Black pine (Kuro-matsu)

Including the Imperial Palace and Kyoto temples,

indispensable to the Japanese garden,it is the main tree.
It is called Kuro-matsu in Japanese.

Black pine is a hardy tree that grows along the coast of Japan,

it is referred to as a man pine from its majestic appearance. 

But usually they are trimmed in round shape such as the picture above.

Ancient feudal lords(Daimyo) often used black pine in their gardens.
Because of its dark green leaves even in winter, is considered a strong vitality tree,

or become a symbol of longevity.

Black pine is often used also in the home garden,

around the old house, sometimes to crawls the branches above the entrance.

It's called mon-kaburi  in Japanese.