Blog #4: The comeback of a tradition - kaya (Koichi Saito)

A traditional thing which has made a comeback I choose is a kaya (蚊帳). This is an item that prevent us from mosquitoes. As kaya is made from a net, mosquitoes cannot go through it; therefore, we wouldn't be bitten by them. From this picture, we can know people in edo era used it as well.

In the old days, most of all houses in Japan had it. It was a kind of a symbol of summer in Japan. Without using a fun or an air conditioner, we can feel cool because the wind blow through the kaya. It has made a comeback especially in kindergartens in Japan. When children take naps, they entered it and sleep.

The reason why kaya is making a comeback is connected to the environmental problems, such as global warming. Using air conditioner needs lots of energy, and in order to produce the energy, CO2 is emitted. To stop this bad spiral, using "eco-item" is promoted by the government. I think this is the biggest reason why kindergartens started to use this production. Also, it's good for the children. In the kaya, the children can sleep well, a teacher said. It is a win-win solution for both the government and the kindergartens

I totally agree with this comeback. We don't rely on the electronic devices too much. The people in old ages were able to spend their life without them. They made efforts and invention in order to live more comfortably. We have to learn this way of thinking from them.

blog#4 The comes back of tradition -sensu- (Mayuko Kengaku)

Hi this is Mayuko.

There are a lot of traditional things in japan. All of them are unique and have interesting characteristics.

I choose Sensu 扇子　as a thing that has made a comeback in Japan.

Sensu is Japanese holding fan which was produced during Heian period (794-1192).  Sensu is made of paper on a bamboo frame, usually with a design painted on them. From ancient period, Japanese has been using Sensu not only to cool or refresh their selves but also as fashion item. However, opportunity to use a Sensu decreased by the spread of an electric fan or air-conditioners.

In recent years, I have many chances to see people who use Sensu during summer. In addition, there is Sensu area in the department store and there are many people who come to buy Sensu. People are used to consider Sensu as thing which old people use. But nowadays, there are many kinds of Sensu which design is very fashionable.

I think why Sensu is making a comeback is Sensu is very easy to carry and cool or refresh ourselves whenever we want. Moreover, after Tohoku earthquake (3.11), people start to economize power so Sensu is one of the best ways to get cooler without using air-conditioning. Also, there are many modern designs Sensu which young people like so that young people use Sensu as fashion item.

 I think it is very good thing that traditional thing is making a comeback because traditional things are very simple, but very useful. There are long history and ancient people’s idea in the behind. We must carry over them to next generation.

Blog#4 The comeback of traditional electric fan

Hello everybody, this is Eikou.

 

I chose “an electric fan”. When I was thinking of what is good for this project, and then suddenly came up with the idea, an electric fan, that reminds me of traditional summer in Japan.

 

First of all, I would like to introduce what it is. As you might have already known, basically, the electric fan is used in summer to produce winds with three or four wings spinning, so that people can feel it cool especially in summer. But how it is making a comeback nowadays?

 

When I went to Yodobashi camera, I was very surprised because I saw the electric fan without wings. Now I think that was the first symbol of the comeback of electric fan!

The main reason why it has made the comeback is, I think because of the earthquake occurred in Fukushima region. Since then many people have been saving their electricity usage, and that led people to use the electric fan again because it has less electric power consumption than the air conditioners.

 

Another possible reason for the electric fan’s comeback is that its merits are now being recognised once again. More specifically, it is said that if you are in the room with air conditioners all day long in summer, it will be very harmful (not healthy at all anyway). But instead of doing this electric fan is somewhat better because the wind produced by the electric fan is a lot more natural than that of air conditioners.

 

In my opinion, it is a good idea to use the electric fan more frequently because we can stay healthier, and save the electricity as well, which means we can kill the two birds with one stone. Therefore I totally agree with the idea of more common use of the electric fan.

 

Blog#4 The comeback of a tradition Furoshiki (Yuna Kahara)

Hi, this is Yuna.

I want to introduce traditional goods that have made a comeback in Japan. ‘make a comeback’ means things which grow in popularity again after declining for a while.

Everyone must have heard before, the goods are called Furoshiki. Furoshiki have been used since the Nara period, more than 1300 years ago. There were many hand-made Furosiki then and women used to make their own furoshiki and also make for families. People used them for wrapping folded cloth when they take a bath. There are many people wore Kimono (Japanese traditional cloth) then and they were indistinguishable whose cloth. Wrapping cloth with Furosiki made it easy to tell the difference.

After industrial revolution, people started to buy things instead of making by their own. Furoshiki was little by little replaced by new types of bags and wrapping paper.

Nowadays, many people and government are concerned with ecological problems and these problems are more serious than we think. Using environment-friendly goods has become a recent fat and that’s why Furoshiki has made a comeback in Japan.

Japanese-style has become popular especially among young people. Nowadays, young people tend to use Furoshiki to wrap gift and they can get their own Furoshiki by choosing color and a pattern of marks at shops. There are many stores specializing in hand-made Furoshiki. You can find books which show how to use Furoshiki at bookstore.

I think this is a good boom. People can not only know Japan’s tradition thoroughly but also learn the importance of taking good care of things and not waste precious resources. We can buy Furosiki online and also choose our favorite design from many types of Furosiki. I hope more and more young people pay attention to Furoshiki and use them.

Blog#4: The comeback of a tradition- Suteteko (Minori Tango)

I chose Suteteko as a thing which has made a comeback in Japan. I chose this product because about two years ago my farther bought one in summer. I had never heard the name before, and when I first saw it, I had no idea what it was. However it looked so comfortable and stylish and it seemed to exist from a long time ago in Japan.

             

First of all, let me explain what Suteteko is. Suteteko is mainly men’s underpants resembling loose Bermuda shorts. It can be the protection against the cold, protect pants from damages, breathe well, dry quickly and absorb sweat. It first spread in the Meiji era. People used it as underwear of Kimono and Hakama. Suteteko of the early days was mainly used as inner wears or pajamas, but nowadays it came back as a dressing gown in summer.

 

 Suteteko has been used mainly by men of the old and middle age. However about from 2008, Suteteko has been produced putting an emphasis on design, and several inner makers and famous apparel brands, such as UNIQLO have entered Suteteko industry, and that helped Suteteko come back into vogue not only among men but also among women and young generations. UNIQLO has started to put special advisers in the Suteteko booth to teach customers about Suteteko who do not know about it.

 

 In my opinion, this comeback is a good thing, because as Suteteko breathes well in summer while protects against the cold in winter, I think it is very ecological.  The damage of global warming has been getting serious as the year goes by, therefore we need to use the things which have the wisdom of ancient people in order to live comfortably. I think Japan has many things which resemble Suteteko such as Sensu and so on.

 

The comeback of a tradition - Japanese style wedding, Shinzenshiki (Minami)

For many people, a wedding is one of the biggest and most important events in their lives.  In recent years, Japanese style weddings have been coming back in Japan.  Solemn Japanese weddings are popular today. 

This type of wedding, Shinzenshiki, is generally held in a shrine by a Shinto priest and shrine maidens.  It was the original style of weddings in Japan, and the first wedding was held in Meiji era.  After spread of Western culture throughout Japan, Shinzenshiki had been diminishing and Western style wedding had taken the place of it.  This type of wedding is held in a church by a priest.  A lot of Japanese women might be attracted to beautiful dresses and veils.  Until several years ago, gorgeous Western style weddings were general in Japan. 

However, Japanese style weddings have revived among young couples in this century.  The cause of the popularity was that the number of talents who held Japanese style weddings has been recently increasing.  Though most people might imagine a wedding in a church until then, they came to find that a Japanese style wedding was also wonderful. 

The main reason that Shinzenshiki has been popular again is that people found that kimono suit Japanese.  It seems that there are a lot of couples who would like to show guests their suited styles.  Brides can be graceful in kimono and bridegrooms can be cool in hakama. 

I think that the comeback of a Japanese style wedding is a very good thing.  It is a precious chance for people to experience traditional style events of their countries such as a wedding.  Especially, Shinzenshiki is the wedding that only couples in Japan can hold, unlike Western style wedding.  It seems that experiencing Japanese style weddings make Japanese actually realise that they are Japanese and love their country more than ever before. 

 

                                                             

   
 

TV commercials which I used in ad comparison project (Eikou)

 I chose two different energy drinks for ad comparison project.



オロナミンC (Oronamin C)

 

 

リポビタンD (Lipovitan D)

 

Blog #4: The tirp for Hiroshima (Eikou Takahashi)

Hello, everyone, this is Eikou.

In this summer, I visited my father’s parents’ home which is my grandparents’ home. Today, I am going to talk about it.

 

From 9/2 to 9/4, I visited my father’s parents’ home to go to the hospital to see my grandfather. I have not really been there for about 10 years or something because my father’s parents’ home is located in Hiroshima which is so far from Tokyo (It takes about 4-5hours by Shinkansen) that I hardly can visit. It was also because I was too young to travel by myself 10 years ago, I had to go with my parents. However, we could not adjust our schedule.

Anyways I have not been there for over 10 years due to those reasons.

 

 

When I got there, my grandmother seemed like very pleasant to see me again. We had so much to talk about even though we last met a year ago in Tokyo.

The next day I went to the hospital to see my grandfather. Honestly, I was worried because I have heard from my parents that my grandfather has a quite bad disease. Although the operation went well, I was still a little bit worried about him.

But actually, I did not have to worry too much which was good. His condition was a lot better than I thought that I could not imagine he actually had taken the operation about three weeks ago.

I and my grandfather talked a lot as well. In this time he talked to me things he has never told me before such as his experiences during WW2. Since some people do not want to talk about it, it was very glad to know how he lived during WW2.

 

 

Although it was a very short trip, it became an unforgettable experience to me. I hope his condition is getting better and better, and I really wish to visit them again after his release from the hospital.

TV commercials for ad comparison project (Minori)

LOTTE XYLITOL（ロッテ　キシリトール）

http://www.lotte.co.jp/products/brand/xylitol/cm_move15.html

Meiji Xylish(明治　キシリッシュ)

TV commercial for ad comparison project (Yuna)

I choose two types of cleaners for making my research paper.

P&G ジョイ

花王　キュキュット

TV commercial for ad comparison project (mayuko)

I choose two deodorant commercials for the project!


8x4

Ag+

blog#4: My summer vacation(Minori Tango)

Hello, everyone. This is Miori. I am sure that we all had a great time in this summer.
And  I would like to share my memory of this summer with all of you.

During the summer vacation, I went to Ishikawa prefecture in which my grandparents live. I went there alone for the first time. I took bus and train, and it took me 8 hours in total to get to my grandparents' house. It had been 2 years since I last visited them, so it was the fisrt time to see them after I went to New Zealand to learn English.

I used to go to Ishikawa prefecture, and see not only my grandparents but also other relatives. I have 9 cousins and second cousins in total who live in there, and 8 people of them are younger than me, so everytime I go to Ishikawa, I look after, and play with them instead of their parents.

These are some of my cousins.

We enjoyed sparkers, and one day my aunt's family took me to Kyoto prefecture as well.

 

It was the first time after I went to New Zealand, so everyone asked me about it many times, and tried to make me speak English, but my grandmother told me that I became much cheerful than I used to be, and I was glad to hear that. I enjoyed so many things in Ishikawa and Kyoto. I enjoyed the beautiful scenery, air and life which seem to be carefree. But what I enjoyed most was the time I spent with my grandparents, other relatives and little cousins. For my relatives, it might be just an usual thing to go out or eat dishes everyone together. But for myself, I hardly go out or eat dinner with my family in Tokyo because of being busy, so I felt happiness all the time in Ishikawa.

From this experience, I realized how much I had missed the precious time I could have in my life, and people in Ishikawa recalled me to the importance of family, so from now on, I will spend the time with my family preciously, and I will try to have dinner together as much as I can.   

 

blog #4: How I spent my summer vacation

Hello everyone! This is Mayuko!
I will talk about how I spend my summer vacation this year.

I am part of Gakushuin Yacht club as a player.
Have you ever seen yacht sailing race?

Yacht (sailing boat) is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. There are two types of yacht : 470 and snipe in our club which run only by wind. I am in 470 team which can be seen in Tokyo Olympics in 2020.


Summer is the best season for sailing so I have been spending whole summer for practice. Practice mainly takes place in Hakkeijima sea paradise and Hayama which is known as famous place for yacht.
We stay there 5 days in  a week. Training camp sometimes makes me nervous because it is hard to find own time especially for freshman. And of course, practice is very hard and gets me very very tired. However I think that this life makes me stronger mentally and physically.

Our yacht season still continue so I will try to keep my self up by telling myself "hard work pay off
!"

This is a fire work that can be seen from training camp in hakkeijima!

TV commercial for ad comparison project (Minami)

I chose two kinds of ume liqueurs for my assignment. 


Choya's "Sararitoshita umeshu"
 

Sapporo Breweries' "Otokoume sour"

 

Blog #4: The last summer vacation in my student life (Minami)

Hello, this is Minami.  I will talk about my experience during the summer vacation. 

It was the last summer vacation for me.  I went to a lot of places and enjoyed them.  Although I have many memories, the most impressive event I experienced in this summer was 7 nights 8days training camp of a club. 

I belong to karatedou club of the university.  We have training camps twice in one year; in September and March.  I had joined a camp with a heave heart every time, because it is long and hard.  However, my motivation was so high due to the last training camp for me.  The practices were hard both physically and mentally the same as in the past.  Nevertheless, I decided to attack every practice in all seriousness because I will not be able to experience such an event.  For this reason, the harder I was in practice, the stronger sense of achievement I could feel. 

Also, I enjoyed breaks every day.  After the morning practices and the afternoon practices, we have free times.  During that time, we usually sleep, take a walk, talk to each other and so on.  There was also a night that we enjoyed fireworks and a test of our courage.  These times were very important for us to relax ourselves.  I enjoyed times full of laughter. 

Like this, my last training camp had finished.  I envied fourth grade seniors when I was a freshman, but now, it made me sad to think I will not be able to join the camp with my good members.  However, I think that it would be my support in the future because my effort during that period was overwhelming.  My coaches and seniors said so, too.  Although a big event of the club had finished, I have the remaining three months for club activity until my retirement.  I am going to do practice with all my strength. 

Being enthusiastic about something is so great.  I think that a college life is short but suitable for trying something. 

Blog #4; London

Hello, this is Koichi. In this summer vacation, I went to London. This was my first experience to visit foreign country. Moreover, I went there alone. Because of these factors, I was really nervous before I arrived at London.

The reason why I decided to go to London alone is that I wanted to know my English skills is good enough to live in foreign countries. Through this trip, I can find an interesting thing. I'm going to talk about it at the very end of this blog.

Now, I'd like to show you some pictures which I took in London. The first picture is this.

What I wanted to visit the most in London is this, Big Ben. It is one of the most famous architectures in the world. WhenI arrived at this place, I was really impressed. There were many people on the street; however, I felt like staying there long time.

The second picture is the one which shows changing the guard. To see this scene, I waited for moe than two hours. When we hear the word "British guards", many of us probably imagine the ones in red clothes; however, there are two kinds if soldiers- the red ones and navy ones. It deserves to wait for several hours to watch it.

Before I left Japan, I decided to watch musical in London. Fortunatelly, I could watch a popular musical, the Lion King. As I know this story, I was able to understand it easily. This musical was wonderful because every animal was played by people. Their performance was great. I heard that they study how animals move in zoos.

Before I visited London, I was confident in my listening skill rather than speaking skill; however, it wasn't true. My listening skill is not good enough. As English I often hear is the one for student; in other words, theachers speak English slowly or clearly for their students. But native speakers in London don't care their students of course, because they are not teachers. Through this trip, i can find my English skill is poor to stay in foreign countries. I think this experience gave me an imortant lesson which I can't learn in Japan.

TV Commercials I Used in the Assignment; Koichi Saito

Gogo-no-Kocha (午後の紅茶)
http://www.beverage.co.jp/gogo/ad_gallery/
Lipton (リプトン)
http://liptonchilled.com/cm/

*There are three kinds of TV commercials in Ggo-no-Kocha site. The ad which I used in my assignment is 「亀梨さんと魔法のリーフ編」.

Blog#4 Little Marlion

 Hi, this is Yuna. The hot days still continue. I really want autumn to come soon. I went to Singapore from August 22 to 25 with Mika, a friend from junior high school. Both she and I really like traveling and we’ve been to Korea, Australia and Vietnam.

 Nowadays, there are many attractive tours which are offered by tour companies and I think it is a real thrill of traveling when we choose one tour from many options. Preparing for traveling is also an interesting thing. We decided our detail on the airplane because we didn’t have enough time to decide before.

 There are many famous sightseeing spots such as Marina Bay Sands, botanical garden and Marlion Park. Marlion was smaller than I thought. Not surprisingly, Marlion is included in one of the three most disappointing spot in the world! We could go to almost all of the famous spots in four days because Singapore is comparatively small country. All Singaporean are warm-hearted and they talk to us in simple English. That’s why we were able to use English to communicate with them. I found an interesting difference between Japan and Singapore. Bringing chewing gum is forbidden in Singapore and it is not sold in stores any more. The reason why I like traveling is that I can relax and relieve stresses by going overseas and I can also learn about people and lifestyles in other countries.

  One of my friend Momoko is studying abroad in Bournmouth, England now. So I’ m planning to visit England in December this year. I need to save money and keep studying English hard so that I can enjoy myself there. I can get energy from traveling and this trip was really an unforgettable one!!

Blog #3:McDonald's TV commercial : Morning McDonald, fresh muffin -fresh morning ver.- (Mayuko Kengaku)

 I chose a McDonald's TV commercial.
 Needless to say, McDonald is a famous fast food restaurant in the world. Actually, there are many kinds of burgers that suit each countries culture. In Japan, 朝マック(morning McDonald) is very popular for all generations. 朝マック is for breakfast so it is available until 10:30 am.  A commercial that I chose is about a new fresh muffin for 朝マック.

 The theme of this commercial is word "fresh", which is included in  name of the  product . The story is very simple: Man washes his face in the morning and gets ready for work. And then he goes McDonald to eat a fresh muffin for breakfast. He smiles at a girl who sits next to him and eats a fresh muffin after he bites a fresh muffin. Fresh tomatos and cabbages appear while he washes his face.
Color that is mainly used in commercial is white and also water appears many times with vegetables , which gives us fresh image.  I think that it is good ad for 朝マック because people want to eat healthy and fresh things in the morning.
Therefore, the commercial shows man's daily routine in the morning. People do not have enough time in the morning so McDonald is perfect for  busy morning.
Overall, this commercial is very affective. The commercial gives you fresh morning image by showing clear water, fresh vegetables, and white color. In addition, water sound makes people feel fresh. People can know salling point of the product easily by watching the commercial which is ony 15 seconds. And in the end of the commercial, narrator says 今だけ！It means that the product is limited eddition so people can buy it only this time. Japanese people like new and limited thing so I think the commercial has big impact on people.

Blog#3 Bourbon, Fettuccine Gummy (Eikou)

Hello, everybody! This is Eikou. Today, I am going to tell you about a commercial which I chose. What I chose is Fettuccine gummy, and the company of this product is Bourbon. Before we start, please watch the commercial.

  What happens in CM are first of all, the product appears, and then a popular actress Tsubasa Honda(本田翼) is walking from the left to right. As she walks, three words, “Wow”, “Fun” and “Happy” created by the product (probably) comes up. Secondly, she accidently bumps into a robot. Since she has fun eating the product, she hugs it. Finally the slogan “楽しいグミでいこう” which means Let’s go with happy gummies appears.
  In this CM, vivid colours are used and I think colour usage is very effective because it gives audience a cheerful and positive images. In addition using various vivid colours have a big impact that audience will most likely remember it for a long time, or maybe they will recall it when they see it in the store.

  I think this CM is very successful because of a song and an actress. The song used in CM is pop tune, so that it makes us feel tatally happy and like we are dancing. In addition to this, the actress is the key to succeed the CM. She is now getting more famous and more famous that almost everybody knows or at least recognises her. Therefore, some people might watch the CM just to see her, and even if they see it just for her, they will probably have the idea of the product. Moreover, some big fan of her will purchase it.  

Blog#3 Honda and the information about 残クレ(Minori Tango)

I chose a TV commercial of Honda cars. It does not talk about the products, but it is about the Honda`s new commercial of 残クレ(zankure). First of all, please watch the commercial below.

 

残クレ　is a short word for 残価設定型クレジット(zanka setteigata credit), and it is a kind of credit system that Honda has started. When you buy a new Honda car on 残クレ, you do not have to pay a deposit which is normally necessary for a normal credit service. Moreover, you can decide how much you are going to pay for the car each month, and nce you decide it, it will not change until you finish the payment. At the beginning of the commercial, a young man seems to have an interest in cars, but thinks that this is not a chance for him, because he does not think he can afford it. He also mentioned he needs a lot of things which such as clothes, cellphones and so on. Then a mini car of Honda comes to him, and explains about 残クレ. When he heard about it, he seemed to be surprised that he might be able to buy a new car by himself, and seems to be relieved to know that. At the end of the commercial, he said 一番近くのホンダのお店に行けばいいんだ！(All you have to do is go to the closest Honda cars store!) I think this commercial is successful, because the young man(神木隆之介, Kamiki Ryunosuke) is an actor who has started acting since his early age, and is very well known among young generations, therefore this commercial can have a huge influence on young people to think if such a young man ( 神木隆之介) will be able to afford a car with the Honda`s new service, I may be able to afford it by myself! Moreover, the light music and white color behind the commercial makes people feel fun and brings us expectation that we can do something we thought we could hardly do before. In this commercial, even young people can buy a new car.

Blog #3: Frisk (Koichi)

I chose Frisk as the product I'm interested in. The name of the company which made the product is also Frisk. First of all, please watch the TV commercial. Please watch the third one, 「スッキリズム　いつでもどこでも」篇.   In this CM, there appear some people having frisk. They look annoyed, or they feel stresses; for example, a woman is involved in a traffic jam. During their tough time, they have frisk. We also hear a song, which tells us that what problems the people have. It helps us to guess they are irritated. As you can see, every person have frisk easily in this CM. The selling point is that you can feel refreshed easily however you're busy if you have frisk. I think this CM is really successful because we can image the good point of having frisk. Moreover, the song works effectively. It is easy to remeber because the lyrics are simple and the rhythm is good.

Blog #3: TOSHIBA and LED light (yuna Kahara)

Hi, this is Yuna.

The name of the company is Toshiba. The product which is shown in here is LED light. I chose it because I almost cried when I saw it on TV for the first time. Then I searched it on the Internet.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Short video of the advertisement.

 

 

 

 The strong point of the product is that we can use it for 10 years.

Though it may more expensive than other lights, it is worth buying because we can use it for 10 years.

 

  It is a story about one person from a child to get married and make her new family. In the middle of the story, she has both difficulties and happiness; passed an entrance exam for high school, had quarrels with her family, dating with her boyfriend. The light turned off for the first time after she got married and had a child. Lights have grown up with her. It shows how long ten years are and how important role it plays. Lights are not only a material, it also live with us. That’s why Toshiba has people to bring light in this advertisement I think.

 

 

 The woman is ordinary person. Music used there is not so loud and we can focus on the story. 

 

 I think this commercial is almost successful, excepting the advertisement is too long. And it is hard to know the product till the end of the commercial. But I like the way it expresses.  I started to feel lights familiar to me. And we can also feel warm-hearted person around us through this commercial.

 

 

 

Blog #3: P&G Japan's Febreze (Minami)

Hello, this is Minami.

The name of the product which I chose is Febreze for car. This is produced by P&G Japan.

It starts with a woman going into a car. The woman seems to be a mother of three brothers and to have a husband. When she opens a door, remaining smell of foods that her husband and sons had eaten spread and make her face distort. Her word "(nioiha shikkari) kokoni iru" means that smell of foods is difficult to remove. She sets up Febreze for a car. Then clean air comes out, and on the contrary, smell disappears together with vision of her husband and sons eating foods.

At that moment, music and colors have big effects. For as music, a minor melody turns into major melody at that moment. Also, clean blue color defeats dirty color. These changes indicate that uncomfortable air in the car turn into fresh one. These ways of expressing the change help viewers understand the effect of this product easily.

In addition, the phrase "kurumaniha kurumano Febreze" makes viewers know the product. Since Febreze for car is rare product, this announcement would have influence on selling this Febreze. The message also recommends people to get a suitable product for each use.

Furthermore, this commercial is one of the Febreze commercial series. In every commercial, a family consisted by a father, a mother and three sons appears. They seem to get along well with each other and be happy though they have some troubles related to smell, so they give good images to audience. The good images may make people buy the product.

In conclusion, I think that this advertisement is successful for selling the product due to the effects of the music, colors, words and characters. All these elements give a positive image and express the merit of this product: be effective against smell inthe car. I really want to buy one.