"Platinum Family: A Peek into a Magnificent Family" (TV Asahi, Tuesdays at 7 PM, excluding some areas) is a program showcasing the lifestyle of a "magnificent family." On January 27th, there will be a two-hour special titled "Infiltrating a Huge Mansion with a Long Wall Special." The program will introduce the lifestyle of a family who inherited a traditional performing art and who also served as an instructor to the Tokugawa Shogun during the Edo period.
The family lives in Kagurazaka, Tokyo, one of Japan's most prestigious locations. The house, with a land area of approximately 1330m² and an estimated land value of over 2 billion yen, is being built on a plot of land said to be worth at least 5 million yen per tsubo. The founder of the school was also involved in the design of Osaka Castle and Nagoya Castle, as well as the gardens of Nijo Castle in Kyoto, and served as an advisor to the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu.
In the spacious 12-tatami mat entrance hall, there is a washbasin for purifying hands, and a gatekeeper to welcome guests. Proceeding further inside, there is a reception room with an eye-catching tatami table, and the family crest, the Shippo Hanabishi crest, is incorporated into the ceiling and wall decorations. In the back, a well-maintained Japanese garden can be seen through the snow-viewing shoji screens, creating a tranquil Japanese atmosphere. MC Takashima Chisako, who watched the mansion from the studio, was amazed, saying, "I never thought a house like this could exist in Tokyo."
This traditional performing art, which has been passed down for over 400 years, is now a hugely popular school with bases both in Japan and overseas, and over 10,000 disciples. The current head of the school talks about the enterprising spirit that has been passed down through the generations, saying, "Since the time of our founder, we have incorporated foreign ideas, and in addition to our main business, we have also tried our hand at gardening, architecture, and singing."
This time, the program will feature a mansion in Nara where the descendants of an ancient powerful family live, a family that won the title of "world's best" in a contest and lives in a mansion of approximately 66,000 square meters in Kitakata, Fukushima, and a family that still lives in a samurai residence in Kakunodate, Akita.
