How much do you know about the sacred "mermaid mummy" in Japan?
After nearly 300 years, the mystery of Japan's sacred "mermaid mummy" has finally been solved.
According to local folklore, eating the meat of mermaids confers immortality and resilience.
For more than four decades, Enjuin Temple in Asaguchi has been on display of a mysterious creature purportedly captured near the Japanese island of Shikoku in the Pacific Ocean between 1736 and 1741.
The 12-inch creature still had hair on its head and sharp teeth in its mouth, and its hands were raised towards its grimace, but its body turned into a tail that clearly resembled a fish. The creature's discovery has fascinated people for decades, but last year, researchers at Kurashiki University of Science and Arts examined and CT scans of the mummy to uncover its secrets.
After a series of tests on the "mermaid" to determine its organic composition, researchers have now determined that it was entirely artificial and was created in the late 1800s. Its body has no skeleton, and its construction features paper, cloth and cotton. According to scientists, the creature's lower body was actually a fish tail, but they believe it was later attached. Its head comes from mammals, while its jaw and teeth are taken from fish.
Hiroshi Kinoshita, a director of the Okayama Folklore Society, discovered the existence of this creature after seeing the image of a strange creature in the mythological encyclopedia. How the mermaid mummy entered Okaya Temple remains a mystery to this day.
