Scientists Unravels Some Japanese Mermaid-Mummy Secrets, Still Have Questions
Mermaid Mummy
InternationalIndiaAfricaA small “mermaid” mummy resembling a hybrid of a monkey and a fish was kept in an ancient Japanese temple for many years. However, modern research has been able to reveal some information about the object, while raising new questions.The unusual artifact was the property of the Endjuin Temple in southern Japan. The 30-centimeter-long “mermaid” has long been the property of the temple, but neither monks nor parishioners knew what it was or how it got there. The creature still has hair on its head, five fingers on each hand, palms pressed against its face, mouth open and scales covering its back.
"We have worshipped it, hoping that it would help alleviate the coronavirus pandemic even if only slightly," Kozen Kuida, the head priest at the temple, told a Japanese newspaper.
The results of a study by scientists from the Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts, which lasted nearly a year, have been published only recently. The experts have concluded that the mummy was never a living creature.A computer tomography scan revealed that the mummy was made of paper, cotton and cloth. X-rays showed that the main skeletal bones – the spine, skull and ribs – were missing inside. The skull, while appearing to resemble a monkey skull, was made mostly out of cotton.Only fish bones were found in the lower part of the body – most likely from the tail or fin of a large fish. The mummy’s jaw and teeth belonged to a marine predator, and the skin of a fugu or puffer fish was used for the arms, shoulders and neck.Carbon dating shows that the effigy was likely made in the late 1800s, a note stored with the mummy said it was caught in a fishing net in the 1700s. While it is impossible to say for sure who made the strange doll or why, scientists speculate that it may be related to legends of mermaids, which date back to the 8th century AD.
"It’s the same as when people join their hands in front of Buddhist statues made of stone or wood. I would like to continue to protect and pass on this mummy with great care," Kozen Kuida said, referring to the future of the mummy
The mermaid from Okayama is not the only one of its kind. About a dozen similar mummies have been found throughout Japan, though they have not been investigated in as much detail.
