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

econstruct maps of these towns “in roughly the period of
the 1920s, but not in any specifi c year” (p. 779-80). In Nov.
1908 Masanao Hanihara, Secretary of the Japanese Embassy,
issued a report on his investigations of living conditions
of Japanese in the western USA (p. 791). He found the
Japanese still lived “at the level of immigrant laborers;”
the conditions in their communities were “extremely low
and chaotic.” “The Japanese in these areas hardly mix with
white residents, while sometimes they approach or mix with
Chinese. There are many ill effects from clique-ishness.”
“The majority of Japanese workers lack knowledge of
English, so whenever they make contracts they sign papers
blindly” (p. 795-96). Hanihara estimated the Japanese
population of various states as follows: Washington 9,000
to 10,000, Oregon 3,500 to 4,500, Wyoming 1,000 to 1,500,
Idaho 1,000 to 1,500, Montana 1,000, and Alaska 1,000.
The largest Japanese community in the region was in Seattle
(about 4,000 Japanese). “Shinzaburo Ban of Portland is
almost the top among successful Japanese on the Pacifi c
Coast.” His business, S. Ban Co., headquartered in Portland
(where he arrived in 1891), acts mainly as a contract agency
for Japanese laborers–a sort of employment agency, “and his
store supplies sake, miso, soy sauce and other such Japanese
foods and small items to the laborers” (p. 789-93; see
portrait photo p. 792). A sidebar (p. 793, by Raisuke Tamura,
Seattle) notes that “However long they lived in the United
States, Japanese had to have Japanese food... Around 1906 I
imported from Japan vegetables such as lotus root, Japanese
radish [daikon], gobo (burdock), zenmai (fern), abura-age
[deep-fried tofu pouches], nigari (bittern, a tofu coagulant),
tsukuneimo, yamaimo, and so on, in hundred-pound baskets,
and sold them to sawmills and railroad camps” (p. 793).
The 1 January 1916 edition the Hokubei Nenkan listed
all businesses operating in various Japanese towns. These
included two “tofu-makers” in Seattle, Washington (p. 800),
at least one tofu maker in Tacoma, Washington (p. 804.
Tacoma had a Japanese population of 931 in 1915–721 males
and 210 females). Spokane didn’t have a Japanese town as
in Seattle and Tacoma, but in 1915 it did have a Japanese
population of 536 (462 males and 74 females).
The map of old-town Portland, Oregon, probably from
about 1935, shows 90 Japanese businesses located between
1st Ave. and 7th Ave. (running north-south) and between W.
Burnside and N.W. Glisan (running east-west). Among these
are two tofu manufacturing companies. “Ota Tofu Mfg.” is
located on 5th Ave. between Everett and Flanders. [Note:
The actual address was 86½ 5th N]. “Fukei Tofu Mfg.” is
located is on N.W. Davis between 3rd Ave. and 4th Ave.
Contents: The book is divided into 21 parts, with each
part containing several chapters (the number is shown in
parentheses): 1. Sailing (6). 2. Secret passage and shipjumping
(5). 3. Japanese exclusion (15). 4. Japanese women
(2). 5. Railroads (5). 6. Alaska (4). 7. Sawmills (2). 8.
Agriculture (7). 9. Hotels (2). 10. Restaurants (2). 11. Mines
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 214
(2). 12. Oysters (2). 13 Japanese language schools (2). 14.
Studying English (3). 15. Pro-Japanese (8). 16. Furuya
Company (4). 17. Lese majesty affairs (2). 18. Gambling
(3). 19. Girls (2). 20. On the streets (9). 21. In Memorium
[Memoriam–to the many who died]. (2). Appendixes: (1)
Partial list of Japan-U.S. and Japan-Canada sister cities.
(2) Japanese consulates. (3) Chronological table: Japan and
America (side by side), 1868-Sept. 1972. Bibliography (p.
967-72, mostly Japanese-language books). Epilogues: To
English and to Japanese editions. Index of personal names
(p. 988-1016). Address: Tokyo and Seattle, Washington.
620. Sundhagul, Malee; Daengsubha, W.; Suyanandana,
P. 1973. Thua-nao: A fermented soybean food of northern
Thailand. II. Improved method of processing. Bangkok:
Applied Scientifi c Research Corp. of Thailand. 10 leaves.
Traditional Processing Method, Research Project No. 38/3.
30 cm. [2 ref]
• Summary: Summary: Soak whole soybeans in water
overnight. Drain off excess water. Steam under atmospheric
pressure for 2 hours or at 15 psi for 40 minutes. Allow to
cool to below 50ºC. Inoculate with a 1% suspension of
a bacterial culture of Bacillus subtilis N-8, isolated from
native thua-nao, or with 20% by weight of freshly fermented
soybeans. Incubate at room temperature for 36 hours or
at 35ºC for 24 hours. Dry at 65ºC overnight. Grind into a
powder–which is palatable.
From 1,000 gm of dry soybeans almost 900 gm of
thua-powder was obtained. This powder contains more
than 40% protein (one-third of which is soluble) and 20%
fat on a dry weight basis. Address: Bio-Technology Group,
Technological Research Inst., ASRCT, Bangkok, Thailand.
621. Sundhagul, Malee; Daengsubha, W.; Suyanandana,
P. 1973. Thua-nao: A fermented soybean food of northern
Thailand. III. Development of a low-cost high protein food.
Bangkok: Applied Scientifi c Research Corp. of Thailand. 11
leaves. Traditional Processing Method, Research Project No.
38/3. 30 cm. [8 ref]
• Summary: An inexpensive high-protein food product,
ferm-soy mix, has been developed by blending fl avoring
agents and a small proportion of high-grade fi sh meal
into a soy protein base prepared from fermented whole
soybeans. Such products can be made using simple,
inexpensive equipment. Ferm-soy mix can be easily packed
in polyethylene bags and stored at room temperature for long
periods of time. “It is thought that fortifi cation of the product
with vitamins and minerals could be accomplished by simple
mixing.”
The ferm-soy mix has fl avor comparable to existing
foods in common use locally. It could serve as a basic protein
food among people who have low income and a low-protein
diet.
The objective of this study was to demonstrate a