The Japanese mermaid of immortality
Analysis of a mummified "mermaid" found in a Japanese temple revealed that it is a fake.
In 2022, researchers discovered a mermaid, about 30.5 centimeters long, inside a sealed wooden box in a Japanese temple, located in Okayama Prefecture. The body of this strange animal is half human and half fish. At the time of the discovery researchers thought it was made from the torso and head of a monkey sewn onto the body of a decapitated fish.
According to legends, this mermaid can grant immortality to its owner.
The disturbing hybrid, which resembles a Ningyo from Japanese mythology - a fish-like creature with a human head said to help cure illnesses and increase longevity - had previously been displayed in a glass case in the temple because the people loved it, before it was preserved. A letter inside the mummy box states that the specimen was caught by a fisherman between 1736 and 1741, but was likely created decades later as a relic to be sold to wealthy people who wanted to improve their health or live a life longer.
Researchers at Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts (KUSA) in Japan took possession of the mermaid in early February 2022 (with permission from the temple's priests) and began studying the eerie artifact using a variety of techniques including X-rays and CT (Computed Tomography), radiocarbon dating, electron microscopy and DNA analysis.
On February 7, the team released its findings in a KUSA statement.
The results showed that the mermaid's torso did not belong to a monkey, but was made mostly of cloth, paper and cotton held together by metal pins running from the neck to the lower back. It had also been painted with a paste made from a mixture of sand and charcoal.
However, the torso was covered in components torn from other animals. Mammal hair and fish skin, probably from a pufferfish, covered parts of the arms, shoulders, neck and cheeks. The mermaid's jaw and teeth were also likely taken from a predatory fish, and her claws were made of keratin, meaning they likely came from a real but unidentifiable animal.
The lower half of the siren came from a fish, probably some kind of croaker, a ray-finned fish that makes a croaking sound with its swim bladder, which helps it control its buoyancy.
The researchers were unable to identify any complete DNA from the mermaid, but radiocarbon dating of the scales indicated they could date back to the early 1800s.
The new analysis suggests that the mermaid was most likely created to trick people into believing that the Ningyos and their supposed healing abilities were real. It also shows that the cheaters behind the creation put a lot more effort into stitching together the counterfeit creature than expected.
There are 14 other "mermaids" that have been found in Japan, and the team now hopes to analyze more of them for comparison.
