Machilus kusanoi Hay. produces the seeds intolerant to even slight desiccation. Seed moisture contents of different locations varied from 46% to 65% (FW basis). Seed lots of high germination rate sustained the viability for 2 months at most under cold stratification. Fifty percent of germination percentage lost in 1-5 month storage under stratification depending on the health condition. Seeds were abundant in sucrose and monosaccharide but few in oligosaccharide. The ratio of raffinose to sucrose was 0.08 which might be related to the desiccation intolerance.