Miso soup is a traditional Japanese dish. It is prepared from dashi and miso. Dashi is a broth of kombu algae; its taste is so different from sweetness, saltiness, sourness or bitterness that it has spurred research by the Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda. He named this fifth flavour « umami ». He was the first to make the connection between the umami flavour and glutamate.

The second primary component of miso soup is miso, a paste made from fermented soybean. Jokichi Takamine was very interested by this fermentation process. It is caused by Aspergillus oryzae, which is to Japan what roses are to England, or thistle to Scotland. This fungus is used to saccharify rice, a process required in the brewing of sake, and for soybean fermentation, to produce miso and soysauce. In 1890, Takamine found out that the amylolytic activity of koji (the fungus’s must) was superior to that of malt. In 1894, he patented its use in the US. These inventions made the industrial production of enzymes possible.

Jokichi Takamine’s career occured during the Meiji Era in Japan and during the Reconstruction Era in the US. At the time, Japan was undergoing modernization, opening up to the West, and the United States were working to heal the damage caused by the Civil War, and were on the verge of global industrialization and expansion.

In 1985, the Japan Patent Office commemorated the centennial of its industrial property system by selecting ten inventors. Jokichi Takamine was among these (the third one on the third row, starting from the top left). Kikunae Ikeda, who discovered the fifth flavour was also selected (the second one on the second row, starting from the top left).

In 2009, the Japan Enzyme Association (JAE) published a history of enzyme engineering. The book begins with a biography of Jokichi Takamine, the first man to industrialize the production of microbial enzymes in 1894.

Jokichi Takamine is still topical nowadays because of the findings of his research, and also because of his reasoning. He was inspired by a traditional Japanese dish - miso soup. He applied the same traditional fermentation techniques to new fields of experimentation. He was also smart enough to protect his work with patents and to promote it by becoming a true entrepreneur.

This is what every University and Researcher hopes for: economic development and success.

Jokichi Takamine started his business career in Japan. In 1887, he left Japanese administration. He then practiced what he learned on fertilizers in Scotland (1879-1883) and during a trip to the United States in 1884. With help from the government and support from Japanese investors, he created the first phosphate plant: the Tokyo Artificial Fertilizer Company.

Once it had been set up, he left Japan once again in 1887, to visit fertilizer plants in Europe, before going to the USA for his honeymoon, to visit more plants and to study the American patenting system. When he returned to his homeland, he started a new line of work based on his knowledge.