Pinus is a genus of approximately 120 species of monoecious, evergreen, coniferous trees or shrubs, widely distributed throughout the world particularly occurring in mountainous and arid conditions where they are able to thrive. Pines are a classic bonsai species in Japan and the world over, they are not however, easy trees to care for and style without experience. Pines have their own growth patterns that differ greatly from deciduous and common coniferous species; these growth patterns need to be understood before successful styling and pruning can be carried out. As can be seen in the accompanying pictures; pines are not only used for bonsai in Japan, they are also very often seen cloud-pruned in Japanese gardens.

Pinus thunbergii is a native of Japan and is arguably the classic bonsai pine species. The Black Pine is a very vigorous tree commonly grown Japan in parks and ornamental gardens where heights of anything up to 25metres are commonly reached. Black Pines are very tolerant of poor conditions, surviving in nature on barren, stony soils. Pinus thunbergii has thick, dark grey-green needles up to 7-15cm long, though quite long, the needle-size can be reduced in length with the use of bonsai pruning techniques. Bark is purplish-grey and becomes very craggy and fissured with age. White pines are frequently grafted onto the more vigorous Black pine, Pinus thunbergii, rootstock to improve vigour and growth-rate.