The program "Platinum Family: A Glimpse into the Lives of a Glamorous Family" (TV Asahi, Tuesdays at 7 PM) introduces the lifestyles of "glamorous families." On April 7th, a family that has supported the imperial family for three generations with "a certain item" will be featured.
The Hirata family, who live in a high-end residential area of Minato Ward, Tokyo, are a world-renowned design family that has been creating "a certain item" for members of the Imperial family for three generations: Hirata Ouko, who inherited the business from her father, the first generation Hirata Akio, their daughter Saki, and their son Sho.
These pieces are a "must-have" item for the fashion of members of the Imperial family, including Empress Emerita Michiko, and are all handmade haute couture. It can take nearly six months to complete one piece.
The family lives in a magnificent three-story mansion on a plot of land approximately 120 tsubo (about 400 square meters), complete with an exhibition space. In the basement of the house, which boasts a tasteful interior, there is a room with perfect temperature and humidity control, originally built as a wine cellar, where precious materials that "cannot be obtained again" are carefully stored.
When Hirata's shop in Nishi-Azabu was introduced, Chisako Takashima in the studio exclaimed, "I know that shop! It's been there forever!"
On this day, the show will feature a family from Aichi Prefecture that has been running a family business for over 400 years since the Edo period, and a family where three generations have been designated as "Living National Treasures."
