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Center Stage Eye on Entertainment
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| Cases of Japanese singers transitioning
from one musical genre to another are few and far between. Generally
it is so difficult to reach star status as a J-Pop idol or an
enka vocalist ﾐ and stay there ﾐ that reaching for another musical
role is beyond the capability of most people. In this edition
of Eye-Ai, however, we bring you one of the rare examples, Nagayama
Yoko, who debuted in popular music and later progressed into
enka. But that's not even the whole story. For in her childhood, Nagayama Yoko took lessons in minyo singing, and actually her first public performances were in this traditional type of music. So we thought it would be appropriate to discuss the three genres of Japanese music as background information for Nagayama's career. What follows is an introduction of minyo, pops, and enka, together with some historical notes, that we hope will clarify the special characteristics of each genre as well as elucidate the talent that Nagayama Yoko has exhibited in order to be successful as a vocalist performing such music that is so varied and diverse. Beginnings in Minyo Minyo, usually translated as ﾒfolk songs,ﾓ is music that originated in Japan's rural vicinities. The kanji for min is that used in minzoku, meaning people of a particular locality. The yo kanji means ﾒchantﾓ or ﾒvocalization.ﾓ So literally, minyo is music that originated in Japan's regional locations. The most prolific period for minyo was prior to the Meiji Restoration in the 1850s and therefore was purely Japanese music that existed before Western influence. The content of the music deals with daily rural activities such as farming and fishing. And since the type of work varied from region to region, the songs that emerged also were different. Originally sung by ordinary people, this music represents the people and the region in which it developed. Later, minyo came to accompanied by the three-stringed shamisen and flute-like shakuhachi. In time, the Tsugaru region located in the northeastern part of Honshu became the center of shamisen music. Here, to earn a living, blind musicians traveled around this very cold climate playing the shamisen and thereby supplying the region with entertainment. This localized focus on shamisen music resulted in a new version of the instrument called the ﾒTsugaru Shamisenﾓ for which a unique performance technique developed. The exciting, dynamic way of playing the the Tsugaru Shamisen gained attention as the representative folk song called ﾒJonkaraﾓ spread throughout the country. Nagayama Yoko was born in Tokyo on January 13, 1968. She recalls that when she was in kindergarten, her father began the habit of leaving the house every Monday evening. Anxious to see where he was going, she asked him to take her along. Learning that her father had begun attending minyo vocal lessons, she wanted to accompany him to lessons with a group of men who practiced minyo songs. As the members of the group presented Yoko with sweets, she enjoyed this weekly outing with her father and was reluctant to miss it. Soon, she began to study along with her father, and together they would perform in recitals. In contrast to her father, who was susceptible to stage fright, Yoko became accustomed and began to enjoy being on stage. And as she was the only child performing in these recitals, she was bestowed with many bouquets of flowers by the spectators in audience. All of this attention was pleasant to young Yoko. Her lessons and practice paid off, and when she was in 4th grade, Yoko won the Victor Young Minyo Performers' award. The competition between thousands of aspiring child vocalists was whittled down to ten auditions; when Yoko won, of course the happiest person around was her father. As a present for her success, Yoko received a Tsugaru Shamisen from her father and it quickly became her prized possession. This achievement led the way to Yoko's next stage in her singing career. Interlude as a ﾒPops Idolﾓ As we move forward in time toward Nagayama Yoko's participation in the popular music genre, kayokyoku deserves mention. Literally, ka means ﾒsong,ﾓ yo is the same character as in minyo, meaning ﾒchantﾓ or vocalization,ﾓ and kyoku means ﾒtune.ﾓ Kayokyoku is usually translated as ﾒpopular musicﾓ and first appeared in Japan after WWII. Music in this genre is extremely varied, but generally it means a combination of Japanese and Western musical elements. In its early stages, the sound of kayokyoku was more Japanese, but in recent decades, this popular music has taken on increasingly more Western characteristics. In its broadest meaning, kayokyoku includes all the hit music produced today, from rock to jazz to rap, including J-Pop. What is today commonly called ﾒJ-Popﾓ means the usually young, always beautiful, female or male singers. It is into this world that Nagayama Yoko made her initial debut, but she didn't enter it the way that most young singers do. In fact, it happened in spite of her musical plans. After her receipt of the Victor Young Minyo Performers' award, Yoko continued her lessons and she planned for a debut in the enka genre after her graduation from junior high school. Her parents, although against her entering the music industry, were mollified that she was interested in an enka career which seemed to them less risky than becoming a singer of popular music. While it looked like things were going smoothly in the initial stages, suddenly Yoko and her parents were confronted with a new reality. Pronounced ﾒtoo youngﾓ to sing enka, Yoko's direction took a quick turn toward popular music. Nagayama was told that her youth prevented her from singing enka at the time of her debut in 1984. To the sudden change toward pops, most shocked was her father, who had cherished the idea of his daughter an enka vocalist. It was too much for him, and he stopped speaking to Yoko. One thing led to another, and Yoko decided to move out of the house, and although her earnings were scarce at the time, she got an apartment by herself. She debuted in 1984 with the song, Haru wa SA.RA.SA.RA but it was the hit songs Venus released in 1986 and the one after that, You're My Love that established Nagayama Yoko in Japanese music. Around that time, she appeared as a regular in period dramas, movies, and on stage. But in spite of these successes, Yoko felt that something was not right. With the offers to participate in these other entertainment productions, she found that she had fewer chances to sing. Then, an opportunity to sing enka music arose, and for Yoko, who had all her life yearned to sing enka, it was like a dream come true. Thus, at the age of 25, Nagayama Yoko made a second debut as a vocalist in the enka sphere in 1993. Settling into Enka Although it may be considered to sound the ﾒmost Japaneseﾓ form of music currently performed, enka is actually a rather new genre to the music scene. It branched off from kayokyoku and shares the combination of Japanese and Western elements. Compared to J-Pop, also a branch of kayokyoku, there is a stronger influence of Japanese sound in enka. So the Western guitar, keyboards, drums and horns form the basis of the music and the Japanese shamisen, shakuhachi and koto are introduced as accents. The word enka uses kanji that mean ﾒperformanceﾓ and ﾒsongﾓ and began to be widely used to describe the genre in the 1970s. Although the term sounds generic, enka is a highly stylized kind of music with definite conventions. Even before the song begins, the appearance of the artist in traditional Japanese dress informs the viewer that the style sung will be enka. Enka lyrics often deal with heart-rending themes such as nostalgia for past times, the virtue of longing or suffering and broken hearts. To novice ears, enka can sound melodramatic. The use of the vibrato in the singing adds to the emotion that the songs express. For previous Center Stage articles, we have asked vocalists about their perceptions of enka, and whether or not they considered themselves enka singers. Many of them have commented that the enka genre did not exist at the time of their debut, something which the above history confirms, and therefore it was a newer label to describe their style. But by 1993, when Nagayama Yoko embarked on her new career, enka had become a widely popular music genre. As a matter of fact, she had, from her early days, aspired to sing enka. Her entry into the pops music industry, while interesting, was also a little bittersweet, and at last she was able to find her place in enka. Her first enka song, Higurashi received wide acclaim, and the one following that, Suterarete, also became a huge hit. In contrast to her pops career, her enka performances seemed to strike a chord with her listeners. Nagayama is gifted with a clear, strong voice that gives new enka listeners a great introduction to the unique style. Her enunciation of the lyrics is relatively easy to understand and therefore attractive to people just becoming familiar with the Japanese language and with the enka genre. In 2003, the song Jonkara Onnabushi was released. You can have a look and listen to Nagayama Yoko singing this song if you visit her website, which is called ﾒNew Yoko Timesﾓ http://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/yoko/. She sings this song in a variety of locations in festivals around Japan. The performances are quite exciting with Yoko's vocals and dynamic shamisen technique. On the same website video is an energetic rendition of Tanko Bushi, a traditional tune that will be familiar to many Eye-Ai readers. There are also talk sessions and more images of festivals in which Yoko performs. Your taking a visit to the ﾒNew Yoko Timesﾓ website is highly recommended and is sure to make you want to hear more of her and attend a concert. Among her recent activities, Nagayama released the single Onna Tanko Bushi in May 2004 and in January 2005, she released a new version of Uso da to Itte. Nagayama Yoko took an unusual route through minyo and pops to arrive at her ultimate destination in enka. Since her debut in 1984 and then her second entry nine years later in 1993, she has tallied up many hits and has made her name in a variety of genres of Japanese music. It is evidence of her talent that Nagayama Yoko was able to transition from a child minyo singer to a ﾒpops idolﾓ and finally to find her home in enka. She has energized the enka music scene and we look forward to her future achievements and successes. The author would like to acknowledge the research of DJ Clae whose writings about enka can be found on this site: http://www.j-fan.com/edit.cgi?selected=enka Characteristics of enka are discussed here: http://www.okada.de/archive-japanasitis/enka/enka.html For a comprehensive history of Japanese music, this page is of great reference: http://www.farsidemusic.com/historyJa.html Readers interested in learning more about Nagayama Yoko are encouraged to have a look at Barbara's Enka Site: http://www.quixium.com/enka/ |
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