Hime-Komatsu
This tree is almost the same as the goyoh-matsu trees that are planted as bonsai. However trees grown in southern Japan are called goyoh-matsu while those in the north are called hime-matsu. To be precise, their leaves differ, but they are both handled in the same way. Because young himeko-matsu trees are hard and very easy to crack or split, it is best to use trees with many growth-ringsﾑat least one hundred years old usually. Trees with especially fine winter wood and whose bark is consistent--faintly pink or beigeﾑare the softest and easiest to carve. Because the difference in color between the sapwood and heartwood becomes more pronounced with time, it is best to use either only the sapwood or only the heartwood. In warm weather, the sapwood of this tree will absorb a lot of water and become moldyﾑit is best to avoid using the sapwood if possible. In other words it is best to carve your piece from the heartwood.

Hime-komatsu is relatively cheap, and relatively large pieces can be easily purchased. But, because they grow in a limited area, it is sometimes difficult for people outside the region to obtain. It is easy for cracks to creep in the wood, so after cutting down a large tree, always place paper over the cut ends of the tree and take care to keep it out of the wind. It is especially difficult to dry when wet, so you should try to get your hands on one that is already dry. The growth-rings of hime-komatsu are rougher than those of hinoki, but hime-komatsu which has accumulated many rings is a superb wood in many almost all ways equal to hinoki. But, hime-komatsu turns more brownish with time. Also, because it is a pine and contains even more sap than hinoki, dust will easily cling to it. Always use some kind of finish to complete your work.

Lumbering and Carving
The greatest characteristic of this wood is that it is easy to carve; there is almost no difference in carving with the grain or on a surface perpendicular to the grain. For this very　reason, I would recommend hime-komatsu if you are planning on carving rounded surfaces. Also, this wood turns a pleasant and attractive red-black over time. However, because it is so soft, you must pay special attention to handling itﾑeven when carving you should take care to trim your fingernails so you don`t damage it.

Carving hime-komatsu in a way that highlights it`s growth rings produces excellent results in much the same way as hinoki. But its high contractility causes boards of this wood warp and split, so please be careful and be sure to cut off the warped sections. Because this tree contains a lot of sap, you can carve perpendicular to the grain with just your knivesﾑsandpaper, etc. is not necessary.

It is the easiest needle-leafed tree to carve because its fibers are stiff and easy to break. Even when you carve against the grain, you should be able to cut cleanlyﾑyour knives will not get stuck and crack off pieces like they would in other woods. To bring out its beautiful age rings, you should carve the font of your piece from the ki-omote, but keep in mind that if you are carving from a relatively thin, board-like piece, both edges will warp. (if you cut a board-like section of wood from a tree, the ki-omote is the side facing the bark, not the one facing the center.) If it hasn`t been dried properly, cracks will creep into the surface woodﾑplease be careful.