The top 10 words describing the Japan of 2011--Part 3: Everybody knows that phrase.

Today, I'll continue to talk about the top 10 winners of the buzzwords and new words of the 2011 contest. I'll explain about one of them. If you are interested in what I talked about them before, please see the links below.

Part 2
http://japan-through-my-eyes.blogspot.com/2011/12/top-10-words-describing-japan-of-2011_05.html
Part1
http://japan-through-my-eyes.blogspot.com/2011/12/top-10-words-describing-japan-of-2011.html


★こだまでしょうか/kodamade syouka

Immediately after the devastating earthquake hit Japan on the 11th of March, all the regular TV programs were cancelled. Instead, special programs to report on what was going on in Japan were broadcast for the next two weeks. Even after this, regular TV commercials remained disappeared because their contents were seen inappropriate to the terrible situation. However, it seemed that commercial breaks were necessary in commercial broadcasting services, so several TV commercials created by Japan Advertising Council in 2010 were aired. These commercials were created to promote morality or enlighten the public about things they should know.

At the time, a lot of people left the TV on to get detailed information on what they cared about. Every time the commercial breaks came, people saw the substitute TV commercials. Since there were only several TV commercials created by the council, they were on the air in turns over and over. Even if people didn't intend to see them, they inevitably caught what was being talked about in the commercials. On top of that, some phrases used there were so catchy that many people blurted out the catchy phrases.

"こだまでしょうか/kodamade syouka" is one phrase used in one of these commercials. こだまでしょうか means that is this the echo to repeat anyone's words? Actually, in the commercial, a poem written by Misuzu kaneko (金子みすゞ）is used. I mean that all the phrases in the commercial are from her poem titled "こだまでしょうか/kodamade syouka". Misuzu Kaneko is a poet who was born more than 100 years ago. I've heard that the poem was written about 85 years ago. The frequent broadcasting of the commercial made her very popular. Then, her poetry book hit the bestseller list. Admittedly, the poem used in the commercial is thought-provoking.

Another phrase ”ぽぽぽぽ～ん/popopopo～n” has also become very popular although it wasn't selected as the top 10 winners. The phrase is from another TV commercial which was also created by the council and was frequently broadcast. The phrase doesn't have any meaning. I don't know why it has become very popular.