500 Rakan at Raizan Sennyoji Daihioin Temple

 

Rakan is the Japanese word for arhat, a sanskrit word that roughly means an enlightened person.

The exact meaning has changed over time and within different Buddhist traditions, but in general, they are perceived as disciples of the historical Buddha.

Statues of rakan have been popular since ancient times in Japan with some statues of them at many temples. Though 500 is the number often bandied about, there are not so many examples of all 500 being on display.

Not sure how many are here at Sennyoji Temple in SE Fukuoka, but certainly more than 100.

One of the features of rakan is that each one is an individual with different faces and expressions.

This has led to the oft-repeated assertion that if you look closely at the group you will find some that look like people you know.

These rakan at Sennyoji can be seen from the corridor that leads up the hillside to the Kannon Hall and Founders Hall.

Other posts of mine that feature rakan are the one on Rakanji Temple in Iwami Ginzan,  and a series from Jizoji on Shikoku that features quite large, wooden rakan.

A very unusual collection of rakan can be found at Isshiteiji Temple in Matsuyama, Ehime.

The previous post was on the lower part of the temple, and prior to that on the two gardens here. The next post is on the Kannon and Founders Hall.

Fukuishi Kannon Seiganji Temple

 

Fukuishi Kannon is the popular name for Seiganji Temple in Sasebo, Nagasaki.

It's origin lies with a visit by Gyoki to the area in 710. While here he carved 3 statues from a sacred tree, one of which, a two metre tall 11-faced Kannon, he enshrined here.

It is classed as one of the Seven Famous Kannon statues in Kyushu.

When Kobo Daishi visited the area about a century later he established Seiganji Temple.

It is also said he placed 500 rakan statues in the cave behind the temple.

Rather than a cave, it is actually a wide, curved overhang in the cliff.

Over the centuries many of the statues disappeared but there still remains a collection of assorted statues, many not rakan, in the cave.

The current main hall was built by the local lord, Matsuura Seizan, in 1785,

He became Daimyo of the Hirado Domain when only 16 and later became a renowned swordsman.

It is a Shingon temple and the honzon is the Gyoki Kannon.

Held in August, the Sennichi Festival is one of the major festivals of Sasebo.

It is claimed that coming here and praying here for just one day during the festival is the equivalent to praying for 46,000 days, hence the name of the festival Shiman Rokusen Nichi, which means 46,000 days.

I visited on day 66 of my walk along the Kyushu Shingon pilgrimage, although the temple itself is not part of the pilgrimage. The previous post in the series was Jozenji Temple.

Ishiteji Temple Part 3

 

In this third part to my post on Ishiteji Temple in Matsuyama, I show scenes from inside the Okunoin and then the second tunnel leading back to the main temple.

In PART 1 I looked at the entrance to the temple and some of the main buildings and also gave plenty of historical details.

In PART 2 I looked at the tunnel leading through the hillside and the approach to this Okunoin.

The inside of the unusual, spherical, okunoin is filled with many of the same kind of "folk" statues that were encountered in the tunnel.

The majority seem to represent the rakan, the 500 disciples of the Buddha that are often found as a group of statues at some temples.

There were other statues though, representing other bodhisattvas, buddhas, deities, etc

There seems to be quite an atmosphere of strangeness that some visitors seem to have found disturbing

I found it quite wonderful, like a huge, free, sculpture museum....

Leaving the Okunoin, I took a different tunnel back to the main temple

This had the same kinds of statues as the first tunnel, including many "standard" ones

As well as another chapel-altar covered in bibs

There were also paintings on some walls 

Before emerging once again into the sunlight in the main temple compound....

Ishiteji Temple Part 2                Ishiteji Temple Part 4

500 Rakan at Iwami Ginzan

 

Rakan, sometimes called arhats, are said to be the disciples of the historical Buddha, and groups of 500 statues representing them can be found all over Japan.

The collection of 500 rakan found in Omori, part of Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine, is unusual in that they are housed in several man-made caves dug into a hillside by miners working at the silver mine.

The rakan here at Iwami Ginzan were made to pray for the repose of the souls of those miners who died, and as the work was brutal and harsh, the life of a miner was usually quite short, which is why there were so many temples in the area.

One feature of Rakan is that every single one has a different features and expressions, and it is often said that while looking at rakan statues you will always find some that remind you of someone you know. The rakan here are included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

All the rakan here were made over a period of about 25 years and were completed in 1766. They were all attributed to a stonemason from nearby Fukumitsu with the pseudonym Toshitada, who is also credited with creating the 3 arched bridges that cross the stream to reach the rakan caves. It is thought that members of his family and other apprentices had a hand in the work

Rakan-ji Temple was established across from the rakan caves in 1764. It is a Shingon temple and the honzon is an Amida. A Yakushi hall was moved to the grounds from higher up in the valley.

Rakanji Temple is one of 10 "guest temples" on the Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage. Kannon pilgrimages usually have 36 main temples and a few "extra" temples, but this Iwami pilgrimage has a total of 49 temples so is often referred to as Iwami Mandala Pilgrimage.

The previous post in this series was Seisuiji Temple, located further up the valley closer to the mine. A recent post that also featured rakan statues  was Togakuji Temple in Matsue.