Atsushi Watanabe's Building Exploration (October 2014)
JoJonium Vol. 8-17 (June 2014)
Interview Archive
An essay from Hirohiko Araki discussing his enjoyment of the "Atsushi Watanabe's Building Exploration" TV program as well as talking about his own home. It was published in the "Atsushi Watanabe's Building Exploration BOOK 25th Anniversary Special Edition" mook on October 31, 2014.[1][2]
Interview
What a shock!
The author of the popular manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is also a fan of Building Exploration!
"Mr. Watanabe, I'll follow you wherever you go..."
It's a soothing show.
"Good morning. I'm Atsushi Watanabe."
Every time I hear that narration, I get excited and think, "It's finally starting."
I usually watch Atsushi Watanabe's Building Exploration just as I go to bed. I watch the recorded program in bed like a kind of nightcap, and then drift off to sleep. The exterior of the house is shown as Watanabe appears, and then you enter the front door and meet the family who lives there for the first time. It feels like I'm visiting the house alongside Watanabe.
And as they make their way deeper and deeper into the house, Mr. Watanabe and the family talk about the layout, the materials, the key points, and their favorite furniture. I regularly see Mr. Watanabe sitting in a chair talking leisurely about how comfortable the house is, or taking a moment to pause as he goes up to the second floor before looking around the living room and exclaiming, "Woah!" in awe. As the show wraps up, Mr. Watanabe's hushed voice resonates pleasantly as he shares his impressions of the visit.
The next episode preview is also amazing. I don't think there are many shows that impress me with just their previews alone, but seeing the footage and hearing the narration of, "Next week, we'll visit in a wooden house of some kind," it makes me think, "I wonder what kind of house it is. I'd like to go. I'll just tune in again next week." At a little under 30 minutes, the length of each show is just right, and after watching it, I go to sleep feeling happy, thinking, "Today was another great day."
Many of the people who appear on the show are in their 30s. They're the generation that has finally obtained their dream home, and are about to begin writing a new chapter in their family's history. What I love about Building Exploration is that I get to see not only the unique homes, but also the atmosphere of hope around them, with people getting married, having children, and saying, "We built a home!" It's like a feeling of moving up in the world. It conveys hope for the future, and it makes the viewer feel joy, too.
I began watching Building Exploration so long ago that I hardly remember it. It used to air a little bit later in the day, right around the time I woke up. It was the perfect show to relax and watch while eating breakfast. Later on, when the broadcast time changed, I couldn't watch it when it aired anymore, so now I record it every week and watch it at night, when I have free time.
There are a lot of reality TV shows with a real estate theme, but I think Building Exploration, is the most interesting, if only because it's been running for so many years. The reason for that is probably Atsushi Watanabe's character.
The show has exposition, rising action, a climax, and resolution, and each time the houses are introduced with a similar pace. Mr. Watanabe's narration and comments are also so incorporated into the format that you could call them part of its beauty. Even though the houses are all different, the way they're presented is the same, so you'd think it'd be easy for it to become repetitive, but it probably feels so fresh because Mr. Watanabe's guidance is so wonderful. I think his honest and kind personality brings out the charm of the people who live there, and makes us feel at ease.
It's like a home version of Mito Kōmon or Sazae-san. Mito Kōmon and Sazae-san don't exactly have unusual stories, and even if something goes wrong, viewers know that it'll be alright in the end. I think the reason they've remained popular for so long is that you're allowed to get a little nervous while watching them, within a comfortable range.
The same goes for Building Exploration. It doesn't seem to have a story, and Mr. Watanabe is like Mito Komon, traveling through houses and conversing with the people who live there. Just like how Mito Komon isn't just a story about defeating bad guys, but becomes a tourist's guide to all of Japan by visiting various places, Mr. Watanabe is a great guide who shows you around houses as if they were tourist attractions, and even tells you about the preferences and philosophies of the people who live there.
Houses are strange things, in that they reflect the personalities of their occupants. Custom-built houses like those featured in Building Exploration particularly put the tastes and personality of their residents on full display. Perhaps we, the viewers, are "profiling" the tastes and lifestyles of the residents themselves through Mr. Watanabe.
I've been very interested in other people's houses ever since I was a child. It's difficult for children to come into a house by themselves, isn't it? Even if they wait at the entrance, as soon their friends appear, they immediately go outside to play. But I was always curious about what was going on inside, wondering, "What's on top of the stairs I can see from the entrance?" or, "I can hear music, but from what room and what kind of audio equipment?"
Even now, I have a strong desire to see other people's houses, so when my friends build a house or buy an apartment, I almost always come to see it. I also try to see as many of the rooms as I can. When I built my own house, if they wanted, I would show my friends around all of the rooms.
When a woman appears by herself in Building Exploration, I wonder what happened to her husband and the rest of her family. And when I see a strange ornament, I wonder why they'd buy such a weird ornament, or why they'd put it halfway up the stairs.
It's interesting to see how different people prioritize different parts of the house, like a music room or a basement. Also, I feel like pasta has become more common in family meal scenes recently. It feels as though curry rice was a little bit more common before. Of course, there's no katsudon, and there never was (laughs).
The houses that left the biggest impression on me were the ones that were built right next to each other like terraced houses, and held either twins or married couples. They were identical in construction, but if you looked closely, you'd notice that there were slight differences in the designs and the things they placed inside the house. Those subtle differences felt like something right out of science fiction.
I also remember the house that looked like a field. The roof was a field, so even though it was a house, it felt like you were outside the whole time. I was also impressed by the house where the staircase spun around and around, and took up a whole room.
There are times when I have to go, "Woah!" and pause the recording, and sometimes I get hung up wondering about the entrance and rewind the video after it's already progressed to the living room. I even store away the recordings of episodes I like so I don't delete them.
I built my house over a decade ago, but seeing so many houses on Building Exploration proved useful to me regardless.
I was particular about making the house comfortable and easy to live in. In particular, I wanted dining to become the center of the house, so I made the kitchen the brightest room. Mr. Watanabe often says, "That's nice. That's relaxing." It's good to pursue interesting and stylish design in a house, but I believed that comfort was most important.
JoJolion (Part 8 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) includes blueprints of the Higashikata family home where the main character lives, and in the same way, I also drew my own blueprints for my ideal house and gave them to an architect.
Some of my choices in furniture were based on Building Exploration. For example, the floor lamp with arched supports is one that appears in many of the houses. When I saw furniture featured on the show in interior design shops, I was so impressed that I thought, "Oh, is that the chair? Furniture by famous designers really is different," and that experience was very helpful in designing my own home. But I mainly dealt with decisions regarding the structure and functionality. I left the interior design and colors to my wife. She spends more time at home, so I wanted the space to be comfortable for her.
At the end of Building Exploration, you see the floor plan and construction costs. I checked that data as well. I paid particularly close attention to the floor plan. I'm interested in the structure and orientation of the building. I like to think about the flow of it all, which way people will face and how they'll move and such.
Both in real life and in manga, I pay attention to directions and flows. Tokyo has a lot of diagonal streets, so if you don't pay attention to your direction, you'll quickly get lost. When drawing manga, it's also very important to think about which direction the main character is facing, whether the window faces south, which direction the enemy is attacking from, and so on.
When it comes to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure in particular, because of the particular era and country each story takes place in, I draw up blueprints of the buildings and figure out their style and structure before the serialization begins. When it comes to making sure the story and art don't veer off track, no matter how long the series has been running, the design and structure of the houses are just as important as fleshing out the characters' personalities.
I often look at architectural photography books and specialized books for reference when drawing manga. Even the house in which JoJolion's main character lives is inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's house. Rather than simply copying the actual building, I drew it as though I were a disciple of his. I incorporated design features such as how the wood meshes with the stone pillars, or how the glass is fitted into its frames.
It's been 27 years since JoJo began. Building Exploration is only 25 years old, and that two-year gap gives me a sense of familiarity. I really want to thank Mr. Watanabe personally for introducing me to so many houses.
If they ever work on a special, I'd love to see him visit houses overseas. Whether it's Asia or Europe, I don't mind. The housing situations over there are so different from Japan's, so I'd like to take a closer look at them. Domestically, I'd like to see him visit people who live in places with location and land restrictions, like on a boat or deep in the mountains.
No matter how obsessed you become with your own interests, it's alright. We, the fans, will follow you wherever you go.
「ジョジョの奇妙な冒険」の作者も「建もの探訪」ファンでした！
渡辺さん、どこまでもついていきますよ
癒やし、の番組ですよね。
「おはようございます。渡辺篤史です」
毎回、このナレーションを聞くと、「さぁ、始まるぞ」とワクワクした気持ちになります。
僕が「渡辺篤史の建もの探訪」を観るのは、たいてい眠る直前。ナイトキャップのように、ベッドの中で、録画している番組を観てから眠るんです。渡辺さんの登場とともに家の外観が映し出され、玄関を入って、その家に住む家族と初めて対面する。まるで、渡辺さんと一緒にお宅訪問している気分になります。
そして、家の中を奥へ奥へとじっくりと進みながら、間取りや材質、こだわりのポイント、自慢の家具などを渡辺さんと家族が語り合う。椅子に座り、家の心地よさをゆったりと語ったり、2階に上がるときに一瞬、タメを作ってから、リビングを見渡して「おお」と感動する渡辺さんの姿も毎回のお約束。最後の締めとして、訪問の感想を語る渡辺さんの渋い声も心地よく響きます。
次回の予告がまた素晴らしい。予告に感動する番組って、あまりないと思うんですが、「来週はなんとかの木の家です」といったナレーションと映像を観るだけで、「どんな家なんだろう。行ってみたいな。また来週も観よう」という気にさせられます。30分弱という長さもちょうどよくて、見終わったあと、「今日もよかったなぁ」と、僕は幸せな気分に包まれながら眠りにつくのです。
番組に登場する方は、多くが30代。念願のマイホームを手に入れて、これからまた新たな家族の歴史を作っていくぞ、という世代ですよね。僕が「建もの探訪」を大好きなのは、ユニークな家が見られるだけでなく、結婚したり、子どもができて、「家を建てましたー!」っていう、希望に満ちた雰囲気があるからなんです。上っていく感覚っていうのかな。未来への希望が伝わってきて、観ているほうも幸せな気持ちになるんです。
「建もの探訪」を見始めたのは、覚えていないくらい昔です。以前は放送時間がもう少し遅くて、ちょうど起きる時間に放映されていました。朝ご飯を食べながら、のんびり観るのにぴったりの番組だったんですよね。その後、放送時間が変わったりして、タイミングよく観られなくなったので、今は毎週、録画予約して、余裕のある夜に観るという習慣になりました。
住まいをテーマにしたリアリティ番組はいろいろありますけど、長年、続いているだけあって、僕はやっぱり「建もの探訪」がいちばん面白いと思っています。理由は、なんといっても渡辺篤史さんのキャラクターじゃないでしょうか。
番組の構成に起承転結があって、毎回、同じような流れで家を紹介していく。渡辺さんのナレーションやコメントも様式美と呼びたいくらい型が決まっています。家は違っても、見せ方が同じなので、マンネリ化してもおかしくないのに、新鮮に感じるのは渡辺さんの案内が素晴らしいからでしょう。誠実で優しい人柄が、住んでいる人たちの魅力を引き出し、僕たちに安心感を与えてくれていると思うんですよね。
まるでマイホーム版の「水戸黄門」や「サザエさん」です。「水戸黄門」や「サザエさん」って、奇抜なストーリーでもないし、騒動が起きても最後は必ず丸く収まると視聴者も分かっている。安心できる範囲で、ちょっぴりドキドキしながら観られるところが長い間、人気を保ってきた理由だと思います。
「建もの探訪」も同じですよね。物語がないようであるし、渡辺さんは、家を旅して、住んでいる人と対話する黄門様のような存在なんです。「水戸黄門」が悪者を退治するだけの話ではなく、いろいろな場所を巡ることで全国の観光案内になっているように、渡辺さんは家を観光名所のように案内しながら、住む人のこだわりや哲学まで伝えてくれる名ガイドなんでしょうね。
家って不思議なもので、住む人の個性が表れますよね。とくに「建もの探訪」に出てくるような注文住宅は、住む人の好みや性格が色濃く出ます。たぶん僕たち視聴者は、渡辺さんを通して、住む人の好みとか生き方を〝プロファイリング〟的に観ているんじゃないでしょうか。
僕、子どもの頃から、人の家にすごく興味があったんですよ。子どもって、一人だとなかなか家の中まで上げてもらえませんよね。玄関で待ってても、友達が出てきたら、すぐに外に遊びに行っちゃう。だけど、「玄関から見える階段の上はどうなっているのかな」とか「音楽が聴こえるけど、どんな部屋にどんなオーディオが置いてあるのかな」とか、謎めいた奥の様子にずっと興味津々でした。
今も人の家を見たい気持ちが強くて、友達が家を建てたり、マンションを買うと、必ずと言っていいくらい見に行きます。それも、できるだけ全部の部屋を見せてもらうんです。僕が自宅を建てたときも、友達が望めば、あちこちの部屋を案内しました。
「建もの探訪」も、女性が一人で登場したりすると「旦那さんや他の家族はどうしたのかな」と思ったり、変わった置物があると、「こんな置物を買うんだ」「階段の途中にこんな飾りを置くんだ」と気にしたり、いろんな見方で楽しんでいます。
人によって音楽だったり、地下室だったり、重きを置いている部分が違うのも面白いですよね。あと、家族の食事シーンで最近多くなったと感じるのがパスタ。前はもう少しカレーライスの比率が高かった気がします。さすがにカツ丼はないですよね、昔も今も（笑）。
印象に残っているのが、双子だったか、どちらもご夫婦で住んでいて、長屋のように隣り合わせに建っている家です。作りはそっくりだけど、よく見ると、ちょっとずつ置いてあるものやデザインが違うんです。その微妙な違いがSF的でした。
野原のような家もよく覚えています。屋上が原っぱになっていて、家なのに、外にいるみたいなんですよ。ほかにも回転して上っていくような、階段自体が部屋になっているような家も、「すげーなぁ」と感動しましたね。
「おっ」と思ったところは一時停止して観ますし、リビングまで映像が進んでから、「玄関はどうだったっけ？」と気になって、戻すこともあります。気に入った回は録画を消さずに保存しているくらいです。
自宅を建てたのは十数年前ですが、「建もの探訪」でいろいろな家を見ていたことが役に立ちました。
僕がこだわったのは、住みやすくて快適な家にすること。とくに衣食住の中でも〝食べること〟を家の中心にしたかったので、キッチンを一番、日当たりのいい場所にしました。渡辺さんも「いいなぁ、くつろげるなぁ」ってよく言いますよね。家って面白さやデザインを追求するのもいいんですが、やっぱり大切なのは心地よさだと思ったんです。
今、連載中の「ジョジョリオン」（「ジョジョの奇妙な冒険」第8部）には、主人公が住む東方家の図面を載せていますが、同じように、僕も理想の家の図面を描いて設計士さんに渡したりしました。
「建もの探訪」を参考に選んだ家具もあります。たとえば、支柱がアーチ型のフロアスタンドランプ。いろいろなお宅によく出てくるんですよね。番組に登場した家具をインテリアショップで見かけたりすると、「おお、これがあの椅子か。やっぱり有名デザイナーの家具は違うなぁ」なんて感激してたんですけど、その経験が自宅を作るときの参考になりました。とはいえ、僕が決めたのは、主に構造や機能の部分。インテリアのデザインや色は妻に任せました。妻のほうが家にいる時間が長いですし、彼女にとって心地よい空間であってほしかったんです。
「建もの探訪」って最後に見取り図と建築費が出ますよね。あのデータもチェックします。とくに図面はじっくり見ます。建物の構造や方角が気になるんですよ。人間がどっちを向いて、どう動くか、動線を考えるのが好きなんですね。
実生活でも漫画でも方向や動線は気にします。東京は斜めの道が多いから、つねに方角を気にしてないと迷ってしまうし、漫画も主人公がどの方角を向いているかとか、窓が南向きかどうか、敵がどの方向から攻め込んでくるのか、など、絵を描くときにとても重要なんです。
とくに「ジョジョの奇妙な冒険」は、年代や国がストーリーの背景になっていることもあって、建物がどんな様式なのか、どう作られているか、連載が始まる前に図面を作っておきます。家のデザインや構造は、キャラクターの性格を細かく決めておくのと同じように、連載が長くなっても、ストーリーや絵がぶれないための大切な要素なんです。
漫画づくりの参考に、建築の写真集や専門書を見ることも多いです。「ジョジョリオン」の主人公が住む家も、参考にしたのはフランク・ロイド・ライトの家。実在の建物をそのまま真似するのではなく、弟子になった気持ちで描いています。石を柱にして木を組んでいくんだなとか、ガラスをはめるんだなとか、デザインの特徴を取り入れたりしています。
「ジョジョ」が始まってから、今年で27年。「建もの探訪」が25年と、2年違いなのも親しみを感じます。これまでたくさんの家を紹介してくれた渡辺さんには「ありがとうございます」と言いたいですね。
もし、スペシャル番組が作られるなら、ぜひ海外の家を訪問してもらいたい。アジアでもヨーロッパでも地域にはこだわりません。日本と住宅事情が違うので、じっくり見てみたいんですよ。国内なら、船の中とか、ものすごい山奥とか、何か場所や土地の制約があるところに住んでいる人を訪問してもらいたいなぁ。
趣味的な部分もどんどんマニアックに深めてもらって大丈夫です。ファンはどこまでも渡辺さんについていきますので。
