Scientists Have Been Perplexed By The Mystery Of A 300-Year-Old Mummified 'Mermaid'

A group of Japanese experts is currently studying a 300-year-old mummy in the shape of a 'mermaid,' who are apparently perplexed by its features. Between 1736 and 1741, the strange 12-inch monster was purportedly caught in the Pacific Ocean off the Japanese island of Shikoku. It is presently housed in a temple in Asakuchi city.

According to the sources, the mummy was discovered stored in a box with a letter stating it had been caught in a fishing net in the Pacific Ocean. The 'dried mermaid' was maintained by one family and then passed on to another until being purchased by a temple.

The mummy features pointed fangs, a grimacing face, two hands, and head and brow hair. In short, the upper half of it has an uncanny resemblance to a human. However, it has the appearance of a fish on the lower half. Scales and a tail-like tapering end cover the lower half of the body. Scientists from Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts have recently collected the money for CT scanning in try to decipher its secrets.

Hiroshi Kinoshita of the Okayama Folklore Society, the project's creator stated that Japanese mermaids are said to be immortal. If you consume the flesh of a mermaid, it is stated that you will never die.

He mentioned that in many parts of Japan, there is a tradition that a woman accidently ate the flesh of a mermaid and lived for 800 years. He went on to say that thi 'Yao-Bikuni' tradition is also retained near the temple where the mermaid mummy was discovered.

Some people who believed in the legend, according to Kinoshita, used to eat the scales of mermaid mummies. He added that Amermaid is also reported to have foreshadowed an infectious sickness. The mummy's provenance is described in full in a letter kept with it.