Hinoki Cypress
Chamaecyparis obtusa
Also known as hinoki, Japanese cypress · Botanical Chamaecyparis obtusa
Revision history
- — Data re-verified in site-wide audit (formulas, sources, durability classes)
- — Working properties and comparable-species data cross-checked against listed sources
About Hinoki Cypress
Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) is a mid-range timber, hard enough for everyday wear and still easy to work, with a Janka hardness of 1,010 lbf (4,492 N) and a density of about 0.42 g/cm³. It is native to central Japan.
Tangential movement of 4.5% against 2.0% radial puts the T/R ratio at 2.25. That is the ratio to watch: it predicts cupping in wide flatsawn boards better than either figure alone. Its fibre saturation point is near 30%. Below it movement is modest at 4.5% tangential, but the 2.25 T/R ratio means one-sided sealing will still pull a panel out of flat.
At 420 kg/m³ a cubic metre of Hinoki Cypress weighs about 420 kg air-dry — that figure, the 4.5% tangential and 2.0% radial movement and the 1,010 lbf hardness are the three inputs the calculators below actually consume. Select Hinoki Cypress in any of them to get species-specific results for weight, moisture, shrinkage and hardness.
Working properties
How Hinoki Cypress behaves at the bench and on the machine, drawn from Japanese forestry references and international wood-technology data.
Durability & use classification
Hinoki is rated durable (EN 350 Class 2), and its resistance is chemical: the heartwood contains hinokitiol (β-thujaplicin) and related oils that resist rot, fungi and insects, and are documented as antimicrobial. The evidence is architectural as much as laboratory — Hōryū-ji temple, the oldest surviving wooden structure on earth, was built of hinoki around 607 AD and still stands, and Ise Grand Shrine has been rebuilt from it every 20 years for over 1,300 years. Japanese sources report hinoki's durability actually increases for roughly its first 200 years after felling.
Typical applications & suitability
Indoor Outdoor — Japan's premier timber, sacred in Shinto tradition and the standard for shrines, temples and the finest joinery. Note it is slower-grown and more mineral-rich than sugi, giving a tighter, denser grain.
Documented end-uses: shrine, temple and palace construction, high-grade joinery and interior panelling, flooring, bathtubs (ofuro) and bathhouse interiors, saunas, noh theatre stages, sushi counters, chopping boards and kitchenware, sculpture and Buddhist statuary, masu boxes, table-tennis blades, veneer, and hinoki essential oil.
Comparable species
Species closest to Hinoki Cypress by density, hardness, stiffness and bending strength, computed directly from the Vriksai species dataset rather than hand-picked.
Trade alternatives. Its companion species is Sugi — softer, more porous, better for exterior siding where hinoki suits interior work. For an aromatic durable softwood elsewhere, Western Red Cedar plays a similar role (and shares thujaplicin chemistry).
Alternatives to Hinoki Cypress
Hinoki Cypress measures 1,010 lbf Janka at 0.42 g/cm³, EN 350 durability Class 2, movement rated Moderate. Because Hinoki Cypress is exterior-rated at Class 2, every candidate below is too. A substitute that quietly drops a durability class is the expensive kind of mistake. Read the numbers against the Janka scale and EN 350 durability classes.
For exterior joinery, cladding and garden work that also has to resist knocks. Harder means more dent resistance but heavier sections and more machining time.
Easier to work and lighter to fix, without dropping below the exterior durability you already have.
Cladding boards and exterior joinery live or die on movement. These give you less of it at equal or better durability. Size the gaps with the shrinkage predictor and EMC calculator.
If Hinoki Cypress is unavailable and the specification cannot change, these are the nearest substitutes across hardness, density, movement, stiffness, bending strength and durability class together — not on any single property. Lower distance means a closer match.
Computed from measured properties only — hardness, density, movement, stiffness, bending strength and EN 350 class. Price, availability and appearance are never inputs. Figures are representative values, not consignment absolutes: two species within a few percent are equivalent until verified on the material. Full method and the rules the engine cannot break.
Substituting outdoors is a match on durability class and movement first. Colour and grain can be matched later; a wrong durability class shows up as a callback in three monsoons. Where two candidates are close, compare them directly before specifying.
Compare Hinoki Cypress side by side
These are the head-to-heads that decide cladding, decking and exterior joinery specifications. Every pairing shows the measured figures side by side; full matrix in the comparison index.
Calculators relevant to Hinoki Cypress
Aimed at exterior detailing in Hinoki Cypress: coverage, gaps, coating and durability checks. Full set in the tool index.
Understand the figures
Moisture content — EMC, FSP and service conditions · Strength properties — MOR, MOE and what they govern · Durability & fire — EN 350 classes and E84 ratings · Thermal conductivity — k-value and insulation behaviour.
Further reading. What is ThermoWood? · Wood moisture content explained · How to calculate board feet.
Common questions about Hinoki Cypress
unverified no published source for this figure · FPL USDA FPL Wood Handbook GTR-190 · calc derived from the figures above · — no published source found
A note on these figures. We could not verify the numbers above against a named authority. The Wood Database has no Chamaecyparis obtusa entry and the USDA FPL Wood Handbook does not list the species; the figures here come from Japanese forestry references we cannot cite precisely. That matters because the one sibling species we could check — sugi (Cryptomeria japonica), sourced the same way — turned out to be wrong by 81% on hardness. Treat these as indicative, and if a number matters to your work, check it against JAS or a Japanese forestry institute directly.