The prefectures of Gunma and Shimane chose the Japanese black pine as their official tree. Native to Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, as well as South Korea, it is the dominant pine from the coasts to about 3,000 feet in elevation.
The black pine is widely used as an ornamental. According to the Gymnosperm Database, it is “requisite in Japanese gardens, where it provides structural and symbolic counterpoint to the red pine” (Pinus densiflora; the official tree of Okayama and Yamaguchi).
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - 
