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An ancient mummy looking like a sea mermaid and believed to bestow immortality on anyone who tastes its meat will soon be examined by researchers.
Creatures with human-like faces have reportedly amazed researchers for centuries.
She is reportedly caught in the Pacific Ocean, near the Japanese islands of Shikokusometime in the years 1736 to 1741.
The creature is already found in the temple city of Asakuchi.
The mummy has two hands that extend towards the grim face, has some hair still visible on the head and also remnants of sharp, pointed teeth in the mouth.
Researchers at the University of the Arts and Sciences in Kurashiki have graphized the zombie in order to uncover its secrets.
Hiroshi Kinoshita, of the Okayama Folklore Society, said the mummy could have meanings of religious beliefs.
“Japanese sea mermaids are legends of immortality,” he said.
“If you eat the meat of a mermaid, you will never die. There is a legend in some parts of Japan that says that a woman who mistakenly ate the meat of a mermaid lived for almost 800 years.
“This legend of ‘Yao-Bikuni’ is preserved near the temple where the mermaid was found. “I learned that after hearing about the legend, some people tried to eat the mummy’s scales.”
But in the age of viruses as we live today, a sea mermaid can also be a symbol of disaster, folklore stories suggest.
“According to a legend, the sea mermaid predicts infectious diseases,” says Hiroshi.
A historical letter from 1903 – apparently written by a former owner – tells of the zombie’s ancestry.
“The mermaid was caught by fishermen’s nets in Kochi prefecture,” the letter said.
“The fishermen who caught it did not know it was a mermaid so they took it to Osaka and sold it as an unusual fish. “My predecessors bought it and since then it has been kept as a family treasure,” the letter added.
It is not known how the mummy came to the Ainu Temple in Asakuchi, but High Priest Kozen Kuida, said it was put on display about 40 years ago and is now kept in a fire-resistant box.
In Japanese folklore there is such a creature called “ningio” which is described as having a monkey mouth, fish teeth and is covered with golden scales.
The researchers said the results of the zombie examination will be published this year.
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