Finding the 'mermaid mummy', the expert said a sentence that surprised everyone

After all, is this proof of the existence of "mermaids" in real life?

Finding the body of a creature resembling a "mermaid"

Between 1736 and 1741, a terrifying creature with a very humanoid appearance was said to have been found in the Pacific Ocean. The strange thing is that this creature has a deformed face and sharp teeth, but instead of legs like a human, a fish tail appears on the other half of the body.

More strangely, the "mermaid" mummy is said to make anyone who eats its flesh immortal, and scientists are conducting research into the true nature of this creature.

Found in the Pacific Ocean, off the Japanese island of Shikoku, between 1736 and 1741, the mummy is now kept in a temple in the city of Asakuchi.

The strange creature with a grimace, sharp teeth, two hands, and even hair and eyebrows - a strangely human-like shape - except for the bottom half of the fish tail.

Now researchers from Japan's Kurashiki University of Arts and Sciences have taken the mummy for a CT scan with the hope that they can unravel the mysteries of this creature.

Researcher Hiroshi Kinoshita of the Okayama Folklore Association said the mummy may have religious significance.

Scientists are putting this strange creature on CT scanners to find out its true nature

Mr. Kinoshita said: "Japanese mermaids have legends about immortality. It is rumored that if someone eats the flesh of a mermaid, that person will never die. A legend in many regions of Japan says that a woman accidentally ate the flesh of a mermaid and lived for 800 years".

This creature is now worshiped in a Japanese temple.

"The legend of this "Yao-Bikuni" is also kept near the temple where the mermaid mummy was found. I heard that there are some people who believe in the legend who tried to eat the scales of this mummy."

According to Japanese legend, mermaids bring immortality to anyone who eats them.

Kinoshita added: "There is also a legend that a mermaid predicted an infectious disease."

Is it the mermaid of the legend?

A letter dating from 1903 was found stored with the mummy, telling the origin of this mysterious creature.

"A mermaid got caught in a fishing net in the waters off Kochi Prefecture. The fishermen who caught it didn't know it was a mermaid, they brought it to Osaka Prefecture and sold it as an exotic fish. By chance. , my ancestors bought it and kept it as a family treasure," the letter read.

It is not clear how or when the mummy reached the Enjuin temple in Asakuchi Prefecture.

The temple keeper said the body had been on display in a glass case for about 40 years and is now being kept in a fireproof safe.

Scientist Hiroshi Kinoshita - member of the research team.

Sharing with the press, this person said: "We adore it, hope that it will help alleviate the Corona pandemic even a little."

However, researcher Kinoshita has a different view of this creature.

He believes it was "made" at some point during the Edo period - an era of Japanese history that lasted from 1603 to 1867.

"Of course, I don't think it's a real mermaid. I think the creature was produced for export to Europe during the Edo period. The legend of the mermaid still lives in Europe, China, Japan, even around the world, so I can imagine that at that time, people were also very interested in it," Mr. Kinoshita said.

He continued: "I think this creature is made of living animals, and we want to identify them by CT scans or DNA tests. It looks like a fish with scales on the lower body but it's not. like a primate with hands and face in the upper body".

Scientists are conducting research on the body and will publish the results later this year.