Achievements of persimmon breeding at the Fruit Tree Research Station in Japan over 50 years were reviewed. The main objectives included the breeding of fruits with the following characters: pollination constant non-astringent type (PCNA), early ripening, high eating quality, large size and absence of physiological disorders such as fruit crackings. Crossing to obtain PCNA progenies was limited to PCNA types since the PCNA trait was recessive to the non-PCNA one. Moreover, only a small number of PCNA progenies could be obtained even in BC, since persimmon is hexaploid. Crossing was initiated among a small number of native PCNA cultivars, which were all late ripening and exhibited fruit cracking habits. Although the frequency of early ripening progenies in earlier stages was low, after several generations, the fruit ripening time in the maternal population became markedly advanced. However, since these progenies could be obtained only through inbreeding within a narrow gene pool, serious constraints such as the production of small fruits should be overcome.