Mystery of the mermaid: Eerie 300-year-old 'mummy' with human face and tail found in Japan
Scientists in Japan are conducting extensive research to unfurl the mystery behind a 300-year-old mummy with a human face and fishtail, just like a mermaid. The mysterious creature, measuring only 12 inches, was allegedly found in the Pacific Ocean more than three centuries ago. Historical accounts reveal that the creature was caught between 1736 and 1741 off the island of Shikoku. It has been preserved ever since at the Enjuin temple in Asakuchi.
The mystery of the mummified mermaid is being considered by many social media users as a bad omen, especially at a time when the world is plagued by a pandemic and war. The grim-looking mummified creature shows pointed teeth, two hands with fingers, hair on the head, and even eyebrows. However, the lower portion of the creature is not human, rather it closely resembles the structure of a fishtail.
READ MORE
Freeform's mermaid fantasy drama Siren gets a season 2 renewal
In the region near the Asakuchi temple, folklores about mermaids have prevailed for centuries. Many believed that tasting the flesh or scale of a mermaid would grant a person immortality.
Researchers from Kurashiki University of Science and Arts are now performing CT scans and other research procedures on the mummy to unravel its secrets. The project is spearheaded by Hiroshi Kinoshita from Okayama Folklore Society. He shared, "Japanese mermaids have a legend of immortality. It is said that if you eat the flesh of a mermaid, you will never die.”
Kinoshita also noted, "There is a legend in many parts of Japan that a woman accidentally ate the flesh of a mermaid and lived for 800 years. This "Yao-Bikuni" legend is also preserved near the temple where the mermaid mummy was found. I heard that some people, believing in the legend, used to eat the scales of mermaid mummies."
He further warned that often a mermaid was associated with the prediction of infectious diseases, which carries a curious significance in the time of Covid. "There is also a legend that a mermaid predicted an infectious disease," Kinoshita said.
The former owner of the mummy wrote a letter way back in 1903 and carefully preserved the same inside the casket. "A mermaid was caught in a fish-catching net in the sea off Kochi Prefecture. The fishermen who caught it did not know it was a mermaid, but took it to Osaka and sold it as unusual fish. My ancestors bought it and kept it as a family treasure," the letter reads.
Enjuin Temple's chief priest Kozen Kuida said that mummy was put on display at the temple 40 years back, though it is unclear how it came there in the first place. "We have worshipped it, hoping that it would help alleviate the coronavirus pandemic even if only slightly," he said.
Meanwhile, Kinoshita refutes the thought that it is a "real" mermaid, and believes that it was "manufactured" during the Edo period between 1603 and 1867. "Of course, I don’t think it’s a real mermaid,” he said, adding, “I think this was made for export to Europe during the Edo period, or for spectacles in Japan.”
He also noted, “The legend of mermaids remains in Europe, China and Japan all over the world. Therefore, I can imagine that people at that time were also very interested in it. I think it is made from living animals and we would like to identify them by CT scans or DNA testing.”