From the survey we can assume that natto is still popular among Japanese students, with 83% of total respondent admit to like natto. And for international student, only small portion of the respondent, 23%, admit to like natto. Where 39% admit to dislike it. We also can see that there is a lot of International student respondents are never tried to eat natto, probably because of it unique characteristics.
Natto is fermented soybeans.It is rich in protein and highly nutritious. There are many sources regarding the origin of natto. One source attributes the first natto production to Hachiman Taro Yoshiie (Minamoto Clan, 1039--1106), the ancestor of Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147--1199), who established the Kamakura Shogunate and ruled Japan as a samurai, in place of the emperor. Another source gives credit to Shotoku Taishi (574? A.D.--622 A.D.), Empress of Suiko's regent. Nonetheless, the one point that all sources have one in common is that natto was made by "accident" from boiled soybeans that preserved in straw.
The important stage for soy beans to make their transformation into natto, is it need just the right temperature and humidity, and bacillus natto, a bacterium discovered in Japan that grows in the country's unique climate. Bacillus natto is found naturally almost anywhere, but it propagates most abundantly in straw (dried stems of rice or wheat; may be woven into rope, bags, barrels, etc.). In the old days, natto was wrapped in straw, a method still employed by some manufacturers today. There are a lot of straws and soybeans is in Japan, It is not difficult to imagine how natto was accidentally produced. After that, Natto was distributed nationwide and become one of unique food from Japan. In the age of Edo era, there were even Natto vendors who walked around town selling their products from the break of dawn..
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