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 Valley and to the south the international boundary with the U.S. state of California and Baja California. The culture of the area blends those of the United States and Mexico, due to its regional history and geographic location along the international border. The Imperial Valley economy is based on agriculture. Imperial Valley was so named by the Imperial Land Company, in hopes of attracting settlers. Having done that it is now the home of the El Centro metropolitan area and also an economic center of California's government defined "South Border". Locally, the terms "Imperial Valley" and "Imperial County" are used synonymously.