Abstract: Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is an ancient and clonally propagated crop that has been under rather continuous selection since antiquity. In Japan, each garlic-growing region had its own local cultivars (clones) at one time. This is still the case in some regions, but with expanding transport networks and the requirements for high yield of commercial quality, only a few clones dominate the garlic production in the country. Here we describe the morphological characteristics of Japanese garlic clones. The review also focusses on the possible ancestry of Japanese garlics inferred from molecular genetic analysis.