Capsicum: Chile Peppers from Japan

Japan is known for a cuisine which tries to preserve and, at most, enhance, the natural tastes of its ingredients.

Yet, there are quite a few interesting culinary uses of the chile peppers, many varieties which are rather interesting.... and Japan is one of the places using quite a few interesting - and rather peculiar - kinds of hot spices...

Santaka

Origin: Japan
Source: AVRDC

(Very) pungent variety with pods which grow erect, spaced closely together; rather high variation with broader and shorter pods - so, selection towards rather thin and not too long pods appears justified

Ishii-Midori

Origin: Japan
Source: AVRDC

Medium high (below 50 cm) growing plants, good producer, and a Japanese land race of bell pepper (i.e., mild pepper), though with very different fruit flesh from normal bell peppers: thin, rather dry

Yatsufusa

Origin: Japan
Source: AVRDC

Very similar to Santaka (and Punjab Lal, and Pusa Sadabahar, and many others)

Sapporo Taichou Nanban

Origin: Japan
Source: AVRDC

C. annuum L.
Cayenne / De Arbol

Japanese variety similar to the Chinese "Szechwan," but a bit thinner; hot