What I always heard was: These techniques became a thing in japan because they don't have many forests compared to Europe, so they had to build structures that

What I always heard was: These techniques became a thing in japan because they don't have many forests compared to Europe, so they had to build structures that could be torn down and re-assembled. Especially temples, as monks would get prosecuted in one region, then have to move to another. Additionally, they don't many good minerals to use for nails and such. I don't know if that is true though.