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

consumption. Domestic soybean production is 400,000
tonnes.
1899–Mogi Keizaburo of Kikkoman of Kikkoman (1st
generation) starts using a boiler for the fi rst time in the shoyu
industry. Address: Norin Suisansho, Tokei Johobu, Norin
Tokeika Kacho Hosa.
51. Sempolowski, A. 1900. Ueber den Anbau der Sojabohne
[On soybean culture]. Fuehling’s Landwirthschaftliche
Zeitung 49(5):193-96. March 1. [Ger]
• Summary: “The soybean fi rst aroused great interest
in Europe after the Vienna World Exposition in 1873,
where a large collection of soybean varieties from China,
Japan, India, etc. were exhibited. Professor Haberlandt in
Vienna and others subsequently conducted a large series of
agronomic trials with the soybean in various locations from
Austria and Germany. These, however, showed that the
cultivation of this fodder plant in the districts concerned is
not worth recommending since the soybean matured either
very late or not at all. At that time I also conducted soybean
agronomic trials in the province of Posen and in Russian
Poland; these, too, gave negative results in those vegetation
areas. The farmers were discouraged from cultivating the
soybeans and pretty soon the once-popular fodder plant was
indeed forgotten.
“However, in more recent years, there arose a new, eager
apostle of the soybean, the farmer J. Owsinski [Owinsky,
Ovinski] from the province of Podolia. He had been working
for a long time in East Asia, allegedly, and there he learned
about new, earlier-ripening varieties of this fodder plant.
For cultivation, he recommends two varieties above all:
one black- and one brown-seeded. Since the soybean still
continues to have a great reputation, publicity, especially in
Russia, as an excellent fodder plant, I decided to conduct
another agronomic trial with these two new varieties at
agricultural research station at Sobieszyn (in Russian
Poland). I wanted to answer two questions: First the time
required for the soybean to mature in our climate, and second
the value of the entire plant as fodder.
According to Owsinski, the soybean took 100 days to
come to vegetative maturity in southwest Russia and 110
days in western Russia, corresponding to late varieties of
oats or blue lupins. The brown-seeded soybean is said to
ripen in 100 days in southwest Russia and 108-110 days
in western Russia, however the yield is low and the seeds
shatter easily.
In East Asia soybeans are used to make soy sauce
(“Shoya, Soohu, or Soy”), miso, and natto–the last two being
fermented foods. A table shows the nutritional composition
of soybean cake on a dry weight basis (41.73% protein, and
7.18% fat).
On 14 May 1898 the author planted his trial fi eld with
soybeans. On Sept. 22 he harvested 30 plants of brownseeded
soybeans, including 200 gm of seeds; 100 seeds
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HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 45
weighed 22.07 gm. The plants were 26-36 cm high and on
each stem were 13-17 pods. The time to maturity was 140
days. On Oct. 5 he harvested 23 plants of black-seeded
soybeans, including 208 gm of seeds; 100 seeds weighed
16.01 gm. The plants attained a height of 30-55 cm, and on
each stem were 12-56 pods. The time to maturity was 173
days.
On 17 May 1899 the author planted a larger quantity of
brown-seeded soybeans at the rate of 643 kg/ha in rows 40
cm apart. The time to maturity was 130 days. At the same
time on another test plot he planted black-seeded soybeans
in rows 50 cm apart. The harvest took place on Oct. 7 and
the time to maturity was 170 days, but the seeds were not
completely ripe and had to be dried for another week. A table
shows the nutritional composition of these two varieties.
Brown: 39.03% crude protein and 18.55% fat. Black:
37.62% crude protein and 20.87% fat.
“When we consider the protein and fat content of the
seeds, we must acknowledge that the soybean, compared
with other crops, has a very high nutritional value. However,
farmers must be urgently advised to treat the new, allegedly
early-ripening varieties with great caution, since they have
not yet been suffi ciently tested to be recklessly praised and
their cultivation widely expanded.”
Note: This document contains the earliest clear date
seen for soybeans in Russia, or the cultivation of soybeans
in Russia (14 May 1898). This is also the earliest document
seen that describes soybean breeding in Russia. The source
of these soybeans was Owinski, who apparently obtained
them from East Asia. Address: Dr., Sobieszyn [Russian
Poland?].
52. Abel, Mary Hinman. 1900. Beans, peas, and other
legumes as food. Farmers’ Bulletin (USDA) No. 121. 32
p. See p. 9-11. Illust. Revised Nov. 1904. Corrected March
1906. [1 ref]
• Summary: A section titled “Soy Bean (Glycine hispida)”
(p. 9-11) briefl y describes the soybean plant and the rich
nutritional composition of its seeds. The fi rst paragraph is
quoted from USDA Farmers’ Bulletin 58.
Starting with paragraph 2: “This leguminous plant,
probably native in China, is the most important legume of
China and Japan... In the Orient this bean and the various
food products made from it are so largely consumed that it is
perhaps the most important food plant next to rice. The soy
bean is eaten to a small extent boiled like other beans, but in
China and Japan it is elaborated into a variety of products, all
of which have a high percentage of protein, and when eaten
in connection with the staple food, rice, which is so defi cient
in that constituent [protein], helps to make a well-balanced
dietary. Some one of these products is eaten at perhaps every
meal and by rich and poor alike, especially in the interior of
these countries, where sea food is not obtainable.
“One of the most important of these preparations is