The plant typically forms a basal foliage clump of 3-parted, dark green leaves on long petioles. The beautiful, cup-shaped flowers are 50 to 75 mm across, with 5 to 7 sculpted sepals. On long, branching flower stems they are suspended well above the foliage and seem to dance in the wind.
The Japanese windflower can be invasive or weedy, throwing out suckers from the fibrous rootstock, to rapidly colonize a large area.