The term "Kayo-kyoku" refers to Japanese popular songs in Japan, except for imported songs, originally composed by non-Japanese composers and sung by non-Japanese singers. It is especially used to distinguish the Japanese popular songs from their American counterparts.
Almost all kayo-kyoku can roughly be divided into two genres: Japanese pop/rock music (some young people call it "J-Pop") and "enka." The former refers to music accepted more by the young Japanese and has more musical influences from the American popular music than enka. The term enka appeared about thirty years ago to specify a more traditional and national music strongly supported by elder Japanese people.
The generation gap is large between those who prefer Japanese pop/rock music and those who prefer enka. Few teenagers listen to enka pieces. People in their twenties who listen to enka would be considered to have very special tastes. Some might say to such a person, "You are like an old person." However, the people in their forties usually are not fond of recent Japanese pop music, saying that it is noisy and childish. They, however, are strong supporters of enka. Some elder people may say, "If you become an adult, by experiencing a lot of things in your life, you would understand why the enka is so impressive. If you understand its feeling, that means you become a real Japanese adult who knows the Japanese soul."