HHProbably a desert village. In general Japanese people think Arabs are aggressive. I found them to be very kind. If you look back into their history, they were always traveling, so they have an open mind, which reflects in their architecture. They often live in tents, structures that shift constantly.

RHAre you a nomad at heart?

HHI guess, I am. Recently I went to Yemen to visit a nomad group. Their buildings were 10 floors high and looked like skyscrapers in the desert. It looked bizarre. There was nothing around except a horizon of sand. The base of the buildings was made of stone and the upper part of wood and mud. On the very top was the kitchen. To protect and hide their women, they put them on the highest point of the structure. Women cannot go outside freely, so they constantly perceive the world from above. The Kyoto Station structure is about as tall as those desert dwellings, which were often destroyed and then rebuilt. Their style is about 2,000 years old.

RHAnd that’s where you could live yourself?

HHWell, today there are machine guns in every house because of the war. I managed to enter about six buildings, but not more. Tribes are constantly fighting. My village study-project started in the 1970s and it still continues.

RHHow did you manage to enter those six desert buildings? Did you bring one of your 300-page-catalogues with you and said “Hello, I am an architect from Japan?”

HHI tried to explain what I do, which was of course difficult. In these parts of the world, if you mention Japan, they only know the word “Toyota.” It was interesting to find out, that children always have a better sense for understanding than adults. Sometimes I just drew what I wanted to say in the sand and they understood. They were the translators between their parents and myself. In Central and South America I often could not succeed, because people don’t let their kids talk to foreigners.