Editing Enka (section)

== Etymology ==
The term ''enka'' was first used to refer to political texts set to music which were sung and distributed by opposition activists belonging to the [[Freedom and People's Rights Movement]]{{Clarify|date=August 2011}} during the [[Meiji period]] (1868–1912) as a means of bypassing government curbs on speeches of political dissent – and in this sense the word is derived from {{Nihongo|"''en''zetsu no uta"|演説の歌}}, meaning "speech song".

Another theory holds that modern ''enka'' means {{Nihongo|"''en''jiru uta"|演じる歌}}, meaning "performance song".<ref name=keio>{{cite web|url=http://www.flet.keio.ac.jp/kifu/jasrac/class/20021021.html |title=Music and Contemporary Society |publisher=JASRAC contribution course in Keio University |date=2002-10-21 |access-date=2009-01-18 |language=ja |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050128212635/http://www.flet.keio.ac.jp/kifu/jasrac/class/20021021.html |archive-date=January 28, 2005 }}</ref><ref>Martin, Alex, "[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20081118i1.html 'Enka' still strikes nostalgic nerve] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606154442/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20081118i1.html |date=2011-06-06 }}", ''[[Japan Times]]'', 18 November 2008, p. 3.</ref>

The genre called ''enka'' is also said to be an expedient classification for record labels as well as [[J-pop]]. For example, [[Harumi Miyako]], who has been usually considered as an ''enka'' singer, said "I don't think that I sing 'enka{{'"}} and "In fact, there was no such term as 'enka' when I debuted."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tamakimasayuki.com/musica/bn_53.htm|script-title=ja:世界は演歌に満ちている|publisher=Masayuki Tamaki Official Website|date=2005-12-12|access-date=2009-02-01|language=ja|archive-date=2008-09-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905081228/http://www.tamakimasayuki.com/musica/bn_53.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref group=fn>Original text: "わたし、自分が演歌をうたってるとは思ってませんから。"<br />"じっさい、あたしがデビューしたころは、特に演歌なんて言い方はしなかったですよ。"</ref>