Yatsufusa Hot Pepper "Japanese Togarashi" (Capsicum annuum) Seeds – 40,000-75,000 SHU, Upright Fruit Clusters, Dry & Grind for Shichimi Togarashi

Minimum: 10+ Seeds

The Japanese Togarashi Pepper That Grows in Upright Clusters

Walk down a Japanese street and the spice shops sell it in small red tins, shichimi togarashi, the seven-flavor chili blend that goes on noodles, soups, and grilled foods. Yatsufusa is the kind of pepper that starts that story, a Japanese heirloom whose slender fruit stand upright in tight clusters on the plant, ripening to bright red and drying beautifully for grinding. The name roughly translates to "eight clusters," and with 40,000 to 75,000 Scoville units of heat, it's a pepper built to be dried, ground, and sprinkled.

Who Grows Yatsufusa Hot Pepper?
The home cook wanting to make their own shichimi togarashi and ground chili.
The Japanese food enthusiast growing an authentic regional ingredient.
The pepper collector wanting a striking, upright-fruited ornamental hot pepper.
The preserver wanting a pepper that dries easily for long-term pantry storage.

What This Japanese Togarashi Pepper Actually Is
Capsicum annuum 'Yatsufusa' is a Japanese heirloom hot pepper, long associated with togarashi, the dried chili peppers central to Japanese cooking. Plants bear slender fruit that stand upright in clusters rather than hanging, ripening from green to bright red, which makes them as decorative as they are useful. Heat measures 40,000 to 75,000 Scoville units, solidly hot, putting it in the same range as many cayenne-type peppers. Ripe fruit dry well and grind into a fine, pungent powder, which is the traditional base of shichimi togarashi when blended with ingredients like sesame, orange peel, ginger, and nori. As an heirloom, it breeds true from saved seed. Grown as a warm-season annual, tender perennial in the warmest climates.

In the Garden & Kitchen

• Shichimi togarashi: Dry and grind the peppers, then blend with sesame, orange peel, ginger, and nori.
• Ground chili powder: Grind dried peppers into a pure, hot seasoning for noodles, soups, and grilled foods.
• Chili oil: Steep dried, crushed peppers in warm oil for homemade chili oil.
• Drying and ristras: Hang or string ripe peppers to dry for long-term storage.
• Ornamental edible planting: Grow for the upright red clusters alongside their culinary value.
• Container growing: Grow in a large pot on a patio for a compact, productive plant.

Growing Yatsufusa Hot Pepper Seeds

• Start method: Start indoors 8 to 10 weeks before last frost; peppers need a long, warm season.
• Germination: Sprouts in 7 to 21 days in warm soil.
• Soil temperature: Germinates best between 75 and 85°F.
• Transplanting: Move outdoors after all frost danger has passed and soil is consistently warm.
• Spacing: Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart to allow full, bushy growth.
• Sunlight: Full sun; heat and sun build pungency and ripen fruit.
• Soil: Rich, well-drained soil with good fertility supports the heaviest fruit set.
• Watering: Consistent, even moisture; avoid letting plants dry out during fruit development.
• Days to maturity: Typically ready for ripe red fruit in roughly 80 to 100 days from transplant.
• Harvest: Let fruit ripen fully to bright red on the plant before picking for drying.
• Drying: Dry fully in the sun, on strings, or in a dehydrator before grinding.
• Handling: Wear gloves when picking and grinding, work in a ventilated space, and avoid touching your eyes.

Before You Close This Page
This is the pepper behind the Japanese spice shop, a hot, upright-fruited heirloom that ripens bright red and dries into the base for homemade togarashi. Yatsufusa Hot Pepper rewards a long, warm season with a heavy crop and a pantry of ground chili you grew yourself. Give it sun, let the fruit ripen red, and dry the harvest. Grow the pepper that earned a place in the seven-flavor blend.