Tears of longing: nostalgia and the nation in Japanese popular song
2002; Association of College and Research Libraries; Volume: 40; Issue: 03 Linguagem: Inglês
10.5860/choice.40-1621
ISSN1943-5975
Autores Tópico(s)Philippine History and Culture
ResumoEnka, 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 forces that, since the 1970s, have shaped the consumption of enka and its version of national identity. Informed by theories of nostalgia, collective memory, cultural nationalism and gender, this book draws on the author's extensive fieldwork in probing the practice of identity-making and the processes at work when Japan becomes Japan.
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