In 1868, samurai from the two remote southern domains of Satsuma and Choshu seized the imperial palace in Kyoto, declared the restoration of the Meiji emperor and brought to a sudden end two-and-a-half centuries of rule by the Tokugawa shogunate.
The bass, as they always do, proliferated--either moved by migrating birds or fishing enthusiasts--and are now found in lakes from the capital to Kyoto, and even in eight of the 13 moats that surround Tokyo's Imperial Palace.
The Spiral building was financed by Wacoal, a staid old Kyoto lingerie maker that also raised eyebrows with its Tokyo branch office, on prime land near the Imperial Palace.