wasabiroots
Way to become immortal #1
There’s a creature in Japanese folklore called the Ningyo. They are mermaid like creatures and their description varies a lot. From having a fish head and human body to the upper body of a human and the bottom of a fish or even the head of a monkey and a golden carp’s tail. Lets just say a nightmarish sea creature.
Now what does this creature have to do with immortality? Well, it is said that if you eat the Ningyo, you will be granted with immortality. But of course not without consequences.
Superstitious fishermen believes that just by catching a Ningyo, it could bring sudden heavy storm and it would bring misfortune your way. Imagine a long immortal life ridden with calamity. So other than the blessing of immortality, you are also cursed with eternal misfortune.
One of the stories involving the Ningyo is called the Yao Bikuni. The story starts with a fisherman in Wakasa Province who caught a very weird fish. He then called his friends over to taste it with him.
But one of his friends saw the hideous fish while its being prepared.
He warned his other friends not to eat the fish and so when they were presented the cooked fish, they secretly hid it on their person wrapped in paper.
One of the men got home drunk and forgot to throw the fish away. When he got back, his daughter asked for a present and being drunk, he gave the wrapped paper to the daugther to shut her up. Once the man sobered up, he remembered what he did and well, the daughter ate everything. Luckily nothing happened at least it just seemed like nothing happened.
But years later, the daughter now grown up actually stopped aging in her prime. Years went by, her husband died, she got a new husband that husband died and after a few more husbands, loneliness was inevitable, she finally became a monk. Her life was then ended when she reached 800 plus years old. As that’s the end of her stories. How she died was technically unknown.
So from this story, we could assume that by eating the Ningyo, you’ll be healthy through and through. Without any fear of deathly illnesses. Though, you’re probably not immune to injuries. Also, you’re destined to not feel happy throughout your long life.
There’s also another version of the story that by eating the mermaid’s flesh, due to the mermaid’s curse, you’ll sprout scales on your body. So its a choice of having eternal misfortune, turn into a human fish or stay as a normal human being by not tempting fate it at all.