Tears of Longing: Nostalgia and the Nation in Japanese Popular Song

by Christine R. Yano

Book Overview

Enka, a sentimental ballad genre, epitomizes for many the nihonjin no kokoro (heart/soul of Japanese). To older members of the Japanese public, who constitute enka's primary audience, this music--of parted lovers, long unseen rural hometowns, and self-sacrificing mothers--evokes a direct connection to the traditional roots of "Japaneseness." Overlooked in this emotional invocation of the past, however, are the powerful commercial...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674012763
• ISBN13: 9780674012769
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 9.6"