Centuries-Old Japanese “Mermaid” Mummy Studied For The First Time
Kinoshita HiroshiResearchers are hoping to reveal the secrets of the 12-inch, 300-year-old “mermaid” mummy.
About 300 years ago, fishermen working off the island of Shikoku in Japan allegedly caught a mermaid. The 12-inch-long specimen passed between private hands before it was donated to the Enjuin Temple in the city of Asakuchi. Now, it’s being studied by scientists for the first time.
Researchers from Kurashiki University announced in 2022 that they would examine the “mermaid” mummy to see what secrets it might reveal.
Whatever they learn, it’s certain that this odd specimen is a fascinating one, especially considering where it was found. Hiroshi Kinoshita of the Okayama Folklore Society, who initiated the investigation, explained that mermaids have a special significance in Japanese mythology.
“Japanese mermaids have a legend of immortality,” Kinoshita explained. “It is said that if you eat the flesh of a mermaid, you will never die. There is a legend in many parts of Japan that a woman accidentally ate the flesh of a mermaid and lived for 800 years.”
Kinoshita also said that another legend featured a mermaid who “predicated an infectious disease,” which many locals couldn’t help but remember during the COVID-19 pandemic. At Enjuin Temple, some people even worshipped the mermaid in hopes that it would “alleviate” the pandemic.
All that said, Kinoshita doesn’t think that it’s actually a mermaid. It may even be a man-made creation, perhaps a monkey and a fish sewn together. But DNA testing should offer more definitive answers in the future.
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