mummy

Mummified remains of monk found inside 1,000-year-old Buddha statue

When you think of mummies your mind probably goes straight to Egypt and Halloween. But not all mummies are pyramid-dwelling, bandaged pharaohs. Asia has had its fair share of mummies over the millennia as well, but instead of pharaohs they were Taoist and Buddhist monks, and instead of being mummified post-mortem, they mummified themselves before dying.

Recently, researchers in the Netherlands have discovered the mummified remains of a Buddhist monk who is thought to be Liuquan, a master of the Chinese Meditation School, within a bronze Buddha statue! Keep in mind, this guy lived around 1100 AD!

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From mermaids to monsters: The taxidermy mummies on show in Japan【Photos】

In the mid-nineteenth century, a showman named P. T. Barnum exhibited an oddity named the Fiji mermaid. Barnum’s mummified mermaid, one of the most famous hoaxes of all time, is widely believed to have been the body of a young monkey sewn onto a fish tail, and had been bought from Japanese sailors for $6,000.

Ningyo (Japanese mermaids – the word literally means “person-fish”) have a long and interesting history, but they aren’t the only ancient fake taxidermy on show in Japan. Across the country are all kinds of other fascinating specimens: “mummies” of tengu, kappa and even dragons.

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Bones of mythical Japanese water demon to go on public display

Every Japanese person knows about kappa, the tricksy and sometimes dangerous, yet strangely polite, water demons from ancient folklore. But how many have actually seen one in real life?

Next month, people will have the chance to, when parts of a supposedly real kappa go on display in all their mummified glory.

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