MOMOYA TV-Ads133-1978-Tenryu-kudari

Time: 30 sec.

Product Name: IKA-SHIOKARA

Description of Product: IKA-SHIOKARA is salt-fermented cuttlefish guts with small pieces of its meat. It is generally eaten with Japanese rice and alcohol such as Japanese Sake, beer and liquor.

Year: 1978

Advertiser: Momoya Co., Ltd.

Advertising Agency: YOMIKO Advertising Inc.

Production Company: Cinq Co., Ltd.

Description of Title: Tenryu Kudari is to go down the Tenryu River that drains the eastern part of central Honshu, Japan, on a raft.

Although the title is different, this piece is a color remake of “Raft,” the Momoya’s black-and-white TV ad broadcasted in 1968. In this color “Tenryu-kudari” version, the animated character and the background images were entirely redrawn, while the narrative and the lines of a boatman were almost kept unchanged. In detail, the background images of a steep-sidedgorge, which were depicted in a style of Suibokuga in 1968 version, look like the Grand Canyon with an ocher color. Also, a boatman wears a red T-shirt and white shorts, instead of a traditional Japanese coat Happi. In addition, he holds a bamboo pole as if it is a paddle of canoe in the scene just before the closing. Thus, American or European culture was prominently introduced into this color version, compared with the black-and-white version of 1968.

MOMOYA TV-Ads132-1978-Kendo

Time: 30 sec.

Product Name: MEMMA

Description of Product: MEMMA, originated in China, is a sliced bamboo shoot, seasoned with sesame oil, red chili pepper oil, salt and sugar etc. In Japan, it is quite common to eat Memma with Ramen noodles.

Year: 1978

Advertiser: Momoya Co., Ltd.

Advertising Agency: YOMIKO Advertising Inc.

Production Company: Cinq Co., Ltd.

Description of Title: Kendo, literally means the way of the sword, is the Japanese martial art of fencing. It was developed from traditional techniques of Japanese swordsmanship known as Kenjutsu.

In the back of a formal training place Dojo for Kendo, a Japanese carpenter called Daiku sits on a wooden box and has a lunch break eating an Omusubi rice ball. Even though the tip of a bamboo sword Shinai almost catches his face piercing though a wall, he dodges it quite calmly. Patching a square piece of wood to the wall, he stands up and strikes a pose with a jar on his left hand. Then, a female trainee finds him and struggles to snatch it. Kendo, literally means the way of sword, is the Japanese martial art that is similar to fencing. It was developed from Kenjutsu, traditional techniques of Japanese swordsmanship, and called as Kendo after the Meiji period.

MOMOYA TV-Ads130-1978-Story of Moto

Time: 30 sec.

Product Name: MABO-DOFU-NO-MOTO

Description of Product: MABO-DOFU-NO-MOTO is a stir fry sauce for a popular Sichuan or Szechuan cuisine “Mapo doufu.” This spicy sauce can be stir-fried not only with tofu, but also with minced meat, onions and so on.

Year: 1978

Advertiser: Momoya Co., Ltd.

Advertising Agency: YOMIKO Advertising Inc.

Production Company: Cinq Co., Ltd.

Description of Title: This title, “Story of Moto,” is a kind of pun which has two different meanings. In Japanese, “moto” means “origin” or “beginning,” and also “material” or “ingredient.” Therefore, the “Story of Moto” can be interpreted as the “story of the beginning,” and it also means the “story of the ingredient,” namely this product MABO-DOFU-NO-MOTO.

As the voice-over starts telling ‘once upon a time,’ a man on a bicycle shows up in the burlesque landscape of the Great Wall of China twisted through the mountains. Pulling over and getting off the bicycle, he calls out an old lady in the two-storied building that resembles to Rokaku in Japanese language. After she answers leaning out of the second floor’s window, he ropes the building to the Great Wall and goes to her place as if he were a tightrope walker. In the following shot, the couple enjoys their meal together in the dining room. The latter part is mainly composed of live action shots, displaying the Mapo doufu, one of the most recognized Chinese dishes.

MOMOYA TV-Ads129-1978-Oko-ko Dancing

Time: 30 sec.

Product Name: OKO-KO-DESU

Description of Product: OKO-KO-DESU is a kind of “Takuan” that is a popular and traditional pickle made of daikon radish in Japan. It is very popular as a side dish of Japanese cuisine.

Year: 1978

Advertiser: Momoya Co., Ltd.

Advertising Agency: YOMIKO Advertising Inc.

Production Company: Cinq Co., Ltd.

Description of Title: "Oko-ko," also called “Takuan,” “Takuwan” or “Oshinko,” is a popular and traditional pickle made of daikon radish in Japan.

In the opening shot, tall and thin male character and a short, plump woman standing back to back with each other are silhouetted against a dark background. Once the stage is lightened and the music starts, they begin dancing rhythmically. The song and these characters, including their costume and choreography, are a parody of “Ringo Satsujin Jiken,” literally means the apple murder case, which was performed by a duo Hiromi Go and Kirin Kiki as the soundtrack of a TV drama series “Mu Ichizoku” in 1978. On the other hand, the lyrics are a burlesque pastiche of the songs by a Japanese female pop music duo named Pink Lady who had an extremely high popularity in those days. In detail, “Carmen ’77,”“Wanted (Shimei Tehai),”“UFO,”“S.O.S.” and ”Pepper Keibu” are quoted in this 30-second TV ad.

MOMOYA TV-Ads128-1978- Dispute over Flavors

Time: 30 sec.

Product Name: YAKINIKU-NO-TARE-SISEN, YAKINIKU-NO-TARE-KANTON

Description of Product:
YAKINIKU-NO-TARE-SISEN is a spicy sauce for “Yakiniku,” literally means grilled or barbequed meats, in the Sichuan style.

YAKINIKU-NO-TARE-KANTON is a sweet sauce for “Yakiniku,” literally means grilled or barbequed meats, in the Cantonese style.

Year: 1978

Advertiser: Momoya Co., Ltd.

Advertising Agency: YOMIKO Advertising Inc.

Production Company: Cinq Co., Ltd.

On the top of precipitous rock, there are a lady who resembles a celestial maiden,known as Tennyo, and a male character dressed like Chinese old monarch or general. They dispute over their tastes for a dipping sauce called Tare used in Yakiniku grilling; she likes mild Cantonese-style sauce, but he prefers hot Sichuan-style one. The rock is split into 2 parts because of their furiousness, and then an immortal hermit Sennin appears riding on a floating cloud. He intervenes in their quarrel angrily and preaches on the generosity towards individualities to them. Thus, the bottles of Sichuan and Cantonese-style sauces are given to male and female characters respectively, while Sennin enjoys barbecuing meats with both flavors of Tare.

MOMOYA TV-Ads127-1978-Omotesando

Time: 30 sec.

Product Name: UME-GONOMI, UME-GONOMI-TSUBU-TSUBU, UME-GONOMI-KATSUO-UME

Description of Product: UME-GONOMI, UME-GONOMI-TSUBU-TSUBU and UME-GONOMI-KATSUO-UME are savory preserves made of plum with apple, sugar, vinegar, labiates, bonito and kelp. It is often eaten with Japanese rice or porridge, and also used as a seasoning for various dishes.

Year: 1978

Advertiser: Momoya Co., Ltd.

Advertising Agency: YOMIKO Advertising Inc.

Production Company: Cinq Co., Ltd.

Description of Title: Omotesando is an avenue in Tokyo, Japan, stretching from Harajuku Station to Aoyama-dori where Omotesando Station can be found.

Set in Omotesando, a street which connects Harajuku and Aoyama in Tokyo, and also a Mecca for young people, this piece showcases a variety of youth subcultures of both Japan and overseas around 1978. Firstly, a girl in a baggy cloth and her distinctive dance on the sidewalk are associated with Takenoko-zoku, literally bamboo shoot kids, a teenager-orienteddance group of the mid 1970s and the mid 1980s. Then, one of mannequinsin a window displayof a boutique strikes a pose like John Travolta in “Saturday Night Fever.” Also, a robot strolling along the street is a parody of R2-D2 in a George Lucas film “Star Wars.” In fact, these 2 films were released in 1978 in Japan despite their U.S. releases in 1977.

MOMOYA TV-Ads126-1978-Kakube-jishi

Time: 30 sec.

Product Name: GOMOKU-ZUSHI-NO-TANE


Description of Product: GOMOKU-ZUSHI-NO-TANE is a rice seasoning for a kind of Japanese sushi “Gomoku-zushi.” It is usually mixed a variety of chopped vegetables and mushrooms, such as carrot, lotus root, shiitake mushroom, bamboo shoot, and fried bean curd with sushi rice.

Year: 1978

Advertiser: Momoya Co., Ltd.

Advertising Agency: YOMIKO Advertising Inc.

Production Company: Cinq Co., Ltd.

Description of Title: "Kakube-jishi," also known as "Echigo-jishi," is a traditional lion dance in Tsukigata area located in Niigata City, Niigata prefecture, Japan. The performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume.

Beginning with the extreme long shot of a thatched house in the countryside, it portrays children who put the ornaments of red lion face on top of their heads. Accompanied on the drum by a boy, a girl shows back flips and handwalking lightly. This piece describes a traditional lion dance “Kakube-jishi,” also known as “Echigo-jishi,” which has been come down to people in Tsukigata area, Niigata prefecture. The lion character so-called Shishi-mai of this regional dance is mainly performed by youngsters who are around 7-15 years old. The animated characters’ lines before the closing scene are quoted from “Gampeki no Haha,” literally means a mother on a pier, which was filmed in 1976, and was dramatized on TV in 1977.

MOMOYA TV-Ads125-1978-UFO

Time: 30 sec.

Product Name: TSUYU

Description of Product: TSUYU, a flavoring liquid made from bonito, seaweed and mirin, is a soup stock for noodles. Also, it is served as a sauce for tempura, and added to teriyaki and other marinades.

Year: 1978

Advertiser: Momoya Co., Ltd.

Advertising Agency: YOMIKO Advertising Inc.

Production Company: Cinq Co., Ltd.

MOMOYA TV-Ads121-1978-Cook

Time: 30 sec.

Product Name: MABO-DOFU-NO-MOTO

Description of Product: MABO-DOFU-NO-MOTO is a stir fry sauce for a popular Sichuan or Szechuan cuisine “Mapo doufu”. This spicy sauce can be stir-fried not only with tofu, but also with minced meat, onions and so on.

Year: 1978

Advertiser: Momoya Co., Ltd.

Advertising Agency: YOMIKO Advertising Inc.

Production Company: Cinq Co., Ltd.

MOMOYA TV-Ads131-1978-Kaminari-san

Time: 30 sec.

Product Name: ZA-SAI

Description of Product: ZA-SAI, or Zha-cai, is a Chinese pickled vegetable which is often called Sichuan vegetable or Szechwan vegetable in English. It is very popular as a side dish of Chinese cuisine, and also suitable to eat with Chinese rice porridge.

Year: 1978

Advertiser: Momoya Co., Ltd.

Advertising Agency: YOMIKO Advertising Inc.

Production Company: Cinq Co., Ltd.

Description of Title: Kaminari-san, so-called Raijin, is a god of thunder in Japanese mythology and Shinto.