PREFACE. 



Previous to tlie year 1S7S no scientific accoiuit of the brewing of fake luul 

 appeared, the principal papers whicli had heen imblished hcing a translation by 

 Professor J. J. Hofniann. of Leyden, of an article from the .Iai)anese Encyclopre- 

 dia, 1714, and a paper in the transactions of the (icrman Asiatic Society of 

 Japan by Dr. Hofmann, then Professor iu the Medical School of the University 

 of Tokio. In December, ISTS, Mr. 0. Korschelt published an elaborate paper on 

 the subject in the same transactions, in which he gave a detailed description of 

 two processes used in Tokio, and the results of special experiments made by 

 himself, after which it seemed that very little more could be said. But continued 

 study of the brewing-process has yielded results which enable us to explain with 

 jrreater accuracy the chemical changes involved in the manufacture, and althouiib 

 much yet remains to be achieved, the present essay will, I trust, be accepted as 

 another nmsr in the endless ladder of scientific investigation. 



In carrying out this research I have been assisted in very \arions ways bv a 

 number of friends, all of whom it would be impossible to mention individually, 

 but I should with reason incur the cliarge of ingratitude did I nut i>nt in the 

 front rank Mr. Kato, President, and Mr Hattori, Vice-President, of the Univer- 

 .sity, to whom indeed the very existence of this memoir is owing. Jly thanks 

 are also due to Mr. Jiliei Kamayama and to Mr. Tobei lizuka, of Yiishima, Tokio, 

 Proprietoi-s of the koji and sake works res[)ective]y ; to Jlr. Mansuke Izumi, of 

 Nishinomiya, and to 5Ir. Shinyemon Konishi, of Itami. to all of whom I owe 

 much valuable information. 



To M. Pasteui' [ am indebted for permission, to make use of plates XVI i, 

 XVIII, ami XIX, taken from his " J^tudes sur Ic Vin". Without the cordial 

 cooperation of my assistant, Jlr. Xaka/.awa. my task woukl have been nmch 

 more difficult, and thus publicly 1 desire to acknowdedge my indebtedness to him. 

 Plate XVI. I f>we to Professor Ewing, and Professor Cooper lias with the greatest 

 kindness looked over the proofs for me. 



The substance of Part I of this memoir was conununicaled to the Iloyal 

 Society of London in ii Pai)er read on lOtli Jbirdi. ISSl. 



The printing of tlic memoir was eairied out at the (iovernnnMit Printing 

 Office (Insetsn Kiyoku), and the plates were engraved iiy the Gengendo Engrav- 

 ing Company. 



The accompanying French and Knglish eipiivalents of the -Japanese weights 

 and meijsnres used in the te.Kt will prove of assistance to tho.se who are not 

 familiar witli tlivm. 



