Katsura Imperial Villa able to create new rooms within the architecture. For instance by moving one fusuma wall, one could transform two rooms into one large room and a small storage closet. In the Katsura Imperial Villa, the fusuma allows the rooms to change and open up to the natural world with exterior decks becoming extensions of the interior and framing views of the landscape. An example of this type of transformation is the moon viewing platform connected to the Old Shoin. Besides these characteristics, there are many traditional Japanese ideas that are used in the Katsura Imperial Villa, like the decorative alcove
Imperial, California first school in the valley and the first Chamber of Commerce. The City of Imperial was incorporated July 12, 1904 thus being the first city in the valley to incorporate. The city was originally thought to become the county seat, but lost out to the City of El Centro in 1907. Imperial through the years became the location for the home of the Imperial Irrigation District, the California mid-winter fair and the Imperial County airport. Also several businesses were established in the city. Imperial was devastated by earthquakes in 1916 and 1940. An earthquake in 1979 destroyed many of the