Although a few hosta species also come from Korea and China, the vast majority of them originated from the islands of Japan. Not only did the species come from there but more recently, Japanese hybridizers and originators have contributed many new cultivars to the world of hostas.

We have added many hostas which originated in Japan to our database. Some of these hostas have been found in Japanese nurseries or in the wild and have been subsequently introduced into the U.S. and other countries. Others have been sent to American Hostaphiles such as Peter Ruh who then registered them with The American Hosta Society on behalf of the Japanese originator such as Dr. Shuichi Hirao, Dr. Fumio Maekawa, Hajime Sugita, Kenji Watanabe and others.

Many plants have been introduced with names in English or other languages while most have Japanese names. Hostas which originated in Japan are sorted below in alphabetical order.