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

Dietary cultures and antiquity of fermented foods and
beverages. In: Jyoti P. Tamang and K. Kailasapathy, eds.
2010. Fermented Foods and Beverages of the World. Boca
Raton, Florida: CRC Press / Taylor & Francis. xii + 448 p.
See p. 1-40. [188 ref]
• Summary: Contents: Cultural foods: Hindu foods, Buddhist
foods, Christian foods, Muslim foods. World dietary culture:
Use of hands, use of chopsticks, use of cutlery, evolution of
dietary culture. Antiquity and cultural aspects: Fermented
vegetables, fermented soybeans and non-soybean legumes,
fermented cereals, fermented milks, fermented fi sh,
fermented meats, fermented beverages and alcoholic drinks.
Conclusion.
Section 1.3.2 titled “Fermented soybeans and nonsoybean
legumes,” begins with a concise and well
documented paragraph on the origin of the domesticated
soybean in the eastern half of north China around the 11th
century BC around the end of the Shang dynasty (ca. 1700 to
1100 BC), then its dissemination / spread from this primary
soybean gene pool to central and south China, and the
Korean peninsula. The soybean then spread to Japan, and
throughout Southeast Asia and into northern India during the
following centuries.
The next paragraph discusses the two earliest Chinese
fermented soyfoods: chi (shi) [fermented black soybeans]
and jiang (chiang) [Chinese-style miso]. Chi, now known as
douchi was “next to salt use in China.”
Note: Actually, salt was rarely used directly to season
food in China; in the early days jiang, and later soy sauce
had that honor. Yet salt was a major ingredient in both jiang
and soy sauce.
Recipes for making 3 different types of chi and 14
different types of jiang are given in the Qimin Yaoshu (6th
century B.C.). Soy sauce is presently an essential seasoning
in Chinese cooking, “but it was not an ancient and deliberate
preparation. It developed as a by-product of some jiang
relishes and did not become of culinary importance until the
Song dynasty (960-1279) (Sabban 1988).”
There follows a discussion of the early development of
fermented soyfoods in Japan, including the Taiho Laws (AD
701) and the Engishiki (AD 906). Salted fermented black
soybeans, which originated in China, took root in central
Japan, where they were known by various names such as
hama-natto and daitokuji-natto; in Taiwan they were known
as in-shi (Yokotsuka 1991).
The subsequent few paragraphs contain three statements
which we believe are incorrect and are not found in the
sources cited: (1) “Natto, a fermented sticky soybean,
was introduced to Japan from China by Buddhist priests
during the Nara period around AD 710-794 (Ito et al.
1996, Kiuchi 2001 [p. 9]). Note: This statement is based
on a misinterpretation of the documents cited and on the
confusion resulting from the fact that the Japanese word
“natto” can be used to refer to two very different foods, natto
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 585
and fermented black soybeans. Both documents are referring
to the introduction to Japan (by a Buddhist priest) of salted,
fermented black soybeans (douchi) and not of itohiki natto.
For example, Kiuchi (2001, p. 9, written in English) states:
“The two main varieties of natto [in Japanese] are itohikinatto
and shiokara-natto, which [referring only to the latter]
was introduced to Japan from China during the Nara period
(790-794) by a Buddhist priest.”
(2) “The production of shoyu and miso in China was
recorded around 1000 BC, with the transfer of the indigenous
knowledge to Japan happening at around AD 600 (Yokotsuka
1985). Yokotsuka is perhaps the world’s leading authority
on this subject. However nowhere in this excellent chapter
by Yokotsuka can we fi nd anything that would justify the
surprising statement above.
(3) “Tempe made in present day Indonesia was
originally introduced by ethnic Chinese centuries ago.” No
source is cited. Address: 1. Food Microbiology Lab., Sikkim
Government College, Sikkim Univ., Gangtok, Sikkim, India;
2. Div. of Nutritional Sciences, Kings College London,
London, United Kingdom.
1913. Tamang, Jyoti Prakash. 2010. Diversity of fermented
foods. In: Jyoti P. Tamang and K. Kailasapathy, eds. 2010.
Fermented Foods and Beverages of the World. Boca Raton,
Florida: CRC Press / Taylor & Francis. xii + 448 p. See p.
41-40. [228 ref]
• Summary: In the section titled “Types of fermented foods”
(p. 46-67) is a subsection on “Fermented soybeans and nonsoybean
legumes.” About 90% of fermented legumes are
soybean-based foods while the rest are non-soy. Fermented
soyfoods have long been made in Asia, especially by
Chinese, Nepalis, Japanese, Thais, Koreans, Indonesians, and
many minor ethnic groups. Consumption of ethnic fermented
soyfoods “is not part of the traditional food culture of non-
Mongoloid races.”
Table 2.2, “Some fermented legume products of the
world,” has six columns: (1) Name of fermented food
(alphabetical). (2) Substrate (e.g., soybean, Locust bean). (3)
Sensory property and nature (e.g., alkaline, sticky, paste). (4)
Culinary (e.g., side dish, condiment). (5) Microorganisms.
(6) Country. Those having soybean as a substrate are
aakhone, bekang, chee-fan, chiang [jiang], chungkokjang,
douchi, doenjang, furu, hawaijar, kecap, ketjap, kinema,
meitauza, meju, miso, natto, pepok, peruyaan, sieng, shoyu,
soy sauce, sufu, tauco, tempe, thua nao, tofu si? [China,
Japan], and tungrymbai. Address: Food Microbiology Lab.,
Sikkim Government College, Sikkim Univ., Gangtok,
Sikkim, India.
1914. Fujita, Y.; Iki, M.; Tamaki, J.; et al. 2011. Association
between vitamin K intake from fermented soybeans, natto,
and bone mineral density in elderly Japanese men: the
Fujiwara-kyo Osteoporosis Risk in Men (FORMEN) study.