noun
elegy; funeral song
A poem or song of mourning, often for a funeral or in memory of the dead. Can be used both literally and in literary titles.
彼の死を悼んで、友人が挽歌を詠んだ。
Mourning his death, a friend composed an elegy.
その詩集には美しい挽歌がいくつも収められている。
The poetry collection contains several beautiful elegies.
From Chinese 輓歌／挽歌 (wǎngē), literally 'pulling song', referring to songs sung while pulling a funeral hearse. The kanji 挽 means 'to pull' or 'to draw'.