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

using selected strains. (5) Bar chart–Distribution of 4 types
of bacteria in 4 samples of traditional kinema. (6) Graph–
Change in cell propagules, temperature and moisture during
the fermentation of kinema. (7) Graph–Change in the growth
rate of selected microbes during kinema fermentation.
The paper is followed by 3 pages of discussion, in
Japanese. Address: Central Food Research Lab., Babar
Mahal, Kathmandu, Nepal.
1170. Kato, Eihachiro. 1986. Nattô no seizô–Dentô to
gendai [Production of natto–Traditional and modern]. In: Kô
Aida, et al. eds. 1986. Proceedings of the Asian Symposium
on Non-Salted Soybean Fermentation. Japan: Takeshima
Shigeru. 319 p. See p. 246-48. Held July 1985 at Tsukuba,
Japan. English-language summary in Symposium Abstracts,
p. 72. [2 ref. Jap]
• Summary: “In the traditional Natto making, cooked
soybeans were wrapped in rice straw and kept in a
warm environment until viscous material was formed by
fermentation. The rice straw functioned as a natural donor
of Natto starter bacterium. The rice straw was not only the
donor of the starter responsible for Natto fermentation but
it also played an important role in adjusting temperature,
humidity and aeration as well as absorbing unpleasant
ammoniac odor, which was essential for Natto manufacture
using traditional technology. Nevertheless, rice straw was
often contaminated with soil-borne microbes, and it was
rather diffi cult to maintain good control of the process in the
traditional method of Natto making.
“Dr. Shin Sawamura, in 1905, fi rst isolated Natto
Bacillus and characterized the isolates, which opened the
way for pure cultures of the starter...
“The fermentation of Natto takes about 18 hours,
starting at 40ºC and rising to 50ºC. The temperature in
the fermentation chambers was maintained by a charcoal
fi re, electric heater or steam pipings, carefully watched by
experienced technicians overnight.” Address: Meiji Daigaku,
Japan.
1171. Kozaki, Michio. 1986. Monsuun Ajia no hakkô
shokuhin [The fermented foods of monsoon Asia]. In: Kô
Aida, et al. eds. 1986. Proceedings of the Asian Symposium
on Non-Salted Soybean Fermentation. Japan: Takeshima
Shigeru. 319 p. See p. 5-8. Held July 1985 at Tsukuba, Japan.
[Jap]
• Summary: A general review, including many fermented
foods not containing soy. Address: Dep. of Agriculture,
Tokyo Univ. of Agriculture.
1172. Nakao, Sasuke. 1986. Minzokugaku-sha to shite deatta
koto domo [An ethnologist’s recollections (on fermented
soyfoods)]. In: Kô Aida, et al. eds. 1986. Proceedings of the
Asian Symposium on Non-Salted Soybean Fermentation.
Japan: Takeshima Shigeru. 319 p. See p. 179-83. Held July
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 368
1985 at Tsukuba, Japan. English-language summary in
Symposium Abstracts, p. 64. [Jap]
• Summary: In 1962 the author was fi rst introduced to
kinema, a non-salted fermented soybean food, in eastern
Nepal. Before that time on trips he had noticed that soybeans
were commonly planted on the levees of paddy fi elds
in Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan. In 1972 he proposed the
hypothesis of the “triangular distribution” of non-salted
fermented soybean foods, also known as the “natto triangle.”
Since proposal of the hypothesis, many other examples of
non-salted fermented soybean foods in the area have been
reported. They are “Soeda” of Bhutan, “Pe-Boutsu” of
Burma, “Thua-nao” of northern Thailand and many other
examples in China proper (PRC) and in the Miao Tribe of
Kweichow (Guizhou) Province of China. “In these examples,
the local names are much different and no common word
is found. This may suggest that the existence of fermented
soybeans is not the result of recent dispersals from a central
place of origin, but may have happened in rather ancient
times. Then I came to the further assumption that within
the triangular area there may have been a complex common
human culture from olden times.
“In processing the non-salted fermented soybean, the
artifi cial inoculation of the boiled soybean is sometimes
practiced like in tempe. In Bhutan it is reported that the
starter for fermentation is the same one which is prepared for
the fermentation of alcoholic beverages. The fundamental
method of making alcoholic beverages in the Himalaya and
southeastern Asia is to inoculate the boiled cereals with the
starter and then the main fermentation takes place in solid
state, not in water. The process in making the non-salted
fermented soybean and the alcoholic beverages can be
understood to be a similar one. So they must have originated
from the similar culture complex.”
Note: This is the earliest document seen (Jan. 2012)
concerning “Soeda” of Bhutan, or “Pe-Boutsu” of Burma,
both non-salted fermented soyfoods. Address: Professor
Emeritus, Osaka Prefectural University.
1173. Odunfa, Sunday Ayo. 1986. Natto-like fermented foods
of West Africa. In: Kô Aida, et al. eds. 1986. Proceedings of
the Asian Symposium on Non-Salted Soybean Fermentation.
Japan: Takeshima Shigeru. 319 p. See p. 258-62. Held July
1985 at Tsukuba, Japan. [Eng]
• Summary: Dawadawa (known as iru in Yoruba) is the
Hausa name for a fermented food made from locust beans
using Bacillus subtilis bacteria. It is the most important
condiment in the entire grassland region of West and Central
Africa. Uba [Ugba] is made by fermenting the seeds of the
African oil bean (Pentaclethra macrophylla). Ogiri igbo is
made by fermenting the seeds of the castor oil bean (Ricinus
communis).
Each year an estimated 250,000 tons of locust beans
are produced (mostly in northern Nigeria), from which