Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was used to investigate the distribution of elements, Na, Mg, Al, K, and Ca, and lignin, in the contiguous growth rings including the sapwood/heartwood boundary in Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa). Lignin was distributed almost uniformly from sapwood to heartwood. The concentrations of most of the elements showed a drastic increase or decrease in the transition zone between sapwood and heartwood. The ToF-SIMS mapping analysis showed that most of the elements predominantly localized in the ray parenchyma cells in the inner transition zone and heartwood, while the elements showed no localization and distributed almost uniformly in the outer transition zone near sapwood. The result suggests that the ray parenchyma cells play a role in behaviors of elements during the transition from sapwood to heartwood. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.