This article investigates the grammatical aspects of nominalization and the Japanese da predicate as critical strategies for realizing the effect of what I call 'rhetorical ricochet' in Japanese discourse. The study explores the expressive function of the nominal/nominalizer and da in 28 imaginary letters appearing in Asahi Shimbun as well as a literary text (Yukiguni) along with its English translation (Snow Country). I conclude that the combination of a certain kind of nominal/nominalizer (i.e. the koto 'event' type) and the da predicate reinforces the topic-comment relationship, through which the rhetorical ricochet effect is realized. This article draws from theories on rhetoric and discourse functionalism, and the concept of shared perspectives, in particular.