Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto was founded by Prince Hachijō Toshihito (1579 to 1629), and his son Toshitada renovated it after about 1641. The infobox gives only the 17th century, and the text records expansion by 1624 and its being called a palace by 1631. The article names no architect.
The main buildings are shoin style, with sukiya elements and Shinto and Zen influences. Materials include tatami mats, shoji and fusuma screens, bamboo and bark-covered wooden supports. The plan is a tatami-based pinwheel with raised floors, a moon-viewing platform, and teahouses in a strolling garden around a pond. Only the Geppa-rō is measured, at about 15 by 24 feet (4.6 by 7.3 m).
The Imperial Household Ministry took control in 1883, and the Imperial Household Agency has administered it since World War II. Five teahouses were originally built, but only four stand. The villa is closed, with garden tours by appointment.
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