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

his ware and trampled it under foot.
Note 1. The term “rotten peas” may well refer to
fermented soybeans, resembling Nepalese kinema. The term
“stinking stuff” is a translation of ‘tung rymbái, the name of
a fermented soybean food which is today (Sept. 2010) often
written / transliterated as tungrymbai. Note that the sequence
of letters in the two words is identical if we disregard the
accent on the letter “a.” Moreover, in contemporary writing
on the fermented foods of north-east India, tungrymbai is
almost always said to be a food from the Indian state of
Meghalaya.
According to Wikipedia (Sept. 2010): “The Khasi people
are a scheduled tribe, the majority of whom live in the State
of Meghalaya in North East India, with small populations in
neighbouring Assam, and in parts of Bangladesh.”
In Khasi-English Dictionary, by Nissor Singh (1906,
247 p.), the word ‘tung rymbái, a noun, is defi ned (p. 236)
as “bean which has been cooked and preserved and having
a very disagreeable smell.” We now know that the bean was
actually a soybean and that it was fermented with bacteria of
the genus Bacillus.
Note 2. This is the 2nd earliest document seen (Sept.
2010) that mentions ‘tung rymbái or tungrymbai, an east-
Indian fermented soybean food.
Note 3. This is the 2nd earliest document seen (Oct.
2010) concerning soybeans in Meghalaya. Since this
traditional fermented soyfood was made in Meghalaya, it
seems highly likely soybeans also grew and probably were
cultivated in Meghalaya. Address: Major, I.A., Deputy
Commissioner Eastern Bengal and Assam Commission, and
Superintendent of Ethnography in Assam.
75. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew [England]. 1907.
Offi cial Guide to the Museums of Economic Botany. No.
1. Dicotyledons. Third edition, revised and augmented.
London, Printed for H.M. Stationery Off. by Darling... 236 p.
See p. 65. 19 cm.
• Summary: Page 65 states: “No 192. Soy beans (Glycine
hispida, Maxim.). An annual, cultivated largely in China,
Japan, and India. In the two former countries a sauce known
as Soy is produced in large quantities and in Japan a kind of
cheese or curd cake is prepared known as ‘Natto.’ The chief
products of Manchuria are bean oil and bean cake. The seeds
yield 17 per cent. of an edible oil obtained by expression,
and the residue is made into large circular cakes, weighing
about 60 lbs, similar to that exhibited, used in the East for
feeding cattle and also as manure. Soy is imported into
Europe in barrels and is said to form the basis of most of the
popular sauces.”
Also discusses “Ground nuts. Pods and seeds of
Arachis hypogaea, L.” (p. 63, No. 188), and Kuzu (Pueraria
thunbergiana, p. 66-67, No. 195). Address: Kew, England.
76. Sawamura, Shin. 1907. On the microorganisms of natto.
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HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 53
Zentralblatt fuer Bakteriologie. Series 2. 19(10/12):335-36.
[1 ref. Ger]
• Summary: German summary of a 1906 article by
Sawamura from Bulletin of the College of Agriculture, Tokyo
7(1):107. “Natto is a type of vegetable cheese which is
made from cooked soybeans by a process of fermentation.”
Address: Japan.
77. Senft, Emanuel. 1907. Ueber einige in Japan
verwendete vegetabilische Nahrungsmittel, mit besonderer
Beruecksichtigung der japanischen Militaerkonserven [On
some vegetable foods used in Japan, with special attention
to Japanese military canned foods]. Pharmazeutische Praxis
6(3):81-89; 6(4):122-24, 131-32; 6(6):211-12, 219. [19 ref.
Ger]
• Summary: These three sections contain a good review of
the literature (especially the Japanese literature) in German.
Issue No. 3 begins with “Phanerogams. Chapter 5. Legumes.
Soybeans and soybean preparations” (p. 81-89). Contents:
Introduction. Varieties: Group I. Soja platycarpa-Harz (5
forms–olivacea-Harz and punctata-Harz, melanosperma,
platysperma, parvula Martens). Soja tumida-Harz (3 forms–
pallida Roseb. [sic, Roxb = Roxburgh], castanea-Harz
[brown], atrosperma-Harz). Anatomy and cell structure
of different parts of the plant and seeds. A non-original
illustration (line drawing; p. 83) shows a soy bean, full-size
and at cellular levels. Haberlandt and the Vienna World
Exposition of 1873. Foods made from soybeans in China
and Japan described by Charles Bryant (1785): Miso, soy
sauce (sooju-sauce or soy), Roos, Koji. Tofu, sake. Shoju or
Soja-Sauce. Miso (vegetable cheese; “Recently the fi rm Jul.
Maggi & Comp. in Kempthal makes a type of miso and sells
it commercially”).
Issue No. 4 begins with “Natto and tofu” (Bohnenkäese)
(p. 122-24) and includes fresh tofu and frozen tofu
(gefrorener tofu). Yuba. A separate section on miso pickles
(Misozuke; p. 131-32) describes the different types,
especially those made with daikon (Rettiche).
Issue No. 6 discusses shoyu (called Extrakt-Sauce
Japonica, or Shoju-Sauce) (p. 211). A table (p. 212) lists the
main food plants of Japan, including fi ve different “varieties”
(“var.”) of soybeans: Kuro-mame, Shiro-mame, Ao-mame,
Goishi-mame, Gankui-mame. A photo (p. 219) shows various
Japanese preserved foods, including a metal box containing
“Fukujinsuke” [fukujinzuke] consisting of sliced vegetables
(cucumbers, bamboo shoots, onions) preserved in soy sauce.
Address: Military medicine offi cial, Germany.
78. Lipman, Jacob G. 1908. Bacteria in relation to country
life. New York, NY: Macmillan Co. xx + 486 p. See p. 231,
245, 258. Sept. Illust. Index. 20 cm.
• Summary: Chapter 23, titled “Soil-inoculation” (p. 221+)
begins with a discussion of the early research of Hellriegel
and Wilfarth, tests concerning legume nodules conducted in