The
Wildlife of Japan includes its
floraFlora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
,
faunaFauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
and natural habitats. The islands of
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
stretch a long distance from north to south and cover a wide range of climatic zones. This results in a high diversity of
wildlifeWildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
despite Japan's isolation from the mainland of
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. In the north of the country, there are many
subarcticThe Subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Alaska, Canada, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and northern Mongolia...
species which have colonized Japan from the north. In the south there are south-east Asian species, typical of tropical regions. Between these areas lies the
temperateIn geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
zone which shares many species with
ChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and
KoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. Japan also has many endemic species that are found nowhere else.
Mammals
About 130 species of land
mammalMammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
occur in Japan. The largest of these are the two
bearBears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
s. The
brown bearThe brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...
(
Ursus arctos) is found in
Hokkaidō, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
where it plays an important role in the culture of the
Ainu peopleThe , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...
. The Asian black bear (
Ursus thibetanus) inhabits mountainous areas in
Honshūis the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
,
Kyūshūis the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
and
Shikokuis the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...
. Smaller
carnivoresThe diverse order Carnivora |Latin]] carō "flesh", + vorāre "to devour") includes over 260 species of placental mammals. Its members are formally referred to as carnivorans, while the word "carnivore" can refer to any meat-eating animal...
include the
red foxThe red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
(
Vulpes vulpes),
raccoon dogThe raccoon dog , also known as the magnut or tanuki, is a canid indigenous to east Asia. It is the only extant species in the genus Nyctereutes...
(
Nyctereutes procyonoides) and
Japanese martenThe Japanese marten is a mammal in the marten genus most closely related to the sable. It is half a meter in length on average, not counting a 20-centimeter-long tail, and between 1000 and 1500 grams in weight. Males are generally larger than females...
(
Martes melampus). There are two wild
catsFelidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
in Japan: the
leopard catThe leopard cat is a small wild cat of South and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern by IUCN as it is widely distributed but threatened by habitat loss and hunting in parts of its range...
(
Prionailurus bengalensis) of mainland Asia occurs on
Tsushima IslandTsushima Island is an island of the Japanese Archipelago situated in the middle of the Tsushima Strait at 34°25'N and 129°20'E. The main island of Tsushima was once a single island, but the island was divided into two in 1671 by the Ōfunakosiseto canal and into three in 1900 by the Manzekiseto canal...
while the
Iriomote catThe Iriomote cat , is a wild cat about the size of a domestic cat that lives exclusively on the Japanese island of Iriomote. It is considered a "living fossil" by many biologists because it has not changed much from its primitive form...
(
Prionailurus iriomotensis) is unique to the island of
IriomoteIriomote is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands and the second largest in Okinawa Prefecture after Okinawa Island itself....
.
Grazing mammals include the
sika deerThe Sika Deer, Cervus nippon, also known as the Spotted Deer or the Japanese Deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to various other parts of the world...
(
Cervus nippon),
Japanese serowThe Japanese serow , known in Japanese as the , is a goat-antelope found in dense woodland on Honshū, Japan....
(
Capricornis crispus) and wild boar (
Sus scrofa). Among Japan's most famous mammals is the
Japanese macaqueThe Japanese macaque , historically known as saru , but now known as Nihonzaru to distinguish it from other primates, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species native to Japan....
(
Macaca fuscata), the world's most northerly
monkeyA monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
.
Marine mammals include the
dugongThe dugong is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow , was hunted to extinction in the 18th century...
(
Dugong dugon),
finless porpoiseThe finless porpoise is one of six porpoise species. In the waters around Japan, at the northern end of its range, it is known as the sunameri . A freshwater population found in the Yangtze River in China is known locally as the jiangzhu or "river pig". There is a degree of taxonomic uncertainty...
(
Neophocaena phocaeniodes) and
Steller's sea lionThe Steller sea lion also known as the northern sea lion, is a threatened species of sea lion in the northern Pacific. It is the sole member of the genus Eumetopias and the largest of the eared seals . Among pinnipeds, it is inferior in size only to the walrus and the two elephant seals...
(
Eumetopias jubatus).
Birds
Over 600 species of
birdBirds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
have been recorded in Japan and more than 250 of these breed. A number of birds are
endemicAn endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
including the
Japanese woodpeckerJapanese Green Woodpecker , also known as Japanese Woodpecker, is a medium-sized woodpecker similar and closely related to the European Green Woodpecker, but endemic to Japan....
(
Picus awokera),
copper pheasantThe Copper Pheasant, Syrmaticus soemmerringii also known as Soemmerring's Pheasant is a large, up to 136cm long, pheasant with a rich coppery chestnut plumage, yellowish bill, brown iris and red facial skin. The female is a brown bird with greyish brown upperparts and buff barred dark brown below...
(
Syrmaticus soemmerringii) and Japan's
national bird, the
green pheasantThe Green Pheasant, Phasianus versicolor, also known as Japanese Pheasant, is native to the Japanese Archipelago, to which it is endemic. The male is distinguished from that species by its dark green plumage on the breast and mantle. The male also has an iridescent violet neck, red bare facial...
(
Phasianus versicolor). Several species are unique to the smaller islands including the
Okinawa railThe Okinawa Rail is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae. It is endemic to Okinawa Island in Japan where it is known as the...
(
Gallirallus okinawae),
Izu thrushThe Izu Thrush , also known as the Izu Islands Thrush, is a thrush native to the Izu and Ryukyu Islands of Japan, in particular, Hachijojima, Mikurajima, and Miyakejima in the former chain, and Yakushima and the Tokara Islands in the latter...
(
Turdus celanops) and
Bonin white-eyeThe Bonin White-eye Apalopteron familiare or is a small yellow and grey bird endemic to the Ogasawara Islands of Japan. Until recently it was considered part of the Meliphagidae family of honeyeaters and was called the Bonin Honeyeater.A distinctive feature of the bird is the white rim around the...
(
Apalopteron familiare ). Most of the non-endemic birds are shared with China but a few originate in Siberia or south-east Asia.
Large numbers of
migrantBird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
birds pass through Japan in spring and autumn including many
waderWaders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
s. In winter, several sites are important for
swanSwans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
s,
geeseThe word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....
and
cranesCranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...
.
Reptiles and amphibians
Japan has about 73 species of
reptileReptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
of which nearly half are endemic. The
mamushiGloydius blomhoffii, commonly known as the mamushi, or Japanese mamushi, is a venomous pitviper species found in China, Japan, and Korea. There are four subspecies including the nominate subspecies described here....
(
Gloydius blomhoffii) and the
tiger keelbackRhabdophis tigrinus is a venomous colubrid found in East and Southeast Asia. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Description:The dorsal color pattern is olive-drab green with black and bright orange crossbars or spots from the neck down the first third of the body. The belly is whitish...
(
Rhabdophis tigrinus) are the only venomous snakes in the main islands. The deadlier
habu' is a Japanese name used to refer to certain venomous snakes:Snakes:* The following species are found in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan:** Trimeresurus elegans, a.k.a. the Sakishima habu, found in the southern Ryukyu Islands...
s (
Trimeresurus spp.) are found in the
Ryukyu IslandsThe , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
.
Sea turtleSea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...
s and sea snakes occur in warmer waters around southern Japan.
There are over 40
amphibianAmphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
species including the
Japanese giant salamanderThe Japanese giant salamander is endemic to Japan, where it is known as , literally meaning "giant pepper fish". With a length of up to almost 1.5 meters , it is the second largest salamander in the world, only being surpassed by the very similar and closely related Chinese giant salamander The...
(
Andrias japonicus), one of the world's largest amphibians. The
Asiatic salamanderThe Asiatic Salamanders are primitive salamanders found all over Asia, and in European Russia. They are closely related to the Giant Salamanders , with which they form the suborder Cryptobranchoidea. About half of hynobiids are unique to Japan .Hynobiid salamanders practice external fertilization,...
family (Hynobiidae) is particularly well-represented; many members of the family are found only in Japan.
Fish
Over 3000 different types of
fishFish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
have been recorded in Japan. Important
freshwaterFresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
fish include the
ayuThe or sweetfish, Plecoglossus altivelis, is an amphidromous fish, the only species in the genus Plecoglossus and in family Plecoglossidae. It is a relative of the smelts and is placed in the order Osmeriformes...
(
Plecoglossus altivelis),
crucian carpThe crucian carp is a member of the family Cyprinidae, which includes many other fish, such as the common carp, or the smaller minnows. They inhabit lakes, ponds, and slow-moving rivers throughout Europe and Asia. The crucian is a medium-sized cyprinid, which rarely exceeds a weight of over 3.3...
(
Carassius carassius) and
common carpThe Common carp is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The wild populations are considered vulnerable to extinction, but the species has also been domesticated and introduced into environments worldwide, and is often considered an invasive...
(
Cyprinus carpio). The common carp is the ancestor of the well-known domestic
koior more specifically , are ornamental varieties of domesticated common carp that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens....
carp.
Important
saltwaterSeawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% . This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts . The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml...
fish include the
red sea breamRed sea bream is a name given to at least two species of fish of the family Sparidae, Pagrus major and Pagellus bogaraveo. Pagellus bogaraveo is also known as blackspot sea bream....
(
Pagrus major).
MudskipperMudskippers are members of the subfamily Oxudercinae , within the family Gobiidae . They are completely amphibious fish, fish that can use their pectoral fins to walk on land...
s are found in warmer areas while coral reefs in the Ryukyu Islands have many fish typical of tropical waters such as
parrotfishParrotfishes are a group of fishes that traditionally had been considered a family , but now often are considered a subfamily of the wrasses. They are found in relatively shallow tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world, but with the largest species richness in the Indo-Pacific...
and anemonefish. The little-known
goblin sharkThe goblin shark, Mitsukurina owstoni, is a deep-sea shark, the sole living species in the family Mitsukurinidae. The most distinctive characteristic of the goblin shark is the unusual shape of its head. It has a long, trowel-shaped, beak-like rostrum or snout, much longer than other sharks' snouts...
(
Mitsukurina owstoni) and frilled shark (
Chlamydoselachus anguineus) have been recorded from deep waters off Japan.
Insects
Japan has around 300 kinds of
butterflyA butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
including several of the mainly tropical
milkweed butterfliesMilkweed butterflies are a subfamily, Danainae, in the family Nymphalidae, or brush-footed butterflies. They lay their eggs on various milkweeds on which their larvae feed...
in the Ryukyus. There are around 190
dragonfliesA dragonfly is a winged insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera . It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body...
including the primitive
Epiophlebia superstesEpiophlebia superstes is a species of dragonfly that is native to Japan....
. Other well-known
insectInsects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s in Japan include
cicadaA cicada is an insect of the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha , in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with large eyes wide apart on the head and usually transparent, well-veined wings. There are about 2,500 species of cicada around the world, and many of them remain unclassified...
s,
cricketsCrickets, family Gryllidae , are insects somewhat related to grasshoppers, and more closely related to katydids or bush crickets . They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae. There are about 900 species of crickets...
and
firefliesLampyridae is a family of insects in the beetle order Coleoptera. They are winged beetles, and commonly called fireflies or lightning bugs for their conspicuous crepuscular use of bioluminescence to attract mates or prey. Fireflies produce a "cold light", with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies...
. Firefly viewing is a popular tourist attraction in some areas.
Molluscs
Flora
Around 5000 to 6000 species of
plantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
occur naturally in Japan. The vegetation varies widely from subtropical forest in the south to coniferous forest in the north. In the subtropical zone,
mangroveMangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
s,
cycadCycads are seed plants typically characterized by a stout and woody trunk with a crown of large, hard and stiff, evergreen leaves. They usually have pinnate leaves. The individual plants are either all male or all female . Cycads vary in size from having a trunk that is only a few centimeters...
s and tree ferns can be found. In the warm-temperate climate of Kyūshū, Shikoku and south-western Honshū, the dominant vegetation is broad-leaved
evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
forest with many
oakAn oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
s. In north Honshū and south-west Hokkaidō the climate is cool-temperate with broad-leaved
deciduousDeciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
trees including
Japanese beechFagus crenata, known as the Japanese beech, Siebold's beech, or buna, is a deciduous tree of the beech family Fagaceae. It is native to Japan where it is widespread and often one of the dominant trees of Japan's deciduous forests. It is found from the Oshima Peninsula in Hokkaidō south to the Ōsumi...
(
Fagus crenata) and oaks like the konara (
Quercus serrata). Conifers are dominant in much of Hokkaidō and in the mountains of central and northern Honshū with
spruceA spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
s and
firFirs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
s growing. In the highest mountains there is a zone of
arctic-alpineAn arctic-alpine taxon is one whose natural distribution includes the Arctic and more southerly mountain ranges, particularly the Alps. The presence of identical or similar taxa in both the tundra of the far north, and high mountain ranges much further south is testament to the similar...
plants including the low-growing Siberian dwarf pine (
Pinus pumila).
Conifer
plantationA plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s have replaced natural forest in many areas. Commonly grown trees include the
hinoki cypressChamaecyparis obtusa is a species of cypress native to central Japan.It is a slow-growing tree which grows to 35 m tall with a trunk up to 1 m in diameter. The bark is dark red-brown...
(
Chamaecyparis obtusa), Japanese red pine (
Pinus densiflora),
Japanese black pinePinus thunbergii is a pine native to coastal areas of Japan and South Korea.- Description :Japanese Black Pine can reach the height of 40 m, but rarely achieves this size outside its natural range...
(
Pinus thunbergii) and
Japanese red cedarCryptomeria is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae; it includes only one species, Cryptomeria japonica . It is endemic to Japan, where it is known as Sugi...
(
Cryptomeria japonica). The last is Japan's tallest conifer reaching 40 metres in height.
BambooBamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
grows abundantly in Japan with around 400 to 500 different species including the dwarf bamboos known as
sasa and the taller kinds called
take which can reach 20 metres in height.
Many plants have been introduced to Japan from mainland Asia including important
cropCrop may refer to:* Crop, a plant grown and harvested for agricultural use* Crop , part of the alimentary tract of some animals* Crop , a modified whip used in horseback riding or disciplining humans...
s like
riceRice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
and garden plants such as the
chrysanthemumChrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are of the genus constituting approximately 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which is native to Asia and northeastern Europe.-Etymology:...
. Since the
Meiji RestorationThe , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
, increasing numbers of plants have come from
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
,
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and elsewhere. Native food plants include the
water dropwortThe water dropworts, Oenanthe , are a genus of plants in the family Apiaceae. Most of the species grow in damp ground, in marshes or in water....
(
Oenanthe javanica) and
wasabi, also known as Japanese horseradish, is a member of the Brassicaceae family, which includes cabbages, horseradish, and mustard. Its root is used as a condiment and has an extremely strong flavor. Its hotness is more akin to that of a hot mustard rather than the capsaicin in a chili pepper,...
(
Wasabia japonica).
External links