[5] This species, along with the yamakagashi (Rhabdophis tigrinus) and the Okinawan habu (Protobothrops flavoviridis), are the most venomous snakes in Japan.

[7][8] The specific name, blomhoffii, is in honor of Jan Cock Blomhoff, who was director of the Dutch trading colony in Nagasaki, Japan from 1817 to 1824.

[3] The body pattern consists of a pale gray, reddish-brown, or yellow-brown background, overlaid with a series of irregularly-shaped lateral blotches.

[2] It occurs in a range of habitats, including swamps, marshes, meadows, open woodland, rocky hillsides, and montane rock outcroppings.

[11] According to Yoshimitsu (2005), this species and the Okinawan habu (Protobothrops flavoviridis), another pit viper, are the most venomous snakes in Japan.

[14] It also contains the peptide ablomin which is highly similar in amino acid sequence to that of the venom, helothermine, of the Mexican beaded lizard (Heloderma horridum).

[17] Every year, 2000-3000 people in Japan are bitten by mamushi; severe bites require intensive care, and approximately 10 victims die.

[8] The treatment protocol involved incision of the wound for exclusion of the venom, and injection of mamushi antivenom.