Something I’ve wanted to write about for a while is the famous kind of music called enka music (演歌). Which is a kind of older-generation rock music, with a distinctly “asian” sound. A good example of Enka music can be seen here:
Even if the music isn’t for you, you have to admit this lady has a great voice.2 This is a very typical “Enka” sound, and it’s definitely popular with the older generation, not my wife’s generation. My wife definitely doesn’t like it. 
The reason why I wanted to write about this was from a memory I had on Japanese New Year’s eve this last year. On that day, my father-in-law had planned to go visit a Buddhist temple that evening for the ringing of the bell, but earlier in the evening the whole family went shopping nearby.1 On the way back from shopping, Baby fell asleep in her little car seat, so we let her sleep in the car while my father-in-law and I sat and watched her. Wife and mother-in-law went inside to warm up. My wife’s family has a small GPS/TV built into the car, so my father-in-law flipped through channels to see what was on.
As it is New Year’s the only shows you can find in Japan are either:
- “Best of” shows, just like in the US, involving lots of clips, and/or eating food.
- The famous 紅白 (こうはく, Red vs. White) sing-off between two teams of female and male celebrity entertainers, mostly for the younger generation.
- Enka sing-offs for the older generation.
Sure enough, my father-in-law picked #3. I knew from my wife he liked Enka music, as did my mother-in-law, but I didn’t know how interested he was. He explained to me in Japanese various famous singers, and such. I was not eager to watch Enka music for the next hour, but I decided it was a good cultural experience, so I sat back and got into the mood, and once you get used to it, it’s kind of addicting. My father-in-law and I had a great time, and he talked about why he liked America so much, and I tried to explain in my poor Japanese why I liked Japan so much, and it was just good fun all round. It was a good night.3
Anyways, nowadays you see some unexpected people in the field of Enka music. One young fellow from the US named ジェロ (Jero, maybe short for “Jerome”?) has surprised a lot of people:
This was late last year, shortly before we visited Japan. He was quite a celebrity on TV at the time, and with good reason. It’s not enough that he’s a foreigner who can sing Enka and speak Japanese, but he’s quite talented. He explains to the cast of the show that his grandmother was Japanese and that she taught him the language, and that they would sing Enka together as a young boy. Jero has a naturally good voice it seems, so that with some background in Japanese Enka makes him quite a hit. Good for him, I say.
Anyways, Enka music is kind of old-school, but I suspect it will be around for a while, so if you’re in Japan, you might as well get to know it. Who knows, you might find yourself getting into it too. 
1 One thing I love about Japan is the fact that even on major holidays stores are still open. Makes life a lot more convenient I think, unless you’re the poor fellow who has to work that day.
2 This lady by the way is Shimazu Aya (島津亜矢), whose pretty famous and you can see why.
3 One of the recent yojijukugo I learned recently from JapanesePod101.com was 意気投合 (いきとうごう), which means to “hit it off well”. That describes things well to me that night.
Hello, this blog is about my life as a father, Buddhist and Japanophile / Koreaphile. Any useful information I can pass along will hopefully make the 
Enka seems to be fairly new, maybe less than a century. It may have been influenced by some kind of Korean music.
To me, it seems like the equivalent of (US) ‘country’ music–a lot of the songs are about great suffering and sadness.
I was once invited to participate in a ‘karaoke kyoshitsu’ with the famous Yashiro Aki. I didn’t know any karaoke songs, so somebody in my company taught me ‘Kage wo shitaite’ which is one of the earliest enkas. That was 25 years ago, and that is still just about the only Japanese karaoke song I can do (1). Everyone is amazed that I know it, because it is so old.
(1) but give me a shamisen and I can set the place on fire!
Regards,
JL (haven’t figured out how to do superscripts yet!)
I must confess to a fondness for Hikawa Kiyoshi.
While I was studying Japanese last summer, the media cafe I would have lunch in would somehow always be tuned to a performance of his on Japanese TV. My friends and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out just what the heck a “zundoko” is…
Thanks for spreading the word about enka. I’ve been singing it and enjoying it for years. Some Japanese seem almost programmed to say they don’t like it, but I think more enjoy it than will admit. And Jero is certainly helping to popularize it with a new audience. And, yes, most enka singers have stellar voices such as Hikawa Kiyoshi and Ishikawa Sayuri. Even though I also love J-pop, sometimes being kawaii is more important than having a good voice.
Johnl Yeah, I think Wikipedia said it’s within the last century, and you’re right, it does sound like “Asian” country music. I have to admit I like classic country music that my grandpa, a country man from South Dakota, would listen to, so maybe I am biased.
Speaking of shamisen, I have a post on that coming up.
Wamae Great clip! Yeah, I see why you like Hikawa Kiyoshi. For some reason, Tom Jones comes to mind, but I mean that in a good way.
Wendy Welcome to the JLR! Yeah, I kinda noticed that J-pop gets by with image a lot over talent. Then again, there’s some J-pop I like too, mostly from my wife’s influence.
I don’t know if I’d ever buy an Enka album, but I would enjoy one if I had it. Good, move your beat, music.
Not sure why, but the music (1st clip) makes me think of some of the James Bond movie intros. It’s something in the rhythm I think. I doubt the message/story in the music is the same though, but I could be wrong.
Sheryl Crow did intro for Tomorrow Never Dies. Anyone else hear the similarity? If not, it’s fine, I may be nuts.
Side note Doug, I left a message back a this posting requesting removing of a link I provided. Thanks.
Hi Kendall,
Thanks for the comment. I removed the other one, like you requested. Sorry for not doing that sooner. :-/
Hey Doug,
Enka music is phenomenal. It maybe mainstream there as country is here, however, it reminds me more of jazz. Why? Because you have to have a stellar voice to pull either off successfully. Country singers are great but old school jazz requires so much technique and ability. This is what Enka reminds me of. Jazz is my favorite because of the level of difficulty and grew up singing to Ella Fitzgerald and Doris Day, etc. Now Enka is definitely behind it. The singers are so versatile and are able to do acrobatic vocal stunts. I love it!
Yeah, I guess I never considered the vocal range, since I don’t listen to enough Enka music, but it’s good to see people doing “stunts” and other things to keep it interesting. Maybe Enka is a kind of country meets jazz meets Japanese culture mix of music.
Anyhow, welcome to the JLR!