(ORDO NEWS) — Hiroshi Kinoshita, a member of the board of the local folklore society, convinced the temple workers to hand over the mummy to scientists.
The parishioners of the temple believed that the creature, frighteningly similar to a small man with a fish tail, could heal from diseases.
The “mermaid mummy” from Endjuin Shrine in Okayama Prefecture in Japan is a strange desiccated creature with a fish tail and a human-like head. It is not known how and when the mysterious “mermaid” got into the temple.
A letter dated 1903 is kept with her. It says that “an unknown little animal” got into fishing nets in the area of Kochi prefecture in 1736-1741.
Similar mummies are found in other Buddhist temples in Japan and are considered sacred. In Japanese mythology, there is a similar creature – Ningyo. It resembles a fish with a human head.
It is believed that Ningyo meat has healing powers, and temple representatives worshiped the “mermaid” mummy in the hope that it could bring long life to believers.
As early as February 2022, researchers from the Kurashiki University of Science and Arts, with the permission of the abbot of the temple, began to unravel the secrets of the mummy of an unknown creature.
The mummy of the ” mermaid ” was studied using x-rays, computed tomography, DNA analysis, electron microscope and carbon analysis.
Already on x-rays, the fins and ridge at the bottom of this strange creature were clearly visible. But in the upper part, nothing resembling a skeleton was observed.
As a result, scientists found out that the tail of the “mermaid” belonged to a fish of the Gorbylov family, and the upper part of the body consists of cotton wool and paper, covered with the skin of a puffer fish.
The age of fish scales is about 150 years.
The hair on the head of the mummy, as well as the nails on her fingers, were taken from some kind of mammal. In the “body” of the mummy, metal needles were also found, possibly holding the structure together.
All this clearly hints at the fact that the “mermaid” was made by a person. Perhaps such dummies were made for sale under the guise of real “monsters”.
Today, 13 such mummies are known in Japan. They are usually performed in one of two positions – reminiscent of Munch’s “Scream” and lying on his stomach.
Also, the mummies of Japanese “mermaids” are kept in some European museums, in particular, in the British Museum and the National Museum of Ethnography of the Netherlands.
“Mermaid” and Enjuin Temple was the first to be explored by scientific methods.
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