[Tears and Alcohol] A Collection of Kaori Kozai’s Easy-to-Sing Songs [2026]
Kaori Kozai has a unique background: she was active as a folk song (minyo) singer from a young age, then worked as a bank employee before embarking on a career in enka.
Her debut single, “Ame Sakaba” (Rain Tavern), became a long-running hit and earned her the New Artist Award at the 30th Japan Record Awards.
Since then, she has been active across a wide range of genres, not only in enka but also in pop, releasing songs for which she herself has written the lyrics.
To be honest, imitating Ms.
Kozai’s highly refined vocal technique—honed through minyo—is difficult for beginners.
However, the songs introduced here are relatively easy to sing, so if you want to try singing Kozai’s songs but feel unsure, please use this as a reference.
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[Tears and Alcohol] A Collection of Easy-to-Sing Songs by Kaori Kozai [2026] (1–10)
Love Town ShowerKouzai Kaori
Ko-zai Kaori’s masterpiece “Koimachi Shigure” is notable for its heartwarming melody and bittersweet romance.
Released in her later years, the song features vocals that emphasize emotion and expression rather than showcasing technique.
As a result, the kobushi—often a challenging aspect of enka—is relatively easy here, mostly condensed into turns that shift by just a single scale degree.
The Kawachi-ondo-style kobushi at the end of the chorus should pose no problem for those who have mastered the hiccup technique.
channel markerKouzai Kaori
When you think of Kaori Kouzai, her vocals that bring out a strong sense of allure are striking.
Of course, those kinds of songs are wonderful too, but in her later years her melancholic numbers have become even more refined.
That’s why I recommend Mio-tsukushi.
It’s based on enka, but features a vocal line closer to 1980s pop-leaning kayōkyoku, with little use of advanced techniques like kobushi.
By deliberately using breath—audible exhales included—you can add dynamics and infuse the vocals with a sense of wistfulness, so please use it as a reference.
Elegy of the Uji RiverKouzai Kaori
Kozai Kaori’s masterpiece “Ujigawa Elegy” is striking for its deeply moving melody.
Kozai Kaori is often said to excel most in works that evoke sensuality and heartache, and this piece is exactly that, featuring an incredibly sultry melody and vocals.
In the chorus, the pitch rises and falls a bit more dramatically, but there are no difficult kobushi (ornamental turns).
Aside from the kobushi at the end of the chorus, the vocal line is closer to Showa-era kayōkyoku.
Be sure to add it to your repertoire.
[Tears and Sake] A Collection of Kaori Kozai’s Easy-to-Sing Songs [2026] (11–20)
stage lightKouzai Kaori
Among famous enka singers, Kaori Kozai is particularly known for frequently performing pop songs.
She has many great pop numbers, but the one I especially recommend is Stage Light.
With a melody that follows the tradition of Showa-era ballads, its vocal line evokes artists like Machiko Watanabe and Chikaco Sawada.
Although the song features many long tones, there are no sustained notes in the high register, and the overall range is relatively narrow, making it undeniably easy to sing.
In the second bar of the chorus, there’s a brief appearance of a key-shifting vibrato that hints at a kobushi-like ornamentation.
If you find that part difficult, it’s perfectly fine to sing it with a regular vibrato instead, so feel free to use that as a reference.
Love RegretKouzai Kaori
Kaori Kozai often uses a vocal technique called the hiccup style.
This technique involves briefly flipping the voice, and she frequently uses it to add kobushi-like ornamentation.
A classic song that makes extensive use of this distinctive kobushi is “Koi Miren.” Once you get used to hiccups, executing this kind of ornamentation is easy, and this piece also features a vocal line with gentle rises and falls in pitch.
Therefore, if you’re accustomed to the hiccup technique, you should be able to sing it without any trouble.
duckweedKouzai Kaori
Kaori Kozai is known for her sensuous, silky vocals, but she actually has a wide expressive range and has released some powerfully impactful songs as well.
Among them, the one I especially recommend is Ukinegusa.
The opening employs a Western-style, forward-projected vocal technique rarely heard in enka, giving it a dramatically different atmosphere from her other works.
While the vocal line is full of intensity, it also contains surprisingly mellow passages, and most of the long tones sit at mid-range or lower, making it relatively easy to sing for a song of this type.
Rain TavernKouzai Kaori
Among Kaori Kozai’s songs, Amekaba (Rain Tavern) is a masterpiece that especially embodies the essence of enka.
Within her repertoire, this piece features a particularly high number of kobushi (ornamental turns), most of which are produced using a hiccup-style technique—flipping the voice as in rōkyoku or Kawachi ondo.
While it isn’t without its challenges, once you master this type of kobushi, you can execute faster turns than with the more common style, so for those accustomed to rōkyoku it can be considered a relatively easy song.