Poor impregnation of sapwood from Cryptomeria japonica kiln-dried logs is a problem for preservative treatment in Japan. The permeability of copper azole (CuAz) into sapwood was reported to decrease with an increase in the drying temperature of logs, due in part to the presence of bordered pits. However, damaged and aspirated bordered pits appeared abundantly at 100 degrees C and 120 degrees C, although the difference in permeability was very little. To investigate this phenomenon, two types of smaller split log pieces, one containing both heartwood and sapwood, and the other containing sapwood without heartwood, were dried at 20 degrees C to 120 degrees C to test higher drying conditions. Results were similar to those of the dried logs. However, the impregnation and penetration at 80 degrees C were the lowest, and those at 100 degrees C and 120 degrees C were greater than the dried logs. Additionally, the number of damaged bordered pits on dried, split samples was generally higher than that of dried logs, as observed with scanning electron microscopy.