Imperial Hotel, Tokyo of its own logo, with the guest room wings forming the letter "H", while the public rooms were in a smaller but taller central wing shaped like the letter "I" that cut through the middle of the "H". In 1911, Frank Lloyd Wright was recommended to Aisaku Hayashi of the Imperial Hotel by Frederick W. Gookin, a fellow collector of Japanese art. By 1912, Wright was corresponding directly with Hayashi, but the death of Emperor Meiji put a hold on discussions. When discussions resumed, Wright traveled to Japan, leaving the United States on 11 January 1913. During his stay, Wright
Imperial Hotel, Tokyo board had approved the plans in time for Wright to sail for Japan on 28 December 1916. The purpose of the 1917 visit (Wright arrived on January 9 and left on April 21) was to prepare for construction—examine the site more thoroughly, make arrangements for materials, and hire draftsmen to make the working drawings. Wright was back at Taliesin by mid-May. Initial working drawings were all done at Taliesin, and Wright would not return to Japan until 17 November 1918 to supervise the start of construction. In late 1919, when work had just begun on the new hotel, the 1906