After taking X-rays, scientists knew the true origin of the strange fish-tailed creature.

At the Enjuin temple in the city of Asakuchi, Japan, there is a famous mascot that attracts tourists from all over the world, which is a mummy of a creature over 30 cm long with a grimace on his face, pointed teeth, and hands. and the hair on the head and eyebrows is like a human. The lower half of its body is shaped like a fish, earning it the nickname “mermaid”.

The “mermaid” that has caused headaches in the scientific world for hundreds of years has a solution

According to tradition, it was caught in the Pacific Ocean off the island of Shikoku between 1736 and 1741. Locals once believed that if eaten, “mermaids” would become immortal. This mummy is considered a god and has been respected and worshiped by people for 3 centuries.

Last year, Kurashiki University of Arts and Sciences decided to find out the origin of this divine “mermaid” using a CT scanner.

“Based on our analysis and the history of mummy creation in Japan, we can only conclude that the mermaid mummy could be man-made,” said Takafumi Kato, a biologist at the University of Tokyo. work on the project told Vice World News. In other words, this “divine” mummy is actually a doll with completely artificial fish parts.

The mummy is an artificial doll made of paper, cloth, cotton and fish parts

X-rays conducted by the university showed it had no spine, ribs or other bones. However, there are parts of its body that belong to fish. Its jaws and teeth are taken from a fish and its arms, shoulders, neck and cheeks are covered with fish skin. The lower body also contains fish bones. Radiocarbon dating that determines this number was made in the late 1800s.

Dozens of other mermaid mummies have been found across Japan and are believed to have been created during the country’s historic Edo period, which lasted from 1603 to 1868. That period saw plagues of disease. raging like smallpox and measles, and these creatures are said to bring good luck.

“Japanese mermaids carry the legend of immortality,” Hiroshi Kinoshita of the Okayama Folklore Association told The Sun. “It is said that if you eat the flesh of a mermaid, you will never die.”