After eluding scientists for almost 300 years, the mystery of Japan’s mummified “mermaid” was solved — and it turns out it’s man-made.
Researchers concluded that the creature, worshiped by locals and housed in Enjuin temple in the city of Asakuchi for 40 years, is made of paper, cloth, cotton, and fish parts, The Sun reported.
The 12-inch-long creature was long believed to have been “caught” in the Pacific Ocean off the island of Shikoku between 1736 and 1741.
With a wincing expression on its face, pointed teeth, hands, and hair on its head and brow, it resembles a human. Except that the lower half of its body has a fish-like appearance, earning it the “mermaid” moniker.
Locals believed it bestowed immortality to those who bit its flesh. Some even thought it would aid in ending the coronavirus pandemic.
Last year, the Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts decided to probe its origins using a CT scanner, which was shared on YouTube.
“Based on our analysis and the history of mummy creation in Japan, we can only conclude that the mermaid mummy was probably man-made,” Takafumi Kato, a paleontologist working on the project, told Vice World News.
X-rays conducted by the university showed that it did not have a spine, ribs or other skeletal bones.
However, there are parts of its body that belong to fish.
Its jaw and teeth were taken from a fish and its arms, shoulders, neck, and cheeks are covered with fish skin. The lower part of its body also contained fish bones.
Radioactive dating determined the figure was fabricated in the late 1800s.
A dozen other mermaid mummies have been found around Japan and are assumed to have been created during the country’s historical Edo period, which stretched from 1603-1868. That period saw rampant diseases like smallpox and measles, and the creatures were believed to bring good luck.
“Japanese mermaids have a legend of immortality,” Hiroshi Kinoshita of the Okayama Folklore Society told The Sun. “It is said that if you eat the flesh of a mermaid, you will never die.”