History of Natto and Its Relatives (1405-2012 - SoyInfo Center

Agriculture, Hokkaido Univ., Sapporo, Japan.
370. Hayashi, Shizuka. 1959. Japanese users react to U.S.
beans. Soybean Digest. Aug. p. 34.
• Summary: “The fact that soybean in Japan are used
100% as food should by now be well realized by those
in the soybean industry as well as by the growers. It has
been repeatedly emphasized that soybean trade between
the United States and Japan is to be based on the complete
understanding of this fact.”
One of the fi rst projects of JASI “was to fi nd out the
causes of the unpopularity of U.S. soybeans among the
Japanese users, especially the manufacturers of soybean
products.” The major complaints concern excessive “foreign
material, broken beans, irregularity of sizes, and mixture of
different varieties received. All these problems have been
time and again called to the attention of interested parties
in the United States.” Considerable improvement has been
made but there is still work to do. “The writer believes in the
very near future specifi c varieties can be chosen for different
food manufacturers and business will be done on the basis of
[those] specifi c varieties.”
A list gives the specifi cations for soybeans desired
by Japanese oil processors (6 specs), miso manufacturers
(3 specs), shoyu makers (3), tofu makers (2), frozen tofu
makers (1), kinako makers (3), and natto makers (3). For
example, for miso: (1) Soybeans with white hilum with rich
protein content and of big size are preferred. (2) Soybeans
should be stored separately by varieties [identity preserved].
(3) Foreign material, especially seeds of other plants, sand
and stones should be eliminated.
And for tofu: (1) Soybeans should be rich in protein
content with thin seedcoat. (2) Soybeans should be free from
foreign material, especially that of poisonous seeds of other
plants.
A photo shows Shizuka Hayashi tasting miso made from
the U.S. soybean varieties Dorman, Mamloxi, and Jackson at
the Inamari miso factory in Shizuoka city. Arthur Rollefson,
U.S. assistant agricultural attache, is also shown.
Note: This is the earliest document seen (Feb. 2010) that
introduces the concept of “identity preserved” (“Soybeans
should be stored separately by varieties”). Address:
Japanese-American Soybean Inst., Tokyo.
371. Hayashi, Uichi. 1959. Nattô ni kansuru kenkyû.
IV. [Studies on natto. IV. The production of natto at the
room temperature of 20ºC]. Hakko Kogaku Zasshi (J. of
Fermentation Technology) 37(8):327-29. [Jap; eng]
Address: Osaka Municipal Hygienic Laboratory, Japan.
372. Hayashi, Uichi. 1959. Nattô ni kansuru kenkyû. V.
[Studies on natto. V. Relation between the humidity in the
fermentation room and the quality of natto]. Hakko Kogaku
Zasshi (J. of Fermentation Technology) 37(8):329-32. [5 ref.
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HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 151
Jap; eng]
Address: Osaka Municipal Hygienic Laboratory, Japan.
373. Nakano, Masahiro. 1959. Traditional methods of food
processing. Paper presented at Regional Seminar on Food
Technology for Asia and the Far East. 15 p. Held 1-8 Aug.
1959 at Mysore, India. [Eng]
• Summary: Contents: General. Soybean foods: Miso, syoyu
(soy sauce), aspects on the miso and syoyu, natto, tofu, koridofu.
Technological methods of food processing: Koji, miso,
syoyu [shoyu] (soy sauce), natto, tofu. Conclusion.
Note: This paper was sent as a gift, with note and
autograph, to Dr. A.K. Smith of the Northern Regional
Research Lab., Peoria, Illinois. Address: Food Research Inst.,
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Tokyo, Japan.
374. Sapin, P. 1959. Le soja dans le monde [The soybean in
various countries of the world]. Bulletin Agricole du Congo
Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi 50(4):897-948. Aug. [39 ref. Fre;
dut]
• Summary: This articles focus on soya at Yangambi
in the Belgian Congo. Content: Introduction. Climatic
adaptation: Comparison of the climates in Harbin (central
Manchuria) and Yangambi (near the equator), photoperiodic
and thermal characteristics of soybeans, comparative study
of the behavior of soya at Yangambi and its main zones
of cultivation, eco-climatic chart of soya, classifi cation
of soybeans (des sojas) into fundamental climatic types
and directives for the realization of their introduction
to Yangambi. Selection: Classifi cation of the soybean
varieties, genetics, and selection. The cultivation of soya.
Characteristics of the seed and its utilization: Composition of
the seed, Oriental preparations based on soya (soy sprouts,
soymilk, tofu, natto, Hamanatto, yuba, miso, soy sauce or
shoyu), soy oil and by-products, soybean cake, use of soya
in the West. A glance at soybean production. The situation in
the Belgian Congo.
The author identifi ed a number of soybean varieties
adapted to different ecological zones in the tropics, which
helped soybeans spread to tropical countries, especially in
Africa. Address: Assistant à la Division des Plantes Vivrières
de l’INÉAC, à Yangambi [Belgian Congo].
375. Hayashi, Uichi. 1959. Nattô ni kansuru kenkyû. VI.
[Studies on natto. VI. Effect of substances added to the steep
water on the quality of natto]. Hakko Kogaku Zasshi (J. of
Fermentation Technology) 37(9):360-68. [2 ref. Jap; eng]
Address: Osaka Municipal Hygienic Laboratory, Japan.
376. Hayashi, Uichi. 1959. Nattô no eiyô-ka ni kansuru
jikken-teki kenkyû. I. [Experimental studies of the nutritive
value of “natto” (a fermented soybean). I. On the quantitative
changes of dry matter, fats, carbohydrates and nitrogen
compounds in the manufacturing process of natto]. Kokumin