1950s – 2020sPeak: 1970s
Enka
About Enka
Enka is Japan's archetypal sentimental ballad form, a postwar synthesis of Western diatonic harmony with the pentatonic yonanuki scale and the kobushi vibrato of traditional Japanese singing. Built around themes of lost love, hometown longing, drinking, and snow-covered northern stations, enka was crowned in the 1950s by Misora Hibari and is still sung by every generation of Japanese karaoke singers since.