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Mesospheric optical phenomena (including sprites) are becoming an interesting subject from the standpoint of atmosphere–ionosphere coupling. This paper deals with our observation of sprites associated with winter thunderstorms in the Hokuriku area and we show the characteristics of those sprites and their parent lightning discharges. Although the scale of Japanese lightning in winter is very small compared with the MCS (Mesoscale Convective System) for the summer continental lightning, the essential quantities (polarity, charge transfer, and so on) are found to be nearly the same as those for the MCS. However, an additional factor might be required, such as the self-organization of the lightning. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 153(3): 9–17, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20178 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]