Foreshortening will look after the ramrod in due course.
If anything Hinokis teach you patience and perseverance. The silhouette is roughly where I am going with this tree and the fluidness of a Chinese design.
In order to achieve the vision, foliage had to be reduced drastically and this is obvious in the photos. Foreshortening of the branches will reduce the silhouette and careful tweaking and repositioning of new fans as they develop will remedy what is deemed to be a problem to some.
Constant pinching on Hinokis only renders "poodle like" pads and sooner or later you will run out of foliage. The trick is to spread the fans, flatten them out and judicially prune the fans. This takes me approximately 6-8 hours to conduct each spring, with nose hair scissors, this was not carried out this last spring as I knew that it would get a styling and haircut come July. By the time I am done my index and major fingers are cut and sore (full of tiny lacerations). One needs to bare-hand this procedure or loose dexterity in the process if trying to protect your fingers. The only solution I have come up with is to take your time and be careful when you snip, regardless your fingers are sore afterwards. While I am carrying out the process I listen to Japanese meditation music that sooth me during this yearly burden.