Soybeans have been cultivated in China for thousands of years, and they also became popular in other Asian countries (especially Japan and Korea) over a thousand years ago (as early as the third and fourth centuries AD). Thanks to their origins in Asia, we continue to use three Japanese words - "tofu" (itself from the Chinese word "doufu"), "natto," and "edamame" (meaning "branch bean" or "stalk bean") to refer to various forms of this wonderful legume.