io6 AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY. 



smaller in Kioto, about 2 m. deep, and from i*2 m. to i'6 m. in 

 diameter. 



All through winter, for several minutes every day, the paste or 

 porridge in these vats is vigorously and thoroughly stirred. In 

 the warm season, when the fermentation takes place more rapidly 

 and the solid parts collect on the surface, it is only necessary to 

 stir it from twice to four times daily. This is done with a sort of 

 wooden shovel with a long handle, to work which the workman 

 stands on the edge of the butt. 



A common proverb says, the more rats have found their death 

 in the butts, the better the Shoyu. This, though not to be taken 

 literally, expresses the long time required for making Shoyu, This 

 period varies, in fact, from twenty months to five years, beginning 

 in autumn as a rule, after the Soja-bean harvest. In this slow and 

 peculiar fermentation process a considerable proportion of starch 

 is converted into dextrine and sugar, besides which lactic acid and 

 acetic acid are formed. The paste, at first thick, becomes thinner 

 and more fluid, while its grey hue gradually changes to a muddy 

 brown, and at last to a pure dark-brown. This last and the agree- 

 able aroma accompanying it, together with a bitter taste, are de- 

 veloped generally between the third and fifth year. The Shoyu 

 which is most prized for its odour and taste is obtained only by 

 mingling equal quantities of three-year and five-year product. The 

 mixture is put into strong, coarse, close-woven bags of wool or 

 hemp-linen, which have been rendered closer still by being dipped 

 in Shibu (which see). These bags, 60 to 70 cm. long and 18 cm. 

 wide, are filled loosely, and then laid lengthwise and crosswise on 

 top of each other in a large square box. Then a heavy wooden 

 cover is put on, and a simple lever-press applied, — one in which the 

 long arm of 4 or 5 m. is weighted with stones. The expressed 

 Shoyu flows through a hole in the bottom of the box into a bam- 

 boo cane, and through this to a cask sunk in the ground, and 

 is then ready for use. As in oil refining, the first stuif produced 

 is the most valuable. By continued pressure with increased weight 

 a second quality is obtained, and at last a third, clear-flowing and 

 less aromatic, as the dregs are mixed with salt-water and then 

 squeezed again. Shoyu reaches the market in wooden barrels con- 

 taining one To (20 liters). According to Hoffmann, the price was 

 1-5 yen (six shillings) for a To of the best sort, from three to four 

 shillings for the second, and two shillings for the last. 



The delightful aroma and pleasing taste of Shoyu are quickly 

 lost in a long sea-voyage, through the formation of mould. In good 

 condition, however, Shoyu proves an excellent means of sharpening 

 the appetite and assisting digestion. It is on this account, as Chief 

 Staff-surgeon Hoffmann justly remarks, much preferable to Euro- 

 pean preparations that are supposed to effect the same result, being 

 perfectly harmless to the human system. In these appropriate 

 words he notes the great part it plays in Japanese cooking : — 



