From Tokyo to Tennessee: Japan’s Love of Country Music
During World War II, Japanese people were introduced to the genre through the Armed Forces Radio Service.
www.theepochtimes.com
One of Japan’s longstanding musical forms, the Enka genre, is sometimes described as “Japanese blues.” The narrative style focuses on lyrical themes like those found in American country music—love, loss, hardship, and triumph—and this helped pave the way for Japanese people to relate to the music of a culture so seemingly different from theirs.
In other words, like America, Japan loves a good story. It is through that love of story that a bridge was built between the two cultures.
