Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries . 4. SEAWEED INDUSTRIES OF JAPAN. 137 KANTEN, OR SEAWEED \M> IMPORTANCE OF KANTEN. A very valuable and interesting product of seaweeds, comparable to isinglassand 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 thisarticle is and can lie made only during the colder months (December to February). In 1903 there were in Japan 500 establishments for the manufactu
Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries . 4. SEAWEED INDUSTRIES OF JAPAN. 137 KANTEN, OR SEAWEED \M> IMPORTANCE OF KANTEN. A very valuable and interesting product of seaweeds, comparable to isinglassand 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 thisarticle 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 ofthe factories is 3,000 kin. or about 4,000 pounds. The leading manufacturerhas his warehouses and store in Osaka, and his factory at Hyogo, where To to 80persons are employed. Mountainous regions are the best for this industry, becauseof 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 theentire 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 ofdoors and congealed in the shape of slender sticks, suggesting the idea of preparingit in this form. Kanten is made from algse of the genus Gelidiwn, the principalspecies being G. corneum. The Japanese name for the plant is tt ngusa, a contractionoilcantengitsa,, 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 Julyand August are the. best months. The principal supply comes from Hokkaido andthe prefectures of Shizuoka. Miye. and Wakayama. The weed is dried on the shores,some bleaching taking place at the time of dr
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectfisheries, bookyear19
