LA TOFU FESTIVAL

The La Tofu fest is a Japanese Festival. It marks the food festival which is prepared with soymilk and tofu which was a staple food dish of people in northern China during the Eastern/Later Han Period (A.D. 22- 220).

In Japan, the first mention of tofu was in 1183 in the diary of Hiroshige Nakaomi, a Shinto priest of the shrine at Nara; tofu was used as an offering at the shrine's altar. However, it wasn't until 1489 that the current characters used today for the word “tofu” were first written in Japan. Back in America, non- Asians also took up the craft of tofu making. In 1929 T.A. Van Gundy, a Seventh - day Adventist and founder of La Sierra Industries in Arlington, California, became the first Westerner to make tofu commercially when he introduced La Sierra Soya Cheese. This tofu was canned and pimento was added to prevent the tofu from graying after canning.

Tofu not only became a part of the American diet, but also it became the subject of books. The Library of Congress established in 1965 the subject heading “Tofu” as the official name for that food in cataloging books for libraries across America.

The Book of Tofu, by Shurtleff and Aoyagi, played a major role in introducing tofu to the Western World. Published by Autumn Press in 1975, this book has sold about 550,000 copies to date.

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Contact Information

LA TOFU FESTIVAL
Little Tokyo Service Center, 231 E Third St, Suite G104
90013 Los Angeles, CA

Tel. +12134733030

http://www.tofufest.org