Meet Jero, Enka Singer from America

Foreigners are starting to take over a lot of the traditional spots in the Japanese "talento" circuit. From sumo wrestling to traditional Enka (Japanese folk music) singing, these days you can find perfect-speaking performers who have won the hearts of Japanese while bringing life back to many of the traditional arts that seem to be lost to the youth of the country.

While enka is commonly associated with more elderly listeners, these singers are blending the genre with their own countries' cultures, bringing enka to the attention of younger generations.

One such performer is Jerome White Jr., or Jero, as he is known Japan. In April, merely two months after his debut single was released in mid-February, more than 2,000 people gathered in front of JR Kyoto Station to catch a glimpse of the 26 year old enka singer, singing with passion and perfect pronunciation.

Since late May he has appeared every day on television advertising Kirin Beverage Co.'s Fire Cafe Zero - a black, sugar-free canned coffee launched on May 20. In the advertisement, Jero sings the popular enka song "Hisame" (Sleet) while holding the canned coffee, finishing by saying "Jero!" - a play on words with his name and the name of the product.

With his sideways baseball cap and baggy pants, he may look like a hip-hop artist, but Jero's performance is 100% old-school enka. Even the more elderly were won over by his debut song, "Umiyuki" (Ocean Snow). Here is a compilation of Jero singing Umiyuki with his own style.

His frequent television appearances and nation-wide promotional campaign have quickly made Jero a familiar face. This has made for a demanding schedule which, he said he does not mind because it is necessary "to create a fan base." To keep up his strength, he added, he eats rice, miso soup and grilled fish.

Born in Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania, Jero is part Japanese, his maternal grandmother having moved to the U.S. from Japan after marrying an African-American soldier. His mother was also born in Japan. Owing to the influence of his family, Japanese culture and cuisine featured significantly in his upbringing.

You can watch some of his history through a Japanese/English interview here.

The first enka song he learned was a famous enka song which his grandmother often sang. He said his grandmother would be overjoyed when he sang the enka ballads he had picked up. Wanting to become an enka singer to please his grandmother, he came to Japan in 2003 to immerse himself in the genre.

While Jero is also a fan of American hip-hop music, he emphasizes that "singing enka is very natural to me." He laments that, "in Japan, enka is thought of as something for old people. It is sad that young people don't listen to it," adding, "I would be delighted if I could convey the appeal of enka to young people."

The majority of people who like enka are middle-aged or elderly, and few young people entertain the idea of becoming an enka performer. Indeed, no prominent young stars have emerged since Kiyoshi Hikawa broke onto the scene eight years ago.

Yet there is an enka following among young people in Japanese communities overseas. There are some places in South America where people like enka so much, they are said to be more Japanese than Japanese nationals themselves. Some professional enka singers in these communities find their way to Japan.

Italicized text taken from The Nikkei Weekly, June 9, 2008.