JAPANESE POPULAR MUSIC - 1928-1933 - PRE WAR VOL. 1

"Volume 1 of excellent new series of 10 2 CD collections charting the history of Japanese pop music with songs from each year beginning with 1927 and ending in 1959. Kayokyoku is the general term coined in the 1930s for 'popular songs'. These songs are the middle ground between 'pops' with strong western characteristics and 'enka' with Japanese characteristics. Volume 1 focuses on 1928-1933. Japan's first three major foreign affiliated record companies were established in 1927, among them Victor and Columbia gave high priority to ryukoka (another terms for popular songs). Some of the hits during this time were associated with movies such as Samurai Nippon sung by Ren Tokuyama. The greatest composer was Masao Koga among his greatest hits 'Sake wa Namida ka Tameiki ka' which helped to popularize the slow, sentimental melody with a single -line guitar accompaniment. These types of songs were the origins of enka." (www.farsidemusic.com)