From 1890 to the present, Japanese-style gardens have been built on the Pacific West Coast so skillfully and in such large numbers that they have become an integral part of the region's landscape and culture. Japanese-Style Gardens of the Pacific West Coast explores the significance of these delightful and elegant landscapes, presenting the Japanese-style garden on the Pacific coast of the United States and Canada as being distinctly North American rather than imitations of "authentic" gardens in Japan.