Sakura had visited the Fukiage Palace many times, and every time she found the official residence of the emperor and his family to be at odds with itself. Designed by the Japanese architect Shōzō Uchii, it was a modern structure in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, the American master of modernism who had himself been influenced by traditional Japanese design. While the exterior was rather ugly, made as it was of dull reinforced concrete, the interiors were a play of warm, pale wood and traditional Japanese elements that conspired to create beautiful, modern, light-filled spaces.
