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

piculs; 1 picul = 132.277 pounds weight) were imported
to Japan from China, Kwantung, and Korea, with small
amounts coming from Asiatic Russia. Large amounts of
soya-bean cake (7.760 million piculs) were imported from
China and Kwantung, with small amounts coming from
Asiatic Russia and none from Korea. “The total imports of
bean oil in 1908 amounted to only 49,993 pounds, valued at
$1,325.”
“The soya bean is one of the most important articles of
food in Japan. The beans are cooked in various ways, while
in brewing soy (shoyu), in the manufacture of miso (pea or
bean cheese), tofu (bean curd), koya-tofu (frozen bean curd),
and natto (steamed beans) they are the chief ingredient. They
are also manufactured into fl our and make up the principal
part of many Japanese sweetmeats. All these foodstuffs are
daily used in Japanese homes.
“To a limited extent soya beans are used as horse or
cattle food, being sometimes boiled and mixed with straw,
barley, bran, etc.”
The vice consul of Kobe states that in 1908 Japan
produced 18,812,228 bushels of soya beans. Small amounts
are exported “to Hawaii, the United States and Canada for
use by the Japanese resident in those countries as an article
of food.” Three factories in the Kobe district make bean
cake, largely from imported, lower-cost soya beans. “The
beans are fi rst crushed fl at, then put into a big container
and steamed, after which they are put into a steam press to
extract the oil and to be made into cakes. The cakes come
in circular pieces, a yard in diameter and an inch thick, each
weighing about 50 pounds. The oil is used for lubricating
machinery. The cake is used only as a fertilizer and is not fed
to animals as it causes their hair to fall off.”
Note 1. This is the earliest document seen (Feb. 2004)
stating that soya bean oil can be used as a lubricant.
Note 2. This is the earliest English-language document
seen (Feb. 2004) that uses the term “koya-tofu” (or “koyadofu”
or “kôya-dôfu”) to refer to dried-frozen tofu.
Note 3. This is the earliest document seen (Aug. 2011)
in Chemist and Druggist in which the toxicity of a soy
product is discussed or alleged, namely soya cake “is not fed
to animals as it causes their hair to fall off.” Address: Chief
of Dep.
84. Kita, Gen-itsu. 1909. Shôyu jôzô ni kansuru kenkyû. I
and II. [Studies on shoyu brewing. I and II.]. Kogyo Kagaku
Zasshi (J. of the Society of Chemical Industry, Japan) 12:1-
24; 12:399-428. II. Application of natto microorganisms.
[Jap]
• Summary: Part I is titled “Shoyu moromi and shoyu
presscake” Address: Kôgaku-shi, Japan.
85. Lloyd, Arthur. 1909. Every-day Japan. London, New
York, Toronto and Melbourne: Cassell and Co., Ltd. xvi +
381 p. See p. 121, 124, 188. Introduction by Count Hayashi.
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 59
Illust. Index. 24 cm. With 8 color plates and 96 reproductions
from photographs.
• Summary: On the title page: “Written after twenty-fi ve
years’ residence and work in Japan.”
Chapter 22, “Life in a tea, silk, saké or shoyu district,”
states (p. 121): “As a striking contrast to the general poverty
of appearance of districts purely agricultural–i.e. devoted
to the cultivation of rice and other cereals–we have the
general aspect of those districts in which tea is the principal
product, where silkworms are cultivated, or saké and soy
manufactured. In these districts–known as “Shoyu” districts–
there is a far larger amount of wealth, and the general
standard of comfort in all classes is much higher.”
Continuing on p. 124: “Saké and soy [sauce] (the
latter the foundation of our Worcestershire sauce) are oldestablished
industries which have generally been carried
on by the same families for generations.” Soy is mentioned
briefl y on p. 128.
Chapter 35, “Sights and cries in Tokyo streets,” states
(p. 188-89): The fi rst sounds he hears in the morning are
those from a Buddhist temple. “Domestic life begins at a
somewhat later hour, but in the streets I can already hear
the cry of “Natto, na–tto–!” which tells me that the poor
are beginning to bestir themselves. Natto is a concoction
of beans which have been kept until they are beginning
to go bad. It is said to have a rich tasty fl avour, and to be
very popular with some sections of the community. It is
essentially a poor man’s dish. By the time the natto sellers
have done their business, other itinerant vendors have begun
their rounds.” Address: M.A., Lecturer in the Imperial Univ.,
Higher Naval College and Higher Commercial School,
Tokyo. Formerly Fellow of Peterhouse [UK].
86. Brenier, H. 1910. La question du soja [The soya
question]. Bulletin Economique de l’Indochine (Hanoi)
13(83):105-28. March/April. Series 2. [22 ref. Fre]
• Summary: This is an in-depth look at the relevance of
the soybean to France, both now and in the future. It is
prompted by the rapid growth of soybean imports to Europe
from Manchuria. The author has a good knowledge of the
literature on soybeans and a familiarity with the crop in the
fi eld in French Indochina and China.
Contents: 1. Soybean cultivation: Species and varieties,
major soybean producing countries (China, Japan, Korea,
Indochina), other countries (Java and the Dutch East
Indies, France, USA. The Imperial Institute of London is
conducting trials in the Cape of Good Hope and Natal [South
Africa], in British West Africa, and in Gambia), methods of
cultivation and yield. 2. Commerce: Exports of soybeans
and soybean cake (beancake, tourteaux de soja) from China
and especially Manchuria (Newchwang, Dairen/Dalny,
Antung, Ta tung kow, Suifenho [Suifenhe] / Sui-fen-ho),
importing countries in 1908 in descending order of amount
imported (Russian ports on the Pacifi c [Vladivostok, for