MOMOYA TV-Ads169-1983- Hiyayakko

Time: 30 sec.

Product Name: TOFU-RYORI

Description of Product: TOFU-RYORI is stir fry sauces for tofu dish called “Gomoku Ankake,” also for Chinese-style tofu simmered in tomato, and for tofu stewed in Curry.

Year: 1983

Advertiser: Momoya Co., Ltd.

Advertising Agency: YOMIKO Advertising Inc.

Production Company: Cinq Co., Ltd.

Description of Title: "Hiyayakko" is a popular Japanese cuisine made with chilled tofu and toppings, and it is usually eaten during the summer season.

In the opening shot, a sought-after Geisha named Hiyayakko appears from the half-open Japanese sliding doors called Fusuma. Wearing a vivid red Kimono, she starts her performance after a quick and polite kneeling bow. To describe, she stands up and stretches her legs boldly, playing a Shamisen as if she is a rock guitarist. Then, she finishes her dance with a pose, holding a Hiyayakko dish, a Japanese cuisine made with chilled tofu and toppings, on her right hand. However, 3 different young Geisha characters show up in the next room, offering other varieties of tofu dishes. Finally, Hiyayakko raises her wig of Geisha Shimada, a traditional Japanese hairstyle for Geisha, to their beautiful performance. Thus, this piece uniquely introduces 4 kinds of tofu dishes that are personified as Geisha characters.

MOMOYA TV-Ads165-1983-Constellation

Time: 15 sec.

Product Name: EDO-MURASAKI-O!-EC-DESU

Description of Product: EDO-MURASAKI-O!-EC-DESU is a savory preserve made of seaweed, called “Nori-no-tsukudani” in Japanese. It is made with soy sauce, sugar, mirin (rice wine) and also contains vitamin E and calcium. It is preservable, and often eaten with Japanese rice.

Year: 1983

Advertiser: Momoya Co., Ltd.

Advertising Agency: YOMIKO Advertising Inc.

Production Company: Cinq Co., Ltd.

This is an omnibus-style work composed of 3 different stories. The letters of ‘O,’’E’ and ‘C,’ used repeatedly in this animation, are for ‘oishii’ which means ‘tasty’ in Japanese, ‘vitamin E’ and ‘calcium’ respectively. In the first episode, a boy and a family of badgers stand on a hill. Straight after the boy shout at the sky dyed orange by sunset, it turns into a starry sky, and the letters of ‘E’ and ‘C’ float like a constellation. In the following scene, a thief with a large bundle wrapped in a cloth called Furoshiki looks inside a house stealthily. Noticing a policeman behind him, he runs away at furious speed. In the final part, the medium shot frames a man who introduces himself. He is a burlesque of Yoshio Oishi, a famous character in “Chushingura” stories as a leader of Ako Roshi or the Forty-Seven Ronin.

MOMOYA TV-Ads164-1983-O! EC Monogatari

Time: 30 sec.

Product Name: EDO-MURASAKI-O!-EC-DESU

Description of Product: EDO-MURASAKI-O!-EC-DESU is a savory preserve made of seaweed, called “Nori-no-tsukudani” in Japanese. It is made with soy sauce, sugar, mirin (rice wine) and also contains vitamin E and calcium. It is preservable, and often eaten with Japanese rice.

Year: 1983

Advertiser: Momoya Co., Ltd.

Advertising Agency: YOMIKO Advertising Inc.

Production Company: Cinq Co., Ltd.

Description of Title: This title, “O! EC Monogatari,” is a kind of wordplay which has two different meanings. The capital letter E in “O! EC” is for vitamin E, and C is for calcium that is contained in this product. On the other hand, in Japanese, “Oishii” means "tasty" or "sweet," and “Monogatari” means a "story" or a "tale." Therefore, “O! EC Monogatari” can be interpreted as “a story of vitamin E and calcium,” and it also means “a story about something tasty or sweet.”

Set in a daytime shopping street, the opening scene introduces a young blond guy in a white suit stands to pick up a girl. He immediately finds a beautiful girl in a pink skirt and a sky-blue jacket, who weaves her blown hair into ponytail with a yellow ribbon. Although he waits for her posing with a cigarette, she ignores him and walks down a street alone. Being kept chasing persistently, she gets angry and jabs his stomach with her elbow. Then, he transforms into a superhero, as a last resort, to impress her. The hero in this scene is a parody of “Superman,” and its film sequel “Superman III,” starring Christopher Reeve, was released in 1983.