Zoysiagrasses ( <i>Zoysia</i> spp.) and Japanese culture

Abstract Zoysiagrasses (species of Zoysia Willd.) are native in the western Pacific Rim (including eastern Asia) and in the Indian Ocean. All are perennial warm‐season grasses. Five species are found naturally in different habitats in Japan: Japanese lawngrass ( Zoysia japonica Steud.), manilagrass [ Zoysia matrella (L.) Merr.], Zoysia pacifica (Goudswaard) M. Hotta &amp; Kuroki, Zoysia macrostachya Franch. &amp; Sav., and Zoysia sinica Hance. Japan is a high rainfall, mountainous country, predominantly forested but with more limited areas of natural and seminatural grassland (e.g., in drier locations or following clearing) dominated by Imperata cylindrica (L.) Raeusch., Miscanthus sinensis Andersson, and Z. japonica . Such grassland areas have historically been used since the fourth century AD as grazing lands for cattle and horses, although their importance has diminished since 1945. Ornamentally, zoysiagrasses (mainly Z. japonica ) were first used as groundcover on tombs more than 1600 years ago, followed by their use in gardens and to stabilize roofs. With the advent of the Samurai warrior class, the formal style of garden with artificial mountains covered by Z. japonica or Z. matrella with ponds became popular for leisure activities, including socializing and entertaining. More widely in agriculture, Z. japonica has had a long history in the production of japonica rice ( Oryza sativa subsp. japonica Kato), the staple food in Japan, where it was used to stabilize levee banks around paddy fields. In so many different contexts and applications, zoysiagrasses have strong, wide‐ranging, and longstanding historical links to Japanese culture.