Editing Enka (section)

=== 19th century–1920s: ''Sōshi'' enka and violin enka ===
[[Image:Azenbo Soeda.jpg|thumb|right|[[Soeda Azenbō]], enka-shi in the [[Meiji Period]]]]
The political songs called ''enka'' in the Meiji period (1868–1912) are also called {{Nihongo|''Sōshi Enka''|壮士演歌}} to distinguish it from modern ''enka''. Street singers were called {{Nihongo|enka-shi|演歌師}}. The first ''enka'' song is said to be {{Nihongo|"The Dynamite Stanzas"|ダイナマイト節}}.{{why|date=November 2010}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp/publish_db/1999news/04/406/0406.html|script-title=ja:明治の声の文化|publisher=[[University of Tokyo]]|access-date=2009-02-19|language=ja|archive-date=2007-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220042500/http://www.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp/publish_db/1999news/04/406/0406.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The songs during this time include [[Otojiro Kawakami]]'s "Oppekepe".{{why|date=December 2010}}<ref>Lesley Downer. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=gmFVoqgEndoC&pg=PA53 Madame Sadayakko: The Geisha Who Bewitched the West] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206172432/https://books.google.com/books?id=gmFVoqgEndoC&pg=PA53 |date=2021-12-06 }}''. ''[[Google Books]]''. via Gotham. 2004. P-53. {{ISBN|978-1-59240-050-8}}</ref>

In the [[Taishō period]] (1912–26), ''enka-shi'' began to incorporate the [[violin]], thus their songs were called ''violin enka.'' An ''enka-shi'' of the period was {{Nihongo|Toshio Sakurai|桜井敏雄}}, who in turn taught [[Haruo Oka]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rosenet.ne.jp/~matsuo-e/prize_4.html |script-title=ja:第４回松尾芸能賞受賞者一覧 |publisher=Matsuo Entertainment Development Foundation |access-date=2009-02-23 |language=ja |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416035739/http://www.rosenet.ne.jp/~matsuo-e/prize_4.html |archive-date=2009-04-16 }}</ref>

In present-day Japan, Road Traffic Law regulates the appearance of street performers. However, Japanese performers such as {{Nihongo|Utaji Fukuoka|福岡詩二}} have still sung ''enka'' from the Taishō period.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/3265500/ |script-title=ja:日本の伝統・大道芸は妙技だ。街に復活せよ！ ＝東京・浅草（下） |publisher=livedoor |date=2007-08-11 |access-date=2009-02-21 |language=ja |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112204630/http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/3265500/ |archive-date=2007-11-12 }}</ref> When the [[Great Hanshin earthquake|1995 earthquake]] struck, Soul Flower Mononoke Summit, a musical project of the rock band [[Soul Flower Union]], played ''sōshi enka'' to help buoy the spirits of disaster victims.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fm20060929a1.html|title=Street spirits plug in and out|publisher=The Japan Times|date=2006-09-29|access-date=2009-02-08|archive-date=2016-04-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412123717/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2006/09/29/culture/street-spirits-plug-in-and-out/|url-status=live}}</ref>