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歌謡曲 (kayoukyoku) Japanese meaning: kayōkyoku | Kotomora
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My grandmother loves kayōkyoku and often listens to Misora Hibari.
This program features Showa-era kayōkyoku.
Usage patterns 〈 物もの〉 〉 が 流行はや る for a kayōkyoku song to become a hit/be popular
This kayōkyoku song was a huge hit in the late 1960s.
〈 人ひと 〉 が 歌か 謡よう 曲きょく を 歌うた う for someone to sing a kayōkyoku song
My grandmother still sings nostalgic kayōkyoku songs.
歌か 謡よう 曲きょく 界かい the world/scene of kayōkyoku music
She is a singer who has been active in the kayōkyoku world for many years.
Related words 演歌 is a distinct, more traditional ballad style with characteristic vocal ornamentation, while 歌謡曲 is the broader Showa-era pop-song category that can include enka-like songs as well as lighter pop.
流行歌 is an older, more general term for 'a popular song of the day' that largely overlaps with 歌謡曲 but doesn't carry the specific Showa-era genre connotation.
J-POP is the modern, Western-influenced successor genre that replaced 歌謡曲 from the 1990s onward, while 歌謡曲 refers to the earlier Showa-style sound and production.
歌謡曲 is an older term for Japanese popular songs, especially from the mid-20th century, while ポップス is the modern, more Western-flavored term.
Etymology Compound of 歌謡 (kayō, 'song' or 'ballad') and 曲 (kyoku, 'piece of music'). The term was coined in the early Showa period to describe Western-influenced popular songs and later became the standard label for mainstream Japanese pop music of the era.
