“Ningyo”: Japanese Merfolk and Auspicious Mummies

Detail from a ningyo offering talisman found at the Suzaki archaeological site in Akita Prefecture. (Courtesy Akita Prefectural Board of Education; © Jiji)

The ningyo of Wakan sansai zue (Japanese-Chinese Illustrated Assemblage of the Three Components of the Universe) matches the present concept of a mermaid. (Courtesy National Diet Library Digital Collection)

Illustrations of merfolk in Rokumotsu shinshi (New Applications for Six Things) taken from works by John Jonston (left) and Ambroise Paré. (Courtesy National Diet Library Digital Collection)

A mermaid appears to Prince Shōtoku in this scene from Kannon reigenki (The Miracles of Kannon). (Courtesy National Diet Library Digital Collection)

The jinja hime (shrine princess). (Courtesy Miyoshi Mononoke Museum)

The note explaining the history of the mummy. (Courtesy Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts)

The Enjuin mummy (left) and Kuida Kōzen, the temple’s chief priest, observing a CT scan. The mummy will go on display at Kurashiki Museum of Natural History this summer. (Courtesy Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts)