＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
<Addition on 12/3/2019> Naomi Watanabe is the 2019 CM Queen!
According to “M Data,” a TV program and commercial research company, comedian Naomi Watanabe won first place in the female category and actor Kenta Kiritani won first place in the male category in the “2019 TV-CM Broadcast Frequency Ranking.
In the “2019 TV-CM Company Ranking,” also announced at the same time, Naomi Watanabe ranked first in the female category (16 companies). Incidentally, the top 10 companies in the male category were Masaki Aiba and Sho Sakurai from the popular group “Arashi,” the comedy duo “Sandwich Man,” and Hidetoshi Nishijima.
It must be said that it is an “accomplishment” (or is it a monstrous accomplishment?) that a “comedian” won first place in the women’s category, which is crowded with many popular actresses and idols.
It is not so much her actions and performances, but rather “her likable presence and impact” that overwhelmed the others and made her a favorite for commercials.
Naomi Watanabe is in the limelight again as she obtained an American “artist visa” at the end of 2018 and moved her base of operations to New York April of 2019, where she will be living between the U.S. and Japan for the time being.
She seems to be very popular among New Yorkers as a “fat but cute comedian.
Naomi Watanabe is a female comedian who is, to put it bluntly, “quite fat”. Her Instagram now boasts the largest number of followers in Japan (8.79 million), surpassing that of celebrity and model Laura (5.44 million).
Why is her Instagram so popular?
１．Naomi Watanabe (1987- )
She is from New Taipei City, Taiwan, and her father is Japanese and her mother is Taiwanese.
In January 2008, she appeared on “New Year’s Big Sale! She was introduced as Koji Imada’s favorite comedian and appeared on “Sanma-no-Manma” in January 2008, performing two songs as a Beyonce impersonator.
She got her big break with her dance impersonation of Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.” At that time, she was supposed to impersonate Mariah Carey, but changed her plan to Beyonce just before the performance.
In March 2008, she formed “Iitomo Shoujo-tai” with Rin Suzuki on “Laugh It Up!
She was featured in a commercial for the family BEST “Love Destiny” by Destiny’s Child, an American group that Beyonce was a member of.
In May 2014, she studied in New York, the home of dance, for three months. In the same year, she was appointed as one of the “Boat Meow”, the image character of a boat race.
In 2016, she was introduced online in China as “fat but fashionable” and “in Japan, where obesity is considered shameful, her comicality completely infected the audience and her popularity grew rapidly. At the end of the same year, she was appointed “Taiwan Tourism Goodwill Ambassador” by the Tourism Bureau of Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation.
Recently, Kanako Yanagihara (1986- ), a comedian who is as fat as she is, has also become popular.
２．Secrets of Instagram’s Popularity
There are “two-shot photos with famous celebrities,” “using popular video apps,” and “fashion-related photos,” all of which are “bright, comical, and full of humor and impact.” Powerful artistic style” and ‘physical shape and lovable character’ are also weapons.
It has the impact of a sumo wrestler’s “buchikamashi” (body blow). The colors of the costumes are also vivid. Some of the songs are bizarre, and some are comical dances. They are all very interesting and fun to watch.
She does not demean or hide her obesity (although there is no way to hide it), but uses it against her and continues to communicate it in a cheerful and positive manner at all times.
Because of her popularity, she has even been asked by the founder of Instagram to have a “conversation” with him.
If you haven’t seen her Instagram yet, please take a look at it and see if you have been fooled. You may be attracted to her Instagram.
３．Standards of beauty change with the times
As a side note, the “standard of beauty” has changed dramatically over time.
British model Twiggy (1949- ), who came to Japan in 1967, wore mini-skirts with her slender figure and was called the “Queen of Mini,” becoming the envy of young women and gaining popularity.
On the other hand, the “Torige Ryujo no Byobu” (Standing Woman with Bird’s Hair) in the Shosoin Repository depicts a woman with a buxom and plump figure. This folding screen was presented to Todaiji Temple in 756, and is said to be the beloved treasure of Emperor Shomu, who built Todaiji Temple.
In the Nara period, Buddhist statues were often plump, and it seems that “fat” was the standard for beauty. Although the popularity of Twiggy may have had some influence, there has been a long-lasting “diet boom” in Japan since around 1970.
Naomi Watanabe’s popularity may be the power to put an end to the “diet boom” that has gone too far.
Personally, I think that a buxom woman is definitely more attractive than a skinny woman…