The related Chamaecyparis pisifera (sawara cypress) can be readily distinguished in its having pointed tips to the leaves and smaller cones.

[3][4] A similar cypress found on Taiwan is treated by different botanists as either a variety of this species (as Chamaecyparis obtusa var.

[3][4] It is grown for its very high-quality timber in Japan, where it is used as a material for building palaces, temples, shrines, traditional noh theatres, baths, table tennis blades and masu.

It is also a popular ornamental tree in parks and gardens, both in Japan and elsewhere in temperate climates, including western Europe and parts of North America.

[citation needed] Over 200 cultivars have been selected, varying in size from trees as large as the wild species, down to very slow-growing dwarf plants under 30 cm (12 in) high.

[20] The essential oil of Chamaecyparis obtusa contains a wide range of chemical compounds, including but not limited to the following: sabinene, elemol, myrcene, limonene, terpinen-4-ol, eudesmols, α-terpinyl acetate, α-terpinolene, α-terpineol, 3-carene, α-pinene, γ-terpinene, camphene, bornyl acetate, 1-methyladamantane, cuminol, eucarvone, 2-cyclopenten-1-one, 3,4-dimethyl-, 1,3-dimethyl-1-cyclohexene, calamenene, τ-muurolol, borneol, α-cadinol, β-thujaplicin.