Carpinus japonica, the Japanese hornbeam, is a hornbeam endemic to Japan but cultivated elsewhere as an ornamental.

[2] It is a deciduous tree growing to 12–15 metres (39–49 ft) tall with leaves that are longer and darker than the European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus).

[3] The leaves are dark, glossy and slender, with 20-24 pairs of parallel sunken veins; every third tooth is whisker-tipped.

The prominent catkins are green turning to brown.

[4][5] This tree has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.