After eluding experts for nearly 300 years, the riddle of Japan’s mummified “mermaid” has been solved, and it turns out that it was created by humans.
The Sun said that researchers concluded the creature, revered by residents and housed in the Enjuin temple in the city of Asakuchi for forty years, is composed of paper, cloth, cotton, and fish parts.
Long believed to have been “caught” in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Shikoku between 1736 and 1741, the creature is 12 inches in length.
It resembles a human in that it has a human-like expression, sharp teeth, hands, and hair on its head and brow. Except that the lower half of its body resembles a fish, earning it the nickname “mermaid.”
Locals thought that eating its flesh would grant immortality. Some even believed it could help halt the coronavirus pandemic.
The Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts chose to investigate its beginnings with a CT scanner, which was uploaded to YouTube, last year.
“On the basis of our analysis and the history of mummy creation in Japan, we can only conclude that the mermaid mummy was likely created by humans,” paleontologist Takafumi Kato told Vice World News.
The university’s X-rays revealed that it lacked a spine, ribs, and other skeletal bones.
However, there are fish-like features on its body.
Its arms, shoulders, neck, and cheeks are covered with fish skin, as are its jaw and teeth. Additionally, the lowest portion of its body had fish bones.
According to radiometric dating, the figure was created in the late 1800s.
A dozen other mermaid mummies have been discovered in Japan and are believed to have been produced during the country’s historical Edo era (1603-1868). During this time, diseases such as smallpox and measles were prevalent, and the creatures were believed to bring good luck.
The Okayama Folklore Society’s Hiroshi Kinoshita told The Sun that Japanese mermaids have a tale of immortality. It is thought that if you consume mermaid flesh, you will never die.
»Mummified “mermaid” mystery solved after 300 years«