In mid-2022 yesterday, a group of researchers started their project to analyze 'mermaid' mummies. It is said that this strange creature was caught in fishing nets off the coast of what is now Kochi Prefecture, Japan, between 1736 and 1741.
Since her discovery, this mummy mermaid has been kept at the Enjuin shrine in Asakuchi, where she has become an object of worship. The team of scientists also tested DNA samples taken from the mummy to determine what this animal really was. Now the results are visible and reveal the mystery.
As quoted by us from Asahi, researchers using high-tech equipment have reached the conclusion about the mysterious and sinister mummy, that it turns out that most of the parts are fake.
Scientific analysis found that the supposedly centuries-old creature was mostly a mold made up of paper, cloth, cotton and other components.
The 30 cm long mummy belongs to the Enjuin shrine in Asakuchi, Okayama Prefecture. She was found with a note reading, "A mermaid caught in a fishing net on the coast of Tosa Province (now Kochi Prefecture) between 1736 and 1741."
The mummified upper body resembled that of a primate, with forward-facing eye sockets, ears, nose and hair on the head, and five fingers on the ends of the arms. The lower body is covered with scales and resembles a fish.
Five researchers from the Kurashiki University of Sciences and Arts and other organizations have been analyzing to determine what exactly this mummy was since February last year. The team used X-rays, high-resolution CT scanners and other modern equipment. Some real biological parts found in mermaid mummies.
For example, the lower body contains bones that may have come from the tail and dorsal fins of the Sciaenidae fish, while the jaws are those of carnivorous fish. But they found no large bones in the spine or ribs.
The inside of the body mainly consists of printed cloth, paper and cotton. The head is made almost entirely of cotton, along with plaster and similar materials.
The upper surface of the body was made of thin layers of paper, with pufferfish skin and animal hair glued on. Based on scales from the lower body, the researchers said it was most likely that the mermaid mummy was made in the late 1880s.
The researchers tried to do DNA analysis, but nothing was detected. Kozen Kuida, chief priest at the Enjuin shrine, said that regardless of the outcome, the mermaid mummy would remain a prized possession of the shrine.
"Many people in this area come here and join hands to pray (to the mermaids)," said Kuida. How the Enjuin shrine obtained the mermaid mummies remains a mystery. More than 10 mermaid mummies of this type have been reported across Japan.