The Luck of the Ningyō: Japanese human-fish Yokai and the rise of the fake museum mermaid

The Feejee Mermaid

This online talk by Dr Sam George will explore the representation of the Ningyō or Japanese human fish Yokai; a creature of genderless hybridity that functions as both a prophecy beast and a Mer Monster. I will chart its fascinating history, from the earliest sightings in folk tales and chronicles of Japan, to its manifestation in new media in the present. I argue that ningyō were made monstrous through Japan’s interactions with the West when mummified or dried specimens were sold to Europeans for show in the nineteenth century. Descriptions of these mummified or desiccated mermaid creations are decidedly gothic and bring the ningyō within the realms of the weird and the eerie. In Japan, however, they are sacred objects, inviting good fortune and acting as amulets in Buddhist or Shinto shrines, where they have lain preserved for centuries.