Three centuries later, they solve the myth of the mermaid who gave eternal life to those who tasted it

A year ago, a group of scientists in Japan began investigating an ancient mummified “mermaid” unearthed between 1736 and 1741, which is said to grant the immortality to those who taste his flesh. The creature, with its eerie human face and fish tail, has been a mystery for centuries.

But now that it’s over after nearly 300 years of uncertainty, the truth has finally come out.

Apparently, it was caught in the Pacific Ocean, off the island of Shikoku (Japan), and currently rests in Enjuin Temple, Asakuchi City.

The creature has its two hands extended towards the face gesticulate. Some hair is still visible on her head and she has it remnants of sharp, pointed teeth in the mouth.

Researchers from the Kurashiki University of Sciences and Arts decided to subject the mummy to an examination. TAC in an attempt to unravel its mysteries.

The mummy could have a religious meaning. “Japanese mermaids have a legend of immortality,” she said.

Unfortunately, they have now discovered that the creature is completely artificial, Made in the late 19th century.

This is because they could not find evidence of any skeleton, instead the body was made paper, cloth and cotton.

Scientists said the the lower half of the body is actually from the tail of a fishbut they believe it was added by whoever created it.

The scientists wrote in their study that it is a combination of “dorsal, anal and pelvic finsthe fin bones that support the flippers, and the caudal skeleton”.

Meanwhile, his jaw and teeth were also taken by a fish, while the hair on his head it originally came from a mammal.

Radiocarbon dating also showed that the mummy dates from the end of the 19th centurywhich is in line with the team’s initial estimates of when it was made.

“Legend says if you eat the flesh of a mermaid, you’ll never die,” Kinoshita said.

The legend of Japan’s mummified mermaid

“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,” adds Kinoshita.

This legend ‘Yao Bikuni’ it is also kept near the temple where the mummy of the mermaid was found, they point out.

Legends, fishermen and omens

The myth assures that he has heard that some people, believing in the legend, they ate the scales of siren mummies. And he points out that in the age of the coronavirus, a siren could also be an ominous omen, just as folklore suggests.

In this sense, they mark the existence of a legend that a mermaid predicted an infectious disease.

A historic letter dated 1903 was kept next to the mummy and tells a story about where it came from: “A mermaid was caught in a fishing net in the sea off Kochi prefecture,” it warns.

The fishermen who caught her didn’t know she was a mermaid, but they took her to Osaka and… They sold it as if it were an unusual fish.

exhibited in a temple

In this way it emerged that it was later repurchased and kept as a family treasure.

It is unclear today how or when the mummy arrived at Enjuin Temple in Asakuchi. However, the head priest, Kozen Kuida, has revealed that it was exhibited in a glass case about 40 years ago and is now Store in a fireproof safe.

“We loved it, hoping that help alleviate the coronavirus pandemiceven if it’s a bit,” he said The Asahi Shimbuna Japanese newspaper.

“I think this was done for export to Europe during the Edo period, or for performances in Japan,” Kinoshita said.