Seagulls Offshore - A Tea Master's Appreciation of Kouta on the Edge

Kouta (Edo Kouta) is a form of music for the common people. Therefore, its content reflects the fleeting romances, laments, and sighs of everyday life. If we speak of songs that celebrate such common emotions, 'Enka' would be the most prominent example today. In other words, Kouta and Enka are connected at their roots.

During the Edo period and the early Meiji era, that domain was the true essence of Kouta. However, as time passed into the Showa era, the genres of Kayokyoku and Enka began to flourish. In the Showa era, Kouta and Enka came to handle the same subject matter. Kouta is sung to the accompaniment of the shamisen, while Enka is sung with an orchestra. Furthermore, Kouta was performed in small four-and-a-half-mat rooms, while Enka was performed on stage.

Even with such differences, since they deal with the same subject matter, there must have been points of proximity. Simply put, it was an era where, if one step were taken in the wrong direction, Kouta might have become 'Enka'.

This Kouta also manages to hold its ground on the Kouta side by the narrowest of margins. The lyrics are extremely easy to understand, and the insertion of a folk song ('Soran Bushi') as an 'anko' (interlude)—'If I ask the seagulls offshore about the tide...'—is a risky choice, but if you listen to the whole piece, it is undeniably Kouta.

Holding onto the Kouta side at the very last moment, just before it could have slipped into Enka. This may have been the 'ordeal' of Showa-era Kouta.

I believe the part that makes this song a Kouta is nothing more than the 'goodbye.' If this were not here, it would have almost certainly become 'Enka'.
In that sense, it may be a piece that 'pushed' the boundary between Enka and Kouta to the very limit.