Catalytic gasification of a woody biomass, Japanese cypress, was investigated under a prepared nickel-loaded brown coal (LY-Ni) char in a two-stage fixed-bed reactor. The nickel-loaded brown coal was prepared by ion-exchange method with a nickel loading rate of 8.3 wt.%. Nickel species dispersed well in the brown coal, and the LY-Ni char via devolatilization at 600 degrees C showed a great porous property with a specific surface area of 382 m(2) g(-1). The LY-Ni char was confirmed to be quite active for the Japanese cypress volatiles gasification at a relatively low-temperature range from 450 to 650 degrees C. For example, at 550 degrees C, 16.6 times hydrogen gas and 6.3 times total gases were yielded from the catalytic steam gasification of Japanese cypress volatiles under the LY-Ni char, compared with the case of non-catalyst. The biomass tar decomposition showed a dependence on catalyst temperatures. When the catalyst temperature was higher than 500 degrees C, Japanese cypress tar converted much efficiently, high gas yields and high carbon balances were obtained. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.