Walk through Shibuya and you’ll hear J-pop (official, major-label pop) and J-rock (bands like ONE OK ROCK). But the underground tells a different story. Enka —a dramatic, ballad-like genre—is Japan’s equivalent of the blues, sung with a vocal wobble ( kobushi ) derived from kabuki theater. Meanwhile, Vocaloid (Hatsune Miku, a holographic pop star) represents a uniquely Japanese acceptance of virtual authenticity. In Japan, a character’s "soul" is not tied to a human body—a Shinto-influenced idea that also explains why anime characters feel more "real" than many live actors.