SEAWEED INDUSTRIES OF JAPAN. 137 



KANTEN, OR SEAWEED ISINGLASS. 

 NATURE \M> IMPORTANCE OF KANTEN. 



A very valuable and interesting product of seaweeds, comparable to isinglass 

 and used for some of the same purposes, is known to the Japanese as kanten. This 



name is like so many of the fanciful terms with which the Japanese invest conn 



objects; it means "cold weather." and has reference to the circumstance that this 

 article is and can lie made only during the colder months (December to February). 



In 1903 there were in Japan 500 establishments for the manufacture of kanten, 

 located in Osaka. Kyoto, Hvogo, Nagamo, and elsewhere. The average capacity of 

 the factories is 3,000 kin. or about 4,000 pounds. The leading manufacturer 

 has his warehouses and store in Osaka, and his factory at Hyogo, where To to 80 

 persons are employed. Mountainous regions are the best for this industry, because 

 of the dryness and purity of the air. 



Kanten has been made since about 1760. In the early years it was simply a 



"Tengusu" {Gdidium corneum). 



mass of jelly formed by the boiling of the seaweed, but at the present time the 

 entire output is in the more convenient form of sticks and bars, a manner of prepa- 

 ration which was taken up quite accidentally; some soft jelly was thrown out of 

 doors and congealed in the shape of slender sticks, suggesting the idea of preparing 

 it in this form. Kanten is made from algse of the genus Gelidiwn, the principal 

 species being G. corneum. The Japanese name for the plant is tt ngusa, a contraction 

 oilcantengitsa,, meaning "weed for kanten." Several similar seaweeds are used assub- 

 stitutes or adulterants, but are not so good as Gelidvwm. The algaj grow on rocks, 

 and are taken by diving, the gathering season being May to October, though July 

 and August are the. best months. The principal supply comes from Hokkaido and 

 the prefectures of Shizuoka. Miye. and Wakayama. The weed is dried on the shores, 

 some bleaching taking place at the time of drying, and is then ready for sale to the 

 manufacturers. 



