Yaoi-Con 2008 | A Celebration of Male Beauty & Passion in Anime & Manga

I'm a dork, but I was surfing yesasia again and just wondering if there are any fans of yaoi here who are also fans of enka. (Fat chance, since enka isn't exactly conductive to slash unless you like Kita/Yaji [dude, if you know who they are you are my new best friend], but no harm trying.) Whether you listen, sing, or are just in it for that kitschy sound; like gushing about Kiyoshi or might be interested in karaoke come con time. *nudge nudge*

For those who don't know what enka is, the easiest way to describe it is perhaps to say enka is to Japan what country music is to the States, but think Patsy instead of Shania. You've probably heard it before and not realized it: Kaji Meiko's songs for a couple of her movies, including the first Lady Snowblood, were featured in Kill Bill ("Urami Bushi" and "Shura no Hana" aka "Flower of Carnage&quot. Or you might know it through Misora Hibari, who first popularized the genre in the 1950s, or Hikawa Kiyoshi who led the revival in this century with "Kiyoshi no Zun-doko Bushi"--which is parodied, like, everywhere, including Shinobu in Honey and Clover.

If you do know what I'm talking about and are (god forbid) into it, for goodness sake speak up. Don't leave me lonely! XD

No shit? That's freakin awesome! Now there are two we can have an enkoff!

Seriously, I totally feel the same way. It's so not accessible in this country. I was into it for a couple years before I even found out it was a genre with an actual name. An inflight Japanese station on a plane to Hawaii got me hooked. ~__~ It was half enka and introduced me to Hosokawa Takashi, who's gotta be, like, the Roy Orbison of Japan (in my weird little mind).

QUOTE:
I'm a dork, but I was surfing yesasia again and just wondering if there are any fans of yaoi here who are also fans of enka. (Fat chance, since enka isn't exactly conductive to slash unless you like Kita/Yaji [dude, if you know who they are you are my new best friend], but no harm trying.) Whether you listen, sing, or are just in it for that kitschy sound; like gushing about Kiyoshi or might be interested in karaoke come con time. *nudge nudge*

For those who don't know what enka is, the easiest way to describe it is perhaps to say enka is to Japan what country music is to the States, but think Patsy instead of Shania. You've probably heard it before and not realized it: Kaji Meiko's songs for a couple of her movies, including the first Lady Snowblood, were featured in Kill Bill ("Urami Bushi" and "Shura no Hana" aka "Flower of Carnage"). Or you might know it through Misora Hibari, who first popularized the genre in the 1950s, or Hikawa Kiyoshi who led the revival in this century with "Kiyoshi no Zun-doko Bushi"--which is parodied, like, everywhere, including Shinobu in Honey and Clover.

If you do know what I'm talking about and are (god forbid) into it, for goodness sake speak up. Don't leave me lonely! XD

Hehe, I grew up on Korean enka... My mom loves listening to the Japanese enka stars on the New Years Day Celebration Show!! Red vs. White I'm surprised anyone knows what enka is!! XD

QUOTE:
It was half enka and introduced me to Hosokawa Takashi, who's gotta be, like, the Roy Orbison of Japan (in my weird little mind).

I've heard of this somewhere. ^^ Coincidentally, my dad used to play Roy Orbison in the car all the time back when I was a lot younger... so I was exposed to that genre early on, whether I wanted to be or not. *grin*