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

you stir too much, the fi lm will not form properly. If you
wish to obtain the fi lm, add coagulant and boil the milk.
The wrinkled look of the fi lm resembles (the skin of) an
old woman. If you remove too much fi lm, the yield of tofu
decreases and the tofu becomes hard to eat.” Yuba is referred
to as doufu-p’i, the present Chinese term. When the text
notes that yuba “resembles (the skin of) an old woman,”
it seems to imply that the earlier term lao or uba was used
because of the similarity of yuba and an old woman’s face.
T. Yokotsuka (1985, p. 206) cites this as “Wakan
sansaizue (1715)” but apparently does not cite it in his
bibliography.
Fukushima (1989, p. 9) states that the Wakan Sansai Zue
(Narushima, 1712) describes miso and shoyu.
Ebine (1989, p. 91-93) gives the date of this work as
1712, and states that volume 105 describes the preparation
of “tama-misho” using broad beans (Vicia faba; Japanese:
soramame), and a “whitish misho” using soybeans. For each
of these Ebine gives a fl owchart. Rice or barley are soaked
in water, steamed, and fermented to make rice koji, which is
mixed with salt, and then the salted koji is mixed with broad
beans that have been cooked and dehulled. The mixture is
formed into balls, which are wrapped with rice straw, hung
under the rafters over a fi reside for several weeks, crushed
in a mortar, then mixed with water to make tama-misho.
To make whitish misho from soybeans and rice: 10 parts
of soybeans are soaked in water, dehulled by brushing,
and cooked. The hulls are fi rst removed from the cooker,
then the cooked beans are removed, formed into balls, and
the balls are sliced. Meanwhile, about 14 parts of rice are
polished, soaked in water, steamed, cooled, and allowed to
mold spontaneously to yield 16 parts of rice koji. The rice
koji, sliced soybean balls, and 1.3 parts of salt are mixed,
pounded, packed into vats, and fermented for 10 days to
yield the whitish misho.
C.N. Li (1958): Making Fermented Products, Fermented
black soybean sauce (shizhi; W.-G. shih chih). Note: Shih
is often used at meals to harmonize the fi ve fl avors. People
used to use it during this dynasty. Nowadays, if people do
not use chiang, they do not use shih; they use soy sauce
(chiang-yu), not fermented black soybean sauce (shizhi).
Modern rendering by Morohashi (1955). He translated
p. 5 (roasted fl our), p. 17 (fermented black soybean sauce).
Confection of soy fl our and ame = Ame chimaki. In “Making
Fermented Foods.” Morohashi (1955) translated p. 5. tou i
(mame ame). In: vol. 10, p. 63.
Iino (2003, p. 8) notes that this 1712 book “states that
soy sauce made from wheat is suitable for the public and soy
sauce made from barley is of low quality.” Iino comments (p.
8-9): “Put simply, the soy sauce sold in shops was made from
wheat because that made from barley was inferior.”
On the same page, Iino shows a full page reproduction
of the page titled “shoyu” in this book. It gives: “An
explanation of soy sauce production with an illustration
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 31
of the proper sort of barrel to be used.” Iino notes (p. 9):
“Another method for producing soy sauce requires a heating
process. The Wakan Sansai Zue states: ‘... Squeeze the
moromi to extract the oil [sic, liquid]. If the color is light,
the fl avor will not be good. Boil the oil [liquid], place it in a
pail and leave it over night to darken the color and improve
the fl avor. Mix the dregs [presscake] again with salt water
and extract the oil [liquid]. This [second pressing] is called
niban shoyu (second soy sauce), and the fl avor is very much
inferior.’”
15. Ryorikata banhô [Many methods for cooks]. 1766?
Japan: Publisher unknown. 60 p. Japanese summary by
Kawakami 1978, p. 165. [Jap]*
• Summary: This manual, by an unknown author, describes
how to make various foods, rather than how to prepare
recipes. It discusses shoyu, barley hishio, Kinzanji miso,
kiku hishio (it is not known what “kiku” means), hishio,
natto, toko miso, uzu-miso, and amazake.
16. Shokumotsu waka honzô [The book of Japanese foods?].
1795. Japan. [Jap]*
• Summary: Mentions natto miso soup (nattô-jiru).
Note: Recall that this natto-jiru may well be made with
fermented black soybeans rather than itohiki natto.
17. Matsudaira, Fumai? 1800. Yotsu no toki no hana
[Flowers of the four seasons]. Japan. Publisher unknown. 2
large volumes. Japanese summary by Kawakami 1978, p.
157. [Jap]
• Summary: These two volumes of writing on cookery
contain information on tea ceremony cuisine (kaiseki ryori)
menus, including grilled tofu (yaki-dôfu), Simmering Tofu
(Yu-dôfu), Miso no Sashimi, Natto Miso Soup (Natto-jiru),
and Yamabuki Shoyu. The author, Matsudaira, lived 1751-
1818.
Note: This is the earliest document seen (Dec. 2011) that
mentions nattô-jiru [Natto Miso Soup] in connection with
sticky natto.
18. Rakugo shôfurin [A treasury of witty stories]. 1830-1844.
Japan. [Jap]*
• Summary: This book contains an illustration of a natto
seller by Shigemasa Kitao (see next page). He is crouched
down between two tall wooden boxes, in which he carries
his natto suspended from both ends of a shoulder pole. To his
right stands a man in traditional Japanese dress, with kimono
and geta footwear, waiting to buy some natto. Address:
Japan.
19. Kitamura Kintei. 1830. Kiyu shôran [Play and laugh
joyfully. Take a good look]. 12 volumes plus appendix.
Japanese summary by Kawakami 1978, p. 238. [Jap]
• Summary: Tells the story of seasoned minced natto (tataki-