, plural: ''melismata'') is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is refer ...

—where a single syllable of text is sung while moving between several different notes in succession—known as ''kobushi''. ''Kobushi'' occurs when the pitch of the singer's voice fluctuates irregularly within one

: This compares with

vibrato Vibrato ( Italian, from past participle of " vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms ...

, which vibrates in a regular cycle. The ''kobushi'' technique is not limited to enka, as can be heard in the Italian song " Santa Lucia." In the late 1930s and early '40s, the music of composer

Masao Koga was a Japanese composer, mandolinist, and guitarist of the Shōwa era who was dubbed "Japan's Irving Berlin" by Universal Press Syndicate. His melancholy style, based upon Nakayama Shimpei's '' yonanuki'' scale, was popularly known in Japan as ...

began to resemble Buddhist '' shomyo''-chanting possibly because his

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

asked him to produce music. Although Koga became a composer whose work is considered seminal to the creation of the genre, present-day enka is different from Koga's primary music because the singing styles of many postwar singers were different from the ''kobushi'' of Koga's musical note. Modern enka singer Takeshi Kitayama himself admitted in 2006, "I was even confused because oga'smusical note was different from that of an old singer."Original text: "昔の人が歌った音資料と楽譜が違って戸惑いもしました" Enka suggests a traditional, idealized, or romanticized aspect of Japanese culture and attitudes. Enka singers, predominantly women, usually perform in a

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

or in evening dress. Male enka performers tend to wear formal dress, or in some performances, traditional Japanese attire. Nods to traditional Japanese music are common in enka. The melodies of enka are fundamentally Western harmonies, and electronic instruments are used, such as synthesizers and electric lead guitar with plenty of distortion, but its musical instruments also include traditional Japanese instruments such as the ''

shakuhachi A is a Japanese and ancient Chinese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the .

'' and the ''

shamisen The , also known as the or (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument . It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usua ...

.''

History

19th century–1920s: ''Sōshi'' enka and violin enka

The political songs called ''enka'' in the Meiji period (1868–1912) are also called to distinguish it from modern enka. Street singers were called . The first enka song is said to be . The songs during this time include Otojiro Kawakami's "Oppekepe". In the Taishō period (1912–26), enka-shi began to incorporate the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

, thus their songs were called ''violin enka.'' An enka-shi of the period was , who in turn taught

Haruo Oka , real name , was a Japanese ''ryūkōka'' singer. He studied music as an enka-shi or a street musician. At that time, he was encouraged by Taro Shoji in Ginza. He signed with King Records in 1938. He debuted with song "Kokkyō no Haru" (国� ...

. In present-day Japan, Road Traffic Law regulates the appearance of street performers. However, Japanese performers such as have still sung enka from the Taishō period. When the

1995 earthquake File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

struck, Soul Flower Mononoke Summit, a musical project of the rock band Soul Flower Union, played ''sōshi enka'' to help buoy the spirits of disaster victims.

1920s–1940s: Era of ''ryūkōka''

In the early

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

in the late 1920s, record companies produced '' ryūkōka'' in place of enka-shi. Enka-shi began to use

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

and were dubbed .

debuted with the 1939 song on the Japanese record label King Records. However, the term ''enka'' became uncommon in the postwar years.

Late 1940s–1954: The arrival of new singers

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

became popular in early postwar Japan, Japanese singer

Hibari Misora was a Japanese singer, actress and cultural icon. She received a Medal of Honor for her contributions to music and for improving the welfare of the public, and was the first woman to receive the People's Honour Award, which was conferred posthu ...

released her debut song "Kappa

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pi ...

" on

Nippon Columbia , often pronounced ''Korombia'', operating internationally as , is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK ...

in 1949 at the age of only 12. She went on to sing jazz songs throughout the 1950s and 1960s. She later did many enka songs in the 60s and 70s. In 1948, Hachiro Kasuga won King Records' first talent contest. He joined the record label the next year where

was his senior. His debut single was released in 1952. The

Kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought ...

-style song was originally made for Oka, but was sung by Kasuga, and in 1954, "Otomi-san" became a very popular hit in Japan. Kasuga took part in the NHK ''

Kōhaku Uta Gassen , more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK net ...

'' for the first time with "Otomi-san" that year. The song's composer, Masanobu Tokuchi, was born on

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has an ...

and grew up in

Amami The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest o ...

and became an important figure for introducing the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yon ...

' music into the Japanese mainstream.

1955–1959: Early history of modern enka

Although "Otomi-san" was popular, Kasuga himself was not completely satisfied with it and recorded the song by

Toru Funamura TORU or Toru may refer to: *TORU, spacecraft system *Toru (given name), Japanese male given name *Toru, Pakistan Toru Mardan Toru is a village and union council in Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It has an altitude of 291 m (958 f ...

. The song was released in 1955 and was later regarded as a true enka song. The song, ironically, was also influenced by

tango music Tango is a style of music in or time that originated among European and African immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay (collectively, the " Rioplatenses"). It is traditionally played on a solo guitar, guitar duo, or an ensemble, k ...

's rhythm because Funamura felt that tango seemed similar to enka in its local color. "Wakare no Ippon-sugi" was later covered by singers as diverse as Michiya Mihashi,

Saburō Kitajima is a Japanese enka singer, lyricist, actor and composer. Background He was born Minoru Ōno (大野穣), in Shiriuchi, Hokkaidō, to a fisherman. He was very poor due to the effects of World War II, and was forced to work while he studied. ...

Takashi Hosokawa , born 細川貴志 (Hosokawa Takashi) on 15 June 1950, Makkari, Abuta District, Hokkaidō, Japan) is a Japanese '' enka'' singer. In 1975, he debuted with the song "Kokoro Nokori". Hosokawa immediately became one of the most popular ''enka' ...

, and Hiroshi Itsuki. Kasuga was later called the first enka singer. Michiya Mihashi, who originally sang Japanese folk music (''

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 ...

'') and learned '' tsugaru-jamisen'', released his debut single "Sake no Nigasa yo" as a recording singer in 1954. Mihashi's "Onna Sendō Uta" was a hit in 1955. Funamura's friend Kimio Takano, the lyricist of "Wakare no Ippon-sugi", died in 1956 at the age of 26. Hibari Misora's music turned to enka when she was no longer regarded as a teen idol. Around the postwar period, ''

rōkyoku ''Rōkyoku'' (; also called ''naniwa-bushi'', ) is a genre of traditional Japanese narrative singing. Generally accompanied by a ''shamisen'', ''rōkyoku'' became very popular in Japan during the first half of the 20th century. In modern Japanes ...

'' (or ''naniwa-bushi''), famous during the war, declined in popularity mainly because their speaking lengths were considered too long. Enka, on the other hand, which became popular around that time, was said to be a shortened version of ''rōkyoku'' because several enka singers such as Hideo Murata 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 ...

were originally ''rōkyoku'' singers and enka has many themes in common with the genre. One notable ''rōkyoku'' singer who had an influence on enka was Kumoemon Tochuken, whose student's pupil was Murata. Minami debuted on Teichiku Records in 1957 and Murata on Nippon Columbia in 1958. Murata covered the song , composed by

. Haruo Minami was known for wearing a

, which was at the time considered an unusual style for a male singer.

1960s–1970s: Commercial success

In the early 1960s,

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and b ...

influenced by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

began to gain popularity.

Kyu Sakamoto was a Japanese singer and actor. He was best known outside Japan for his international hit song "Ue o Muite Arukō" (known as " Sukiyaki" in English-speaking markets), which was sung in Japanese and sold over 13 million copies. It reached numbe ...

, who came from Japanese rockabilly, joined Japanese popular music. However, many Japanese music critics complained about rockabilly, and

's 1961 "pure Japanese style"-like song "Ōsho," composed by Toru Funamura, became a million-selling single in Japan. When Kyu Sakamoto took part in the

for the first time with the song "Ue o Muite Arukō" (aka " Sukiyaki") in 1961, Hideo Murata also made his debut with the song "Ōsho" at the same show. Young enka singer

Yukio Hashi is a Japanese enka singer and an actor. His real name is , using a different kanji. Discography * : Co-starring with Sayuri Yoshinaga (1962) * * Itako Gasa Filmography Film His filmography includes 36 films: http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/person/p00848 ...

appeared in 1960,

in 1962 and Harumi Miyako in 1964. Sachiko Kobayashi debuted with the 1964 single at the age of only 10. The most well-known and beloved performer of enka is

(1937–1989), known as the "Queen of Enka" and "Queen of Shōwa" for the period in which she lived and was celebrated. Misora's song "Yawara," composed by Masao Koga, won the grand prix award at the 1965 Japan Record Award. Masaru Matsuyama also made his debut in 1965, but was not able to achieve commercial success and changed his stage name to Hiroshi Itsuki in 1971.

Mina Aoe , professionally known as , was a Japanese female ''enka'' singer who had a series of popular hits in the late 1960s and continued charting late into her career. With her distinctive husky voice, she acquired the nickname "Queen of the Blues" ...

appeared with the single in 1966, pioneering the "enka-

" genre.

debuted with the 1966 single . His 1969 song topped the Japanese

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike i ...

single charts for five weeks and sold over one million copies.

came out with the 1969 single at the age of 18. The term ''enka'' which had not been used in the postwar era, was revived by her performance.

's 1970 song " Keiko no Yume wa Yoru Hiraku" won the mass popularity award of the

12th Japan Record Awards The 12th Japan Record Awards took place at the Imperial Garden Theater in Chiyoda, Tokyo, on December 31, 1970, starting at 7:00PM JST. The primary ceremonies were televised in Japan on TBS. Award winners Japan Record Award *Yoichi Sugawara for ...

and the grand prix award of the first Japan Music Awards. That year, she also took part in the 21st

with the song. Her 1970 album established a record-breaking consecutive number-one record to top the

charts for 20 "consecutive" weeks. It is a record that still stands. The best-selling enka after the Oricon charts began in 1968 is Shiro Miya and Pinkara Trio's 1972 " Onna no Michi." The song topped the Japanese Oricon single charts for 16 consecutive weeks and sold over 3.25 million copies, to become the second best-selling single in Japan behind " Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun." Hiroshi Itsuki's song "Yozora" won the grand prix award at the

15th Japan Record Awards The 15th Annual Japan Record Awards took place at the Imperial Garden Theater in Chiyoda, Tokyo, on December 31, 1973, starting at 7:00PM JST. The primary ceremonies were televised in Japan on TBS. Award winners Japan Record Award *Hiroshi Itsuk ...

in 1973.

released the single "Erimo Misaki" in 1974. Although the song was composed by non-enka musician

Takuro Yoshida is a Japanese male singer-songwriter. He was born on April 5, 1946 in Okuchi, Kagoshima and raised in Hiroshima. He made his debut with the single "Imeji no Uta / Mark II" on June 1, 1970. His 1972 recording of "Tabi no Yado" sold over one m ...

, "Erimo Misaki" won the grand prix at the 16th Japan Record Awards that year. Harumi Miyako's song " Kita no Yado kara" also won the grand prix at the 18th Japan Record Awards in 1976. New enka singers, who debuted in the '70s, include

Sayuri Ishikawa is a Japanese enka singer who made her professional debut in 1973. With a career nearing five decades, she is one of the most-recognized and successful enka singers in history. Ishikawa is a popular contestant on the annual NHK ''Kōhaku Uta Gas ...

and

who were both Michiya Mihashi's pupils. Masao Koga died in 1978, after a career of composing about 5,000 songs. Toru Funamura became self-employed in 1978, beginning live performances and returning to the original position for his old friend Kimio Takano. Keiko Fuji announced her retirement in 1979 and went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, where bizarrely enough, in 2006, the $400,000 she was carrying in cash was confiscated by the DEA. She denied any wrongdoing and in 2008 was cleared of all charges and the money returned to her.

1980s–1990s: Losing definition and decline

's song "Kita Sakaba" won the grand prix at the

24th Japan Record Awards The 24th Japan Record Awards were held December 31, 1982. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from this year. Award winners *Japan Record Award: **Takashi Hosokawa for "Kita Sakaba" *Best Vocalist: **Junko Ohashi *Best New Artist: **Sh ...

in 1982. He covered Naomi Chiaki's originally song "Yagiri no Watashi" next year. It was also won the grand prix at the following Japan Record Awards. The total sales of Michiya Mihashi's work surpassed 100 million records in 1983, making him the first artist to achieve that in Japan. On June 11, 1986, Sanae Jōnouchi, a member of idol group Onyanko Club, released the enka single "Ajisai Bashi," written by

Yasushi Akimoto is a Japanese record producer, lyricist, and television writer, best known for creating and producing some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise. Total sales of the singles he has written exceed 100 million copies, m ...

. The single debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon weekly single charts. Ikuzo Yoshi's 1986 single "Yukiguni" became the Oricon's 300th number-one single in 1987. Other new enka singers around that time included Fuyumi Sakamoto and Ayako Fuji.

, at the age of 50, released the single "Midaregami" on December 10, 1987. "Midaregami" reached the No. 9 position on the Oricon weekly charts. Yasushi Akimoto wrote the lyrics of her 1989 single "

Kawa no Nagare no Yō ni is the last single recorded by Japanese enka singer Hibari Misora, as she died soon after its release in 1989. It was composed by Akira Mitake, with lyrics by Yasushi Akimoto. It was voted the greatest Japanese song of all time during a national p ...

". However, she died in 1989 and the enka range expanded into the genre '' kayōkyoku'' while the genre ''kayōkyoku'' was vanishing. Hachiro Kasuga died in 1991. As enka's traditional themes were no longer appreciated among younger Japanese and Western-style

music became more popular, enka sales declined. However, the genre still had many adherents. Besides TV programs, enka could be heard in many restaurants, drinking establishments,

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

bars and cafes. On the other hand, "bright" enka singer Yoshimi Tendo, who was ignored when the "dark" enka songs like Keiko Fuji's song "Keiko no Yume wa Yoru Hiraku" were popular, took part in the

for the first time in 1993. Other new enka singers such as Toshimi Tagawa and Fuyumi Sakamoto were also appearing on TV enka programs which kept enka alive. Taiwanese diva Teresa Teng was also singing in Japanese and covering enka songs from the 70s until she died in 1995 at the age of 42.

2000s: Musical hybridity

Enka's popularity among younger Japanese, however, increased in the first decade of the 21st century. Kiyoshi Hikawa debuted on

in 2000 with the single "Hakone Hachiri no Hanjirō," which became a smash hit. The early solo releases of then-

Morning Musume , formerly simply and colloquially referred to as , are a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon, Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most top ten singles ...

member Yuko Nakazawa were also enka. In contrast,

Nana Mizuki is a Japanese voice actress, singer and narrator from Niihama, Ehime. She is represented by the agency StarCrew. Mizuki was trained as an enka singer, releasing one single under her birth name, Nana Kondō, in 1993 and made her debut as a voi ...

, who learned enka as a child, became a voice actress and also appeared as a singer on King Records in 2000. On August 25, 2004, Johnny & Associates' group Kanjani Eight debuted with the Kansai-limited release of "Naniwa Iroha Bushi" under the Teichiku Records. The song was based on "

Kawachi ondo ''Kawachi Ondo'' (河内音頭) is a kind of Japanese folk song that originates from Yao City in the old Kawachi region of Japan, now part of modern-day Osaka Prefecture. This song's style and melody are said to have evolved from another folk so ...

" and featured rap. The song was a hit and reached No. 8 on the Oricon weekly singles chart on the strength of Kansai sales alone. Then, on September 22, 2004, "Naniwa Iroha Bushi" was released nationwide and re-debuted on the Oricon weekly singles charts at the No. 1 spot, becoming the first enka single to reach the No. 1 in seventeen years since Yujiro Ishihara's 1987 single "Kita no Tabibito" according to Oricon. Hikawa also released the single "Hatsukoi Ressha" on February 9, 2005, which debuted at the No. 1 position on the Oricon charts, Hikawa's first number-one single on the Oricon weekly charts. Older female singer Junko Akimoto also debuted on King Records, releasing her first single "Madison-gun no Koi" on July 21, 2005. However, her musical style was '70s ''kayōkyoku'' style. Veteran enka singer Hiroshi Itsuki, at 58, released the single "Takasebune" on April 19, 2006 becoming his first Top 10 single in 22 years since 1984's "Nagaragawa Enka." It debuted at the number-nine position on the Oricon charts. Hikawa's song "Ikken" won the grand prix at the

48th Japan Record Awards The 48th Annual Japan Record Awards took place at the New National Theatre in Shibuya, Tokyo, on December 30, 2006, starting at 6:30PM JST. The primary ceremonies were televised in Japan on TBS. Awards and nominations Japan Record Award * "I ...

on December 30, 2006. Kanjani Eight was transferred to the pop/rock record label Imperial Records, the sub-label of Teichiku Records in 2007. In the same year, 80s superstar

Akina Nakamori is a Japanese singer and actress. She is one of the most popular and best-selling artists in Japan. Akina achieved national recognition after winning the 1981 season of the talent show ''Star Tanjō!''. Her debut single "Slow Motion" was relea ...

paid her respect to enka music by releasing an album—full of light enka songs. Junko Akimoto released the single "Ai no Mama de…" on January 23, 2008, reaching the top of the Oricon weekly single charts in January 2009, making her, at the age of 61, the oldest solo singer to top the charts. That same year, Hikawa released two consecutive number-one singles — "Ryōkyoku Ichidai" and "Tokimeki no Rumba" — on the Oricon weekly charts. Fuyumi Sakamoto's 2009 song "Asia no Kaizoku", composed by

Ayumi Nakamura is a Japanese volleyball player who plays for JT Marvelous. She also plays for the All-Japan women's volleyball team. Nakamura played for the All-Japan team for the first time at the Montreux Volley Masters in May 2013. Clubs * Sawa Junior H ...

, was an enka song featuring

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States a ...

. Sakamoto said, "If Ayumi sings the song, it's a rock song. If I sing the song, however, it's an enka song."Original text: "この曲もあゆみさんが歌ったらロックなのに、私が歌ったら、演歌になる"

2010s

On January 1, 2010, 73-year-old

released the single , emerging at No. 10 on the Oricon weekly charts, making him the first solo artist to reach the Top 10 in his 70s. After Fuyumi Sakamoto appeared on Masahiro Nakai's TV program ''Nakai Masahiro no Kinyōbi no Sumatachi e'' on March 19, 2010, her double A-side single "Mata Kimi ni Koi Shiteru/Asia no Kaizoku" reached the Top 10 for the first time, ranked at No. 9 on the Oricon charts. The single became her first Top 10 single in 21 years since "Otoko no Jōwa," which had ranked in the Top 10 on the Oricon charts in 1989.

International popularity

Enka has had a strong influence on music in Taiwan, which was once a Japanese colony. The first non-Japanese singer of enka was Sarbjit Singh Chadha from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. His enka album was released in 1975 and became a success in Japan, selling 150,000 copies. He went back to India a few years later, but returned to Japan in 2008. In 2002, Yolanda Tasico became the first Filipino enka singer, going to

with her singles "Shiawase ni Narō," "Nagai Aida," and many others. In the United States, while enka remains popular among a section of the (typically older) Japanese-American population, enka has many fans among non-Japanese. There are some enka orchestras and performers active in the country, such as the San Jose Chidori Band, which occasionally performs at O-Bon festivals in the summer.

Footnotes

References

External links

Barbara's Enka Site
including introductions to artist and album reviews
Enka: Suffering and Nostalgia for an Imagined Past
A nice introduction to enka, which also analyzes its lasting popularity {{Authority control Contemporary music