Music Review: From K-pop to Enka

From K-pop to Enka From K-pop to Enka

Ethan Robinson

I’d like to call myself a music geek, but a big reason why I love music so much is that there are still a million artists that I don’t know about and entire genres that I’ve yet to explore. So being the totally ignorant and unhip foreigner that I am, I decided to ask my students what the most current and coolest music is. Keep in mind that my sample size was quite small and confined to Kotooka Junior High in Mitane, but I think this provides a quick snapshot of what’s popular if you’re an uncultured listener like me who’s totally new to K-pop and J-pop. So take notes!

Here are the top three tracks I heard:

BTS “MIC Drop”

Of course you know BTS, how could you not? “MIC Drop” was recorded in both Korean and Japanese by BTS and produced by Pdogg, the remix produced by Japanese American DJ Steve Aoki. Not only is Aoki heir to the Benihana restaurant franchise fortune, but it turns out he also makes sick beats. If you really wanna get down with the cool kids, then this is the perfect K-Pop song for you.

King Gnu “Hikoutei”

Hirai Ken “Nonfiction”

King Gnu is a J-pop group that hasn’t released a new album since 2019, but they were still one of my students’ top choices, specifically the song “Hikoutei”. King Gnu has a very energetic sound that very much fits into the anime theme genre, but they also have indie pop, alternative, nu jazz and even classical influences.

“Hikoutei” opens with an unmistakable bluesy guitar riff and hooks you all the way to the end and has you pressing repeat. 10/10 recommend if you want to play it during your morning routine and feel like a badass anime protagonist.

Ken Hirai has been in the J-pop game for over 20 years. And while his style is definitely more 90s era, Hirai has toured overseas and across East Asia and continues to release. “Nonfiction” is the perfect fit for you romantics out there, and I especially recommend Hirai’s whole discography if you’re looking for less flashy J-pop and simply great R&B songs. Out of all my students’ picks, he’s my personal favorite!

On the other side of the spectrum, I’m a big fan of enka and generally any Japanese pop and rock from the Showa period from the 50s to 80s. Enka is a genre that resembles traditional Japanese singing and often features sentimental ballads, while modern enka has some elements of blues, rockabilly and jazz.

Interestingly, the musical scales in enka resemble the pentatonic blues scale, which was the foundation of American roots music, blues and rock. You might know the song “Sukiyaki” by Sakamoto Kyu, which is super famous outside Japan! Since moving here I have made many new enka discoveries, whether from buying random records at Mansaido or asking the people at my schools for recommendations. Here are two of my favorites!

Fuji Keiko “Keiko no Yumei wa Yoru Hiraku”

In 1969 Fuji Keiko revived the usage of the word “enka” itself, after it wasn’t used at all during the post-war period. This song is a forlorn ballad with soft jazzy guitar, saxophone and accordion, and Keiko’s voice makes me think of her as the Japanese Nancy Sinatra. Interestingly, Fuji Keiko’s daughter Hikaru Utada is a super successful J-pop artist too, and has done soundtrack work for Evangelion and Kingdom Hearts.

Kawashima Eigo “Jidai Okure”

Kawashima came out a little later in the 70s and 80s, and may not be considered enka, but he is definitely seen as Showa pop. In fact, “Jidai Okure” means old fashioned but is still a very popular karaoke song today. Soulful and passionate, Kawashima also has a song about crying into your sake that I also recommend for those lonely nights, called “Sake to namida to otoko to onna”.

So there you go! Now you can impress your students with your K-pop knowledge and break out into singing enka with your local oyaji-sans at the izakaya. There are still a plethora of deep cut J-pop and enka I have to uncover, so feel free to share your discoveries with me!

Philip Vyas, Hirosaki castle