The Connection with Japanese Enka
|
| Kawakami Otojiro during a performance (Public Domain) |
To better understand the landscape, let us briefly review the technical and organizational infrastructure of the entertainment industry. Since the colonization of Joseon coincided with the emergence of mass media, local developments began with a slight delay; initially, everything was tethered to Japan. Major Japanese record labels were established during this time, including Nippon Columbia (1910) and the Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan (1927). The latter eventually became known as the Japan Victor Company (JVC), a name that resonates globally today.
However, it could not be sustained for long that no developments would be launched in the occupied territories, so first, labels established branch offices, and in 1933, the first Korean-operated label, Okeh Records, was founded (backed by the similarly named American-based company). This period also saw the birth of the first major private newspapers: Dong-A Ilbo and Chosun Ilbo both began operations in 1920. The Japanese government also founded the first radio station, Gyeongseong Radio, with the call sign JODK (which, after liberation, became HLKA and eventually KBS Radio 1).
Local film production also took flight. Following a Japanese propaganda film in 1923, the first Korean-produced film was born, followed by a steady stream of works, including the famous Arirang in 1926. By the 1930s, popular culture had become a lifestyle. This gave rise to the terms "Modern Boy" and "Modern Girl"—used exactly like that, as English loanwords. It is no coincidence that the 2008 film set in this era is titled Modern Boy.
Based on this timeline, Koreans primarily consumed Japanese offerings until the early 1920s. Regardless of the genre, everything likely felt incredibly "modern," so the initial simple adoption of these styles is hardly surprising. Since Japanese enka music left the strongest mark on this era, we must first address enka-type music and its evolution. While I am only speculating, I suspect that Japanese music was not entirely comfortable for Koreans in several respects. One could likely sense its "foreign flavor," and it could not have been a source of great joy that Koreans were singing of their happiness and sorrows—mostly the latter—through the music of their occupiers. Yet, enka was exceptionally well-suited for expressing such sorrow. Paradoxically, this very feeling may have served as the inspiration for early Korean musical search for their own voice.
I may not be alone in the fact that the term enka does not evoke too many associations in me, so the first question I somehow have to answer is: what exactly is enka?
As I was trying to get acquainted with it, I found things that were far more interesting than I had expected.
The history of enka can be divided into three major periods:- The origins of enka (1870–1910)
- The transition phase (approx. 1910–1930)
- Modern enka (1945–Present)
While the earliest period could technically be omitted as it has little direct bearing on our main subject, it would be a shame not to mention it.
Who would have thought that the birth of a musical genre was tied to politics? During the Meiji Era (1868–1912), the first political parties of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement were formed. However, their leaders were forbidden from voicing opposition views in public. In an ingenious move, activists began spreading their messages as street singers. They even sold songbooks for a small fee, using the proceeds to finance the movement. The word "enka" (演歌) is a shortened form of a term meaning "speech song" (enzetsu no uta).
Thanks to the reconstruction and performances of musicologist, ethnomusicologist, and multi-instrumentalist Tsuchitori Toshiyuki (retaining the Japanese name order: last name+first name), we can listen to two fascinating songs from this early era. Tsuchitori, now in his seventies, has an incredibly exciting career as a researcher, performer (having played with the likes of Derek Bailey and Milford Graves), and composer (writing music for Peter Brook’s plays).
First, let us listen to the highly impactful "Dynamite Song" (Dainamaito bushi), which is considered the oldest enka song:
民力休養（みんりょくきゅうよう）せ
may the people's strength find rest (be renewed).
may the people's strength find rest (be renewed).
may the people's strength find rest (be renewed).
may the people's strength find rest (be renewed).
may the people's strength find rest (be renewed).
|
| Kawakami Otojiro and his wife, Sada Yakko (Public Domain) |
Another pivotal song is the "Oppekepe Song", written, composed, and performed by Kawakami Otojiro in 1888. Kawakami was a true renegade; his bold and outspoken lyrics frequently landed him in trouble. A comedian and actor, he founded several "New Wave" theater troupes that toured major cities across Europe and the USA. Together with his wife, Sada Yacco—a former geisha and the only prominent actress of her time—he studied "every aspect of Western theater" to innovate Japanese performing arts.
Contemporary press described Kawakami’s performance as follows [Wikipedia]:
At the end of his troupe's play "The true story of our Itagaki's disaster" (based on a failed 1882 assassination of the aforementioned Itagaki) "a lone figure wearing a jaunty white headband swaggered out and with a flourish knelt in macho samurai-style, his knees spread wide apart, in front of a gold leaf screen...He was wearing a red samurai surcoat with exaggerated pointed shoulders above a plaid men's kimono....Flourishing a black fan emblazoned with a red rising sun...while a rhythmic shamisen strummed, he spat out the words in a husky rapid-fire patter, improvising verses as he went along. He sneered at the government, the rich, and the kind of people who dressed in Western clothes, aped Western ways, and spent all their money on geisha....The catchy chorus--'Oppekepe'-imitated the sound of a bugle or a trumpet.
Oppekepe Song
オッペケペー節
Verse 1 (The Call)
権利 幸福嫌いな人に
自由湯をば飲ましたい
オッペケペー オッペケペ
オッペケペッポーペッポッポー
[1] Liberty soup" (jiyū-yu) is a brilliant pun. Yu means hot water/bath, but was also used for medicinal decoctions. Kawakami implies that conservative people who fear political freedom need to be forcefully fed the idea of liberty as a bitter medicine to "wake up.
[2] Oppekepe is a nonsense, onomatopoeic refrain that mockingly imitated the bugles and horns of Western-style military brass bands of the era.
Verse 2: Superficial Westernization
かたい裃 角取れて
マンテルズボンに人力車
粋な束髪 ボンネット
貴女に紳士の出で立ちで
上辺の飾りはよけれども
政治の思想が欠乏だ
天地の真理がわからない
心に自由の種をまけ
オッペケペー
オッペケペッポーペッポッポー
[3] The kamishimo was the stiff, wing-shouldered formal attire of the samurai. Kawakami criticizes that while people quickly replaced feudal clothing with Western suits, their mindset remained unchanged.
[4] Sokuhatsu (束髪) was a new type of Western-style women's hairstyle adopted during the Meiji period to replace the heavy, traditional Japanese chignons.
Verse 3: Living Luxuriously on Debt
亭主の職業は知らないが
おつむは当世の束髪で
言葉は開化の漢語にて
晦日の断り洋犬抱いて
不似合いだ およしなさい
何にも知らずに知った顔
むやみに西洋を鼻にかけ
日本酒なんぞは飲まれない
ビールにブランデー ベルモット
腹にも慣れない洋食を
やたらに食うのも負け惜しみ
内緒でそーっと反吐ついて
真面目な顔してコーヒー飲む
おかしいね
おかしいね
オッペケペッポーペッポッポー
[5] Kango (漢語) refers to Sino-Japanese vocabulary. During the Meiji period, Western scientific, political, and philosophical terms (e.g., "republic," "liberty") were translated using these new neologisms. Superficial people threw these heavy words around to sound intellectual.
[6] Misoka no kotowari (晦日の断り) is the most critical period detail here. In Meiji Japan, bills and debts were collected on the last day of the month (misoka). The woman acts like a rich, Westernized lady on the outside, but is deep in debt, turning away collectors because she has no money.
Verse 4: The Corrupt Elite and the Rice Crisis
米価騰貴の今日に
細民困窮顧みず
目深にかぶった高帽子
金の指輪に金時計
権門貴顕に膝を曲げ
芸者たいこに金を撒き
内には米を倉に積み
同胞兄弟見殺しに
いくら慈悲なき欲心も
あまり非道な薄情な
ただし冥土のお土産か
地獄で閻魔に面会し
賄賂使うて極楽へ
行けるかえ
行けないよ
オッペケペー
オッペケペッポーペッポッポー
[7] The skyrocketing price of rice (beika tōki) was a real historical crisis in late 1880s Japan, leading to severe social unrest and food riots. The song directly attacks wealthy speculators and politicians.
[8] In the phrase geisha taiko, taiko refers to male entertainers/jesters (taikomochi) who accompanied geishas and used flattery to swindle money out of rich politicians and businessmen in the pleasure quarters.
[9] Enma (閻魔) is the ruler and supreme judge of Hell in Buddhist mythology, who weighs the sins of the dead. Kawakami mockingly asks if a government official who succeeded through corruption on earth can bribe the judge of the underworld as well.
Verse 5: Theater-Mad Mistresses
お妾嬢さん 権妻に
芝居を見せるは不開化だ
勧善懲悪わからない
色気のところに目をむいて
大事の夫を袖にして
浮気をすること必定だ
お為にならない およしなさい
国会開けた暁に
役者にのろけちゃいられない
日本大事を守りなさい
眉毛の無いのがお好きなら
狸と添い寝をするがよい
オッペケペ
オッペケペッポーペッポッポー
[10] Omekake and gonzai refer to the mistresses and second wives maintained by wealthy officials. Kawakami criticizes them because sitting in expensive theater boxes to show off and dote on actors was seen by political critics as a symbol of Meiji-era moral decay.
[11] In 1890, the first Imperial Diet of Japan opened. This was a massive historical milestone; the song argues that people should focus on the nation's destiny instead of frivolous entertainment.
[12] Kabuki and contemporary theater actors shaved off their eyebrows and wore heavy white makeup. Kawakami considers this look grotesque, mockingly comparing them to a tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog).
Verse 6: The Slang of Street Prostitution
娘の肩掛け立派だが
とっさんケットを腰に巻き
どちらもお客を乗せたがる
娘の転ぶを見習うて
とっさん転んじゃいけないよ
帰り車は駆け引きだ
本当にかえしちゃたまらない
おや危ないよ
オッペケペ
オッペケペッポーペッポッポー
[13] Ketto is Meiji-era slang derived from the English word "blanket." This verse exposes illegal, clandestine street prostitution in Tokyo. Streetwalkers wearing fine shawls and old rickshaw drivers colluded, using the rickshaw's blanket to hide the girl and customer from the authorities.
[14] The word korobu (転ぶ - to fall/to overturn) is a brilliant double-entendre. For the driver, it means overturning his cart; for the girl, it was contemporary slang for falling morally (becoming a prostitute).
[15] The lines about bargaining and the return trip refer to the cat-and-mouse game unlicensed drivers and streetwalkers played with the police. If caught and "returned" (arrested) by the police, it meant the end of their livelihood.
Verse 7: Transit Chaos in Tokyo
東京市中は賑やかだ
八人乗りなら乗合で
十六人なら乗込で
混んでもかまなきゃ立っといで
一区二銭は安いわねえ
めっぽうかいに安いわね
車がすれたら降りとくれ
皆さん手を貸しこいどくれ
オッペケペー
オッペケペッポーペッポッポー
[16] This verse mocks Tokyo's sudden, chaotic transit modernization (horse-drawn streetcars and omnibuses). The fares were extremely cheap (2 sen), but the carriages were so overloaded and flimsy that passengers often had to get off to push the vehicle out of the mud.
Verse 8: The Divine Country Manifesto
洋語習うて開化ぶり
パン食うばかりが改良じゃない
皇国権利を拡張し
国威を張るのが急務だよ
智識と智識の比べ合い
キョロキョロしてはいられない
究理と発明の先駆けで
異国に劣らずやっつけろ
神国名義だ 日本ポー
[17] The conclusion perfectly captures the nationalist, defiant mood of the Meiji period. Kawakami argues that true modernization is not about mimicking Western fashion and food (bread), but about defeating the West through science and technology to protect Japan's sovereignty as a "Divine Country" (Shinkoku). Nipponpō is a brilliant patriotic combination of "Nippon" (Japan) and the blare of the brass band's horn (pō).
It is easy to agree with those who, hearing the rhythmic delivery and outspoken lyrics, label this song the "world’s first rap." However, by the second half of the Meiji Era, this sharp-tongued street politics was no longer tolerated. Singers had to find new themes: intimate feelings, love, longing, sorrow, loneliness, nostalgia, and landscapes.
The traditionally plucked shamisen was replaced first by the violin, and later by the guitar. The meaning of enka gradually shifted toward "folk-style performance song." This transitional era was a musical melting pot. As Western entertainment music flooded Japan—alongside traditional local genres and Western classical music—operettas, jazz, blues, tango, and more appeared. The popular music that grew out of this fusion was called ryūkōka. Enka was also searching for its place, influenced by both folk music and Western musical impacts, and in terms of its lyrics, interestingly, it can even be related to classical Japanese poetry, waka—if not due to the intensity of its linguistic concentration and symbolism, then in respect of the identical emotional resonances.
Enka, during this transitional period, did not really find its place; it was marginalized relatively quickly by the elemental impact of ryūkōka. The crystallization of the genre would occur only in the post-war period, when it fulfilled its powerful genre characteristics: the ballad-like tone of love and nostalgia, images of resignation (alcohol, harbor, evening, rain, etc.), as well as the overflowing, emotional, vibrato performance style associated with them.
In the transitional era important from the perspective of our writing, however, these stylistic features were still much more restrained, and not truly refined either. The classification also fluctuates between enka and ryūkōka. To form a general picture of the music originating from Japan, let us listen to a few examples.
The first recording is a 1901 composition by Taki Rentarō, lyrics by Doi Bansui, "The Moon over the Ruined Castle" (荒城の月), which is usually considered a precursor to modern enka. The notes of the yona-nuki minor melody evoke a sorrowful, melancholic mood. Performer: Fujiyama Ichiro and the Columbia Female Chorus.
カチューシャの唄 / 復活唱歌
Since I cannot publish the lyrics of this song due to copyright reasons, here is a brief summary of them:
The lyrics, written by Akimoto Yasushi (composition by Mitake Akira), present a deeply moving, philosophical meditation on human existence, using the metaphor of a flowing river to depict the journey of life. The narrator reflects on the long, narrow, and often rugged path they have walked blindly over the years, noting that looking back reveals just how far they have traveled from their hometown. Life is described as a journey without a map, filled with bumpy roads and sharp turns, yet accepted with graceful resignation.
Central to the song is the iconic refrain, where life is likened to the steady, unceasing flow of a river. Just as the river moves gently across changing eras while the sky endlessly turns to twilight, human beings must navigate their own hardships. The narrative touches upon the comfort of companionship, traveling this endless road with loved ones while searching for dreams. Even when rain turns the path into mud, the lyrics offer a message of resilience, reminding the listener that sunny days will always return. Ultimately, the song concludes with a desire to peacefully surrender oneself to this natural flow, waiting for the snow to melt with the changing seasons while listening to the eternal, gentle murmur of the blue stream.
Although I wanted to reach the initiatives of Korean trot in this part, I think it will be better to stop here, otherwise this post would be endlessly long. Next time, however, we will continue with that.→ On to Part 5
No comments:
Post a Comment