Bonsai of Pinus Thunbergii.
Safe delivery in a wooden crate.

• Height: 16 cm (excluding pot)

• Width: 19 cm

• Trunk: 8 cm

• Pot: 4.5 x 14 x 11 cm

Photos taken in May 2026

Pinus Thunbergii bonsai, the Japanese black pine

This Pinus Thunbergii bonsai distills the rugged power of the Japanese black pine into a compact shohin-scale tree. At just 16 cm tall and 19 cm wide but carrying a remarkably thick 8 cm trunk, it has the stout, muscular proportions that black pine enthusiasts most admire, a great deal of trunk packed into a small, displayable package. The dark, fissured bark and stiff paired needles give it the look of a wind-hardened tree clinging to a coastal cliff.

The black pine, kuromatsu, is the masculine counterpart to the refined white pine, valued for its vigour, its dark green needles and the way its bark plates and cracks into deep relief as it ages. On a shohin of this size, that mature, corky bark is especially striking, lending the little tree a presence far beyond its dimensions. It is a tree that asks to be picked up and turned in the hand, rewarding the eye from every angle.

Heritage of the kuromatsu

The Japanese black pine is one of the foundational species of the art, the very image many people picture when they imagine a pine bonsai. Long associated with the rocky coasts of Japan, it has been worked by masters for centuries into powerful upright and slanting forms that speak of strength and endurance. A well-made black pine shohin carries all that heritage in miniature, a complete classical pine that sits comfortably in the palm.

About this specimen

This black pine stands around 16 cm tall excluding its pot, spans roughly 19 cm, and carries a thick 8 cm trunk, presented in the ceramic pot shown in the photographs, which is included. The trunk is heavy for the size and the bark already shows good character, while the foliage is held in tight, well-placed pads. Photographed in May 2026, it is offered exactly as pictured.