Researchers Say Mummified Figure In Japan Not Really A Mermaid
Researchers in Japan have revealed that a mummified creature, long thought to be a mermaid, was actually a combination of different objects.
Many had initially assumed it to be a centuries-old mythical creature. Belonging to a temple in Okayama Prefecture, locals have been praying to it for years.
In the wake of the discovery, a chief priest at the temple stated that they will continue protecting the item.
Mummified ‘mermaid’ in Japan made of different components
According to Japanese news site The Asahi Shimbun, the mummy belongs to Enjuin temple in Asakuchi, Okayama Prefecture.
It’s unclear how the temple acquired it in the first place.
In February 2022, five researchers from Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts as well as other organisations began an analysis of the mummy.
Before that, the temple had kept it in a fireproof safe for the past 40 years, according to the Insider.
As part of the study, the researchers used X-rays, a high-resolution CT scanner and other modern equipment to find out its purpose and what it was made of.
On 7 Feb, they concluded in a report that the figure had
- Front-facing eye sockets
- Ears
- Nose
- Hair on its head
- Five fingers on the ends of each arm.
However, the body’s interior was a “mould” of cloth, paper and cotton, while the surface of its upper body was made of thin layers of paper.
Its head also contained cotton, plaster, and other similar materials.
Mummified mermaid contains some animal parts
However, the team found some biological parts in the mummy. For instance, its lower body contained bones, likely from the tail and dorsal fins of a Sciaenidae fish.
Its jaw was also said to be that of a carnivorous fish. Other than these sections, there were no major bones in the figure’s spine or rib cage.
In addition, the surface of its upper body had puffer fish skin and glued-on animal hair.
Based on the scales from the lower body, the researchers determined that the ‘mermaid’ may have been created in the late 1880s, Asahi Shimbun reports.
Additionally, no DNA was detected in the ‘mermaid’.
Figure may have been a prank
The mermaid had reportedly come in a box with a note stating: “A mermaid was caught in a fishing net on the coast of Tosa Province (present-day Kochi Prefecture) between 1736 and 1741.”
A fisherman had then brought it to Osaka and sold it to the ancestor of Naojo Kojima of the Bingo Fukuyama clan. The university was unable to verify these identities.
In light of the findings, 61-year-old Kozen Kuida — chief priest at Eujuin temple — said the mummy will continue to be a prized possession at the place of worship.
He said that many locals in the area had prayed to the figure, and so it held their thoughts.
Now we have learned that it was moulded with things that were alive. We want to continue to protect it with great care.
Livescience states that similar “fake mermaids” have been spotted before, and were made by locals to sell to Western tourists.
More than 10 such figures were reported in Japan, Asahi Shimbun reports.
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Featured image adapted from Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts.
