Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival 2008

(Japanese Enka - originally performed by Hosokawa Takashi)
Performed by Stan Kayama

This enka ballad is embroiled with intimacy and heartbreak and was popularized in the past decade by one of Japan’s most popular male vocalists, Hosokawa Takashi. Unabashed sentimentality is re-examined by Nemerofsky Ramsay as the traditional genesis; Sadame Gawa takes us back to karaoke’s roots.

Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay is a Montréal-born artist, diarist, and aspiring bon-vivant. Since 2000 his work has examined the untranslatability of emotions into language and the ways in which emotional expression changes shape when mediated by technology and popular culture. Nemerofsky Ramsay's award-winning video works have screened in festivals and galleries across Canada, Europe, and East Asia. His work has become part of numerous private collections and the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. He currently divides himself between Canada and Europe.

Stan Kayama is the president of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre’s karaoke club.