''Rōkyoku'' (; also called ''naniwa-bushi'', ) is a genre of traditional Japanese narrative singing. Generally accompanied by a ''

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 ...

'', ''rōkyoku'' became very popular in Japan during the first half of the 20th century. In modern Japanese slang, "naniwabushi" is sometimes used to mean "a sob story", since the songs were often about sad subjects.

Notable performers

* Takeharu Kunimoto * Kumoemon Tochuken * Yoshida Naramaru *

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 ...

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� ...

* Ichirō Satsuki Storytelling Japanese styles of music Japanese traditional music {{Japan-music-stub