The Mermaid Mummies of Japan
Japanese temples keep small, shrivelled 'mermaid mummies', and in 2023 scientists scanned one to find out what it really was.
What was reported
In Japanese folklore, the ningyo is a fish with a human or monkey-like face; eating its flesh was said to bring long life. Several temples and shrines keep small mummified 'mermaids', said to be centuries old, and some were believed to protect against disease.
In 2022 researchers began studying a mummy about 30 cm long kept at a temple in Asakuchi, Okayama, said to have been caught off Shikoku in the 1700s, using CT scans and DNA tests.
Explanations offered
In 2023 they reported that it was made mostly of cloth, paper and cotton, with fish skin and fish jaws, covered in a paste of sand and charcoal, and no monkey parts. It was probably made in the 19th century, as a religious object or to sell. Similar 'mermaids' were exported to the West, including the FeeJee Mermaid.
- When
- Studied in 2022–2023
- Where
- Asakuchi, Okayama, Japan
- Witnesses
- Temple keepers and scientists
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.