Part 2- 幸福を売る男.....Kofuku o Uru Otoko (Happiness Selling Man)....
How did this song, a 1960 "chanson" style song, (from Wikipedia: Chanson can be distinguished from the rest of French "pop" music by following the rhythms of French language, rather than those of English)....end up in an advertisement in Japan in 2012? and why does it have a Japanese name?
Because of a man named 芦野 宏 Hiroshi Ashino, who passed away this year in February at the age of 87. He appeared on NHK's ''Kohaku Uta Gassen" for a period of 10 straight years in the 50's and 60's and dedicated himself to making "chanson" popular in Japan.
His version of "Le Marchand de Bonheur" came out in December 1960, with the original song topping the charts in France in the first six weeks of 1960.
Let's hear the Ashino san with 幸福を売る男.....Kofuku o Uru Otoko