Early 1930s ryūkōka recordings from Japanese geisha Kouta Katsutaro.

Emerging during the early stages of the recording industry in Japan, the ryūkōka style adopted some western classical, blues & jazz elements into traditional Min’yō folk music. Kouta Katsutaro would become one of it’s most popular proponents, and along with another popular geisha singer, Ichimaru, forms the basis of a period dubbed the “Katsu-Ichi Era”.