Soeda Azenbou

Japanese: 添田啞蟬坊 - そえだあぜんぼう

1872-1944 (Meiji 5-Showa 19)
Enka performer. His real name was Heikichi. He was born as the second son of Tohei and Tsuna in a farming family in Oiso, Kanagawa Prefecture. He moved to Tokyo in 1885 (Meiji 18) and worked as a sailor and laborer, but in 1890 he became a professional enka performer after being inspired by the patriotic enka songs sung by young warriors on the streets. Around the time of the Sino-Japanese War, he began incorporating folk-style melodies into his own compositions while touring the Hokuriku region and other regions, and his first hit was "Strike Bushi," which he wrote in 1899 with Yokoe Tetsuseki. During the Russo-Japanese War, he was asked by Sakai Toshihiko to write "Rappa Bushi," which became a huge hit after the war, and as he continued to write new songs, he came to believe in socialism, and led the popular pop music scene through the early Taisho period with songs such as "Ah, the world of money," "Ah, I don't understand," and "Tax increase Bushi."

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

1872‐1944(明治5‐昭和19)
演歌師。本名平吉。神奈川県大磯の農家に，利兵衛･つなの次男として生まれた。1885年(明治18)上京して船員や労務者などをしていたが，90年街頭で壮士たちが歌う愛国調の演歌に感激して職業演歌師となった。日清戦争前後に，北陸をはじめ地方を巡演するなかから民謡調のメロディを自作にとりいれるようになり，99年に横江鉄石と共作した《ストライキ節》が最初のヒット作となった。日露戦争下に堺利彦から依頼されてつくった《ラッパ節》が戦後にかけて大流行となり，その新作をかさねるうちに社会主義を信条とするにいたり，《ああ金の世》《ああわからない》《増税節》などで大正初年にかけての大衆歌謡をリードした。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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