Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) and hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa) are major planting species in Japan, whose plantation area accounts for 30% of total forest area. Empirically, these species are known to have different habitat preference: sugi grows well in mesic environment while hinoki tolerates drier condition. However, its ecophysiological basis have been still elusive. Recently, we have developed a database which consist of 20 thousand data for 171 functional traits of sugi and hinoki from 320 references. In this study, by comparing multiple traits of the database, we try to detect the physiological, morphological or anatomical differences between the two species and lead to a comprehensive understanding of the mechanism underpinning their habitat preferences. Several traits support faster growth and lower drought tolerance of sugi than hinoki; for example, higher photosynthetic rate, maximum stomatal conductance, pore area index, water potential at turgor loss point, midday water potential and xylem water potential at 50% conductivity loss in sugi. However, these differences were rather small and might not be enough to explain habitat difference between the species. Traits that have not been rarely measured, such as capacitance, physiological adjustment in response to changing environment, or seasonality of physiological traits might play pivotal roles.