About two centuries ago, an anonymous creature was allegedly captured by fishermen in the Pacific Ocean near the Japanese island of Shikoku. The 12-inch creature had humanoid features including hair on its' head along with a fishtail from the waist down. Since the shocking discovery was made, some people have attributed the existence of the mysterious mummy to folklore and religion, while others have claimed it's a result of religion or man-made engineering.
After exchanging owners on various occasions, the mummified remains of the creature have been preserved in a fireproof safe at the Enjuin temple in Asakuchi. But because the "mermaid" corpse has been the topic of debate for so long, researchers from the Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts have taken it for CT scanning in order to finally discover its origin. According to Hiroshi Kinoshita, the man responsible for igniting this project, the possibilities are endless.
“Japanese mermaids have a legend of immortality,” said the Okayama Folklore Society member. “It is said that if you eat the flesh of a mermaid, you will never die. There is a legend in many parts of Japan that a woman accidentally ate the flesh of a mermaid and lived for 800 years...There is also a legend that a mermaid predicted an infectious disease.”
The scientists studying the mummy will publish their diagnostic review later this year. For more information on this mysterious creature, look above.
Source: NY Post
