Mermaid mummy, Japanese scientists working to solve mystery of 300-year-old artefact

For many years, a nearly 300-year-old "mermaid" mummy that looked like a cross between a monkey and a fish was preserved at a traditional Japanese shrine. Modern research has been able to answer some questions while also providing some fresh information about the artefact. 

The strange object belonged to the Endjuin Temple in southern Japan. The 30-centimetre-long "mermaid" had been a part of the temple's collection for a while, but neither the monks nor the locals knew what it was or how it got there. It still has scales coating its rear, five fingers on each hand, palms placed itself against the face, and hair on its head.

The study has found that the mummy was never a real thing

"We have worshipped it, hoping that it would help alleviate the coronavirus pandemic even if only slightly," Kozen Kuida, the head priest at the temple, told a Japanese newspaper. Only lately have the findings of a study conducted by researchers at the Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts been made public. According to the scientists, the mummy was never a living thing.

According to a computer tomography scan, the mummy was constructed from paper, cotton, and cloth. The spine, skull, and ribs—the primary skeleton bones—were all gone, according to X-rays. The skull was primarily made of cotton, despite seeming like a monkey skull. Isolated fish bones, quite probably from a big fish's tail or fin, were discovered in the lowest portion of the body. The mummy's jaw and teeth belonged to a marine predator, while the arms, shoulders, and neck were covered in fugu or puffer fish skin.

The million-dollar question still remains unasnwered, why was it constucted?

A note kept with the mummy said it was caught in a fishing net in the 1700s, however carbon dating indicates that the effigy was probably created in the late 1800s. Scientists believe that the unusual doll might be connected to mermaid traditions, which date back to the 8th century AD, even though it is impossible to say for certain who constructed it or why.

"It’s the same as when people join their hands in front of Buddhist statues made of stone or wood. I would like to continue to protect and pass on this mummy with great care," Kozen Kuida said, referring to the future of the mummy according to a report by Sputnik.  There are other creatures like the Okayama mermaid. There have been about a dozen comparable mummies discovered all throughout Japan, but they have not received as thorough of an examination.

Magical figures first appeared in cave drawings 30,000 years ago, and the ancient Greek epic poet Homer also wrote about them in The Odyssey. Half-human, half-fish creatures have long been a part of folklore. Yet, there has never been any proof of aquatic humanoids, as they are also known.

According to Royal Musuems Greenwich, "In some cultures, the mermaid signifies life and fertility within the ocean. In others, she embodies the destructive nature of the water, luring sailors to their deaths — serving as an omen for storms, unruly seas and disaster."