This is equivalent to melisma in Western music.
西洋音楽で言うところのメリスマ。 - Wikipedia日英京都関連文書対訳コーパス
This playing technique is called Anbai melisma.
この奏法を塩梅(あんばい)と呼ぶ。 - Wikipedia日英京都関連文書対訳コーパス
a way of singing religious music, called melisma メリスマという,宗教歌曲における歌い方 - EDR日英対訳辞書
Various tunes of imayo, including Etenraku Imayo (syllabic-style tunes) mentioned below, were also composed, and there existed two categories of tunes : melisma-style tunes, such as Choseiden, and syllabic-style tunes, such as the melancholy music used from 1964 to 1993 in the self-introduction announcement of Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Co., Ltd., which was originally the music of koto (a long Japanese zither with 13 strings).
曲の方も、後述の越天楽今様(音節型)の他に各種作られ、長生殿のようなメリスマ型の曲や、中部日本放送の局名告知(1964-1993)に使われたような暗い曲調のもの(原曲は箏曲、シラブル型)もあった。 - Wikipedia日英京都関連文書対訳コーパス