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Musical characteristics of Enka

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 November 2008

Okada Maki
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Extract

This paper presents an analysis of enka, a type of Japanese popular song. I shall attempt to elucidate the musical characteristics of enka by examining its musical scales, melodies, vocal techniques and rhythms. We shall see, however, that enka is a composite genre, not characterised by a single type of scale or rhythm. Furthermore, it is virtually impossible to understand enka without reference to other types of Japanese popular song. Thus some discussion of such other genres will also be required.

Type
Research Article
Information
Popular Music , Volume 10 , Issue 3 , October 1991 , pp. 283 - 303
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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References

References

Gamô, Satoaki, 1986. ‘On two or three aspects of enka singing’, Sounds of Peoples (Tokyo), pp. 385–409Google Scholar
Koizumi, Fumio, 1960. Studies in Traditional Japanese Music, Vol. 1 (Tokyo) Google Scholar
Koizumi, Fumio, 1984 a. Studies in Traditional Japanese Music, Vol. 2 (Tokyo) Google Scholar
Koizumi, Fumio, 1984 b. ‘The dynamics of enka’, The Structure of Kayôkyoku (Tokyo), pp. 139–70 Google Scholar
Okada, Maki. 1984. ‘Chronology of post-war hit songs’, The Structure of Kayôkyoku (Tokyo) by Fumio, Koizumi [pp. 235–48] Google Scholar
Okada, Maki. 1986. ‘Rhythms of enka’, Sounds of Peoples (Tokyo), pp. 361–83 Google Scholar
Shigeshita, Kazuo. 1975. ‘Popular music of Japan (part 2): the structure of Kayôkyoku scales’, Bulletin of Kunitachi College of Music (Tokyo), pp. 45–64Google Scholar

Further reading on musical aspects of enka

A. On scales:

Kojima, Tomiko. 1968. ‘Fashionable structures of kayôkyoku’, in TBS Researched Information (Tokyo), 07, pp. 41–8Google Scholar
Kojima, Tomiko. 1969. ‘Tonal changes in recent kayôkyoku’, in Musical Art (Tokyo), 07, pp. 24–7 Google Scholar
Kojima, Tomiko. 1970. ‘Japanese traditional music and kayôkyoku’, in Studies in Musical Education (Tokyo), 05, pp. 50–61Google Scholar
Oada, Maki. 1977. ‘A new perspective in kayôkyoku’, in Asian Review (Tokyo), 12, pp. 180–5 Google Scholar
Shigeshita, Kazuo. 1969. ‘Popular music of Japan: figurative analysis’, in Bulletin of Kunitachi College of Music (Tokyo), No. 5, pp. 91–110Google Scholar
Shigeshita, Kazuo. 1975. ‘Popular music of Japan (2): the structure of kayôkyoku scales’, in Bulletin of Kunitachi College of Music (Tokyo), No. 10, pp. 45–64Google Scholar
Gamô, Satoaki. 1986. ‘Some aspects of enka singing’, in Sounds of Peoples (Tokyo), pp. 385–409Google Scholar
Sonobe, Saburô. 1962. On the History of Japanese Popular Songs (Tokyo) Google Scholar
Sonobe, Saburô, Yazawa, Tamotsu and Shigeshita, Kazuo. 1980. Japanese Popular Songs (Tokyo) Google Scholar
Bergman, Wolfgang. 1986. ‘A study in Japanese popular culture today (1): enka as a type of kayôkyoku in Japan’, in Educational Sciences: Bulletin of the Faculty of Education, Akita University (Akita), No. 35, pp. 53–71Google Scholar
Koizumi, Fumio. 1984. Structures of Kayôkyoku (Tokyo) Google Scholar