A mummy in the shape of a mermaid that is said to grant immortality to whoever tastes its flesh will be probed by Japanese scientists to trace its origin.<\/p>\n
The bizarre 12-inch (30 centimetres) creature was allegedly caught in the Pacific Ocean, off the Japanese island of Shikoku, between 1736 and 1741.<\/p>\n
It has now been preserved at a temple in Asakuchi city, Okayama prefecture in the southern part of Japans Honshu island.<\/p>\n
The mummified object, which appears to have nails and teeth, hair on head and scales on its lower body, has been sent for a CT scan at the veterinary hospital of Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts.<\/p>\n
JapansAsahi Shimbun newspaper said that mummy was found preserved in a box along with a note claiming the that it had been caught in a fishing net in the Pacific Ocean at some point between 1736 and 1741.<\/p>\n
The dried mermaid was said to have been kept by a family and then passed to another before it was eventually acquired by a temple, which put it on display some four decades ago.<\/p>\n
It is also being claimed that the object may have been produced as an item for export to Europe.<\/p>\n
Hiroshi Kinoshita, of the Okayama Folklore Society, found the object while studying Kiyoaki Sato, a Japanese natural historian who researched mysterious creatures.<\/p>\n
He said the creature could have religious significance.<\/p>\n
Japanese mermaids have a legend of immortality. It is said that if you eat the flesh of a mermaid, you will never die, New York Post quoted Kinoshita as saying.<\/p>\n
There is a legend in many parts of Japan that a woman accidentally ate the flesh of a mermaid and lived for 800 years.<\/p>\n
He claimed that some people believed in the legend and used to eat the scales of mermaid mummies.<\/p>\n
The scientists who are examining the mummy will publish their findings later this year.<\/p>\n
(With inputs from agencies)<\/p>\n
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