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The king of mushrooms in Japan is the matsutake mushroom! (Mandatory)Let us unravel the history of matsutake mushrooms along with the history of Japan.
During the Nara and Heian periods, the capital was repeatedly relocated, and each time the capital was relocated, large amounts of wood were needed to rebuild the court, temples, and other structures.
Wood, of course, came from the forests in the surrounding mountains. The forests of the Kansai and Kinki regions were therefore cut down and turned into barren mountains with no nutrients. It is difficult for trees to grow on land with no nutrients, but there is one type of tree that can grow even on such barren, barren land: the red pine. That is the red pine tree. In the Kansai and Kinki regions, red pine forests have increased in abundance.
Matsutake mushrooms are also harvested in red pine forests because, like the red pine, they grow on thin, nutrient-poor land.
Red pine forests are a symbol of forest lands in decline, as red pine trees thrive in barren lands where other tree species cannot grow. It was not until the Heian period (794-1185) that pure forests of red pine trees, such as those in the Higashiyama area of Kyoto, were established. （The matsutake mushroom is a parasite that grows only on the young roots of red pine trees between 20 and 8 years old, and grows in a slightly dry and well-ventilated environment near the ground surface with soil humidity below 30 degrees Celsius. Matsutake mushrooms do not grow in moist forests where evergreen broad-leaved trees grow along with red spruce.
-- 気候で読み解く日本の歴史―異常気象との攻防 1400 年
Flat leaved mushrooms also grow in rich forests. People used to eat oyster mushrooms before deforestation, and it was only after deforestation that matsutake mushrooms began to be eaten.
In the latter half of the Heian period, hiratake mushrooms decreased and matsutake mushrooms increased in the Kyoto area (abbreviated). hiratake mushrooms disappeared from Kyoto's forests, while matsutake mushrooms enriched people's tables. This is the origin of Japanese people's preference for matsutake as an ingredient. It is fair to say that only Japanese people like the aroma of matsutake. In the West, the smell of matsutake is frowned upon as smelling of pine resin, while matsutake is dried and decocted for use in Chinese herbal medicine.
-- 気候で読み解く日本の歴史―異常気象との攻防 1400 年
This is why matsutake mushrooms are eaten in abundance in Japan. Also, tatami mats and plaster began to be used due to the shortage of wood. Tatami mats were laid on the floor as a substitute for scarce wooden planks, and plaster was applied to the walls. So deforestation gave birth to traditional Japanese foodstuffs and traditional architecture.
