You might call it the Japanese blues, although its recurrent themes of drink, mother and pining for the old country home also suggest a parallel with country music. Through its legions of devotees around the world, the long-standing Japanese musical tradition of enka lives on in television, on radio and through international singing contests. Radio station KZOO's ever-growing karaoke competition is proof that, even in Hawaii, enka is alive and well. Enka tradition lives on
By Shawn "Speedy" Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.com"This is our 22nd year," says Robyn Furuya, vice president of Oahu's only remaining Japanese-language station. "This year we have four divisions; a junior, teen, adult and senior division. We had about a hundred people audition in our preliminary recently." From there, she says, the pool of competitors was pared to 63 finalists, all of whom will vie for the opportunity to go to Japan next spring to compete against an international field of contestants.
Those with some familiarity of Japanese popular culture can identify the uncommon enka sound quite easily. Often punctuated by a long, drawn- out vibrato effect, or melisma, for emotional emphasis, enka exhibits a certain melancholic character, with sorrowful resignation of lost love and wistful memories of better days being common topics of the genre. It often employs an even balance of Japanese and Western instrumentation, with koto, synthesizer and stringed instruments coloring backing tracks.
Few outside Japan have an understanding of the enka tradition as does Christine Yano, assistant professor of Anthropology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and author of "Tears of Longing," the first and only book on enka written in English. In 1991, her research led her to Japan, where for two years, she interviewed enka singers and songwriters, took singing lessons and joined enka fan clubs.
"Enka is often represented as an expression of the heart and soul of Japan and I wanted to know what the Japanese were singing about themselves," she explains. "I think in the West, the reputation of the Japanese is one of being unemotional, yet I think my study has shown the contrary. Through enka, the Japanese consider themselves, in their own view, very emotional people."
It is an honor of the highest order for an enka singer to be invited to the prestigious Nippon Amateur Kayo Sai (NAK) Grand Prix held in Tokyo, and as Furuya points out, Hawaii singers have done well in past competitions. "NAK has 150 branches worldwide ... and their total membership for their organization is about 30,000," she says. "Because it's worldwide, the competition is so great at that level, but we've had singers (from here) who've gone to the NAK and placed.
"Local singers have their own kind of style," says Yano. "Japanese enka singers tend to sing in a formulaic, patterned way, while those from Hawaii seem to show a greater sincerity and a much more free-flowing style." While this may not necessarily translate into better marks for Hawaii's enka singers, it does highlight a difference in philosophy between the precision-conscious Japanese crooners and their American counterparts, who view singing primarily as an outlet of expression.
Where: Hawaii Ballroom, Sheraton Waikiki Hotel The 22nd Annual KZOO Karaoke Festival
When: 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $43
Call: 988-8828
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