Enka (演歌) is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern enka, however, a relatively recent musical form as developed in the postwar era, is a form of sentimental ballad 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.
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Enka (演歌) is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern enka, however, a relatively recent musical form as developed in the postwar era, is a form of sentimental ballad 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.
It was the first style to synthesize the Japanese pentatonic scale with Western harmonies. The vocal style is greatly influenced by traditional Japanese music while instrumentation is often orchestral, occasionally utilizing traditional instruments such as the shakuhachi or the shamisen. Enka lyrics are usually written around the themes of love and loss, loneliness, enduring hardships, and persevering in the face of difficulties, even suicide or death. Enka suggests a traditional, idealized, or romanticized aspect of Japanese culture and attitudes.
