The Japanese influence has been tremendously important to the evolution of the Craftsman aesthetic, and is a central part of some of the West Coast craftsman styles. It's hard to imagine Greene & Greene furniture, for example, stripped of the cloud lifts, bat forms and various other Asian imagery and decoration that the brothers integrated into so many aspects of their work.

John Struble, a woodworker based in Philadelphia, has been integrating design elements he has seen on his trips to China and Japan into his own work for over 20 years. His case pieces - step and other types of tansu (chest) - integrate traditionally North American materials like curly and birdeye maple into very traditionally Japanese and Korean forms, with a surprisingly contemporary result. Struble shows his work every year at the Philadelphia Furniture and Furnishings Show.