noun
enka; traditional Japanese popular ballad
A genre of sentimental Japanese popular music characterized by a distinctive vocal style and often melancholic themes.
祖母は演歌が大好きで、よくカラオケで歌います。
My grandmother loves enka and often sings it at karaoke.
年末の歌番組で、有名な演歌歌手が新曲を披露
A famous enka singer performed a new song on the year-end music show.
noun
Only when written 艶歌
Historical use referring to a troubadour or wandering minstrel, now largely obsolete and tied to the 艶歌 spelling.
「艶歌」という表記は、かつて吟遊詩人を指す言葉として使われた。
The spelling 艶歌 was once used to refer to a troubadour.
Originally derived from 演説歌 (speech-song) in the Meiji era, used for political satire. Later evolved into the sentimental ballad genre known today.