Today's Picture: 024

[akujunkan]

Is of:

the rakan of Otagi Nembutsu-ji, which is a Tendai Buddhist Temple in the Arashiyama area of the city. I translated and recorded the English-language guide to this temple for another area attraction three years ago, and it was really neat to finally be able to see what I was talking about in person. (FWIW, it's pretty freaking difficult to translate an explanation for a place you've never been.)

Anyway..."rakan" is the Japanese pronunciation of "arhat;" arhats being beings who have attained enlightenment sans bodhisattva vow to save all other sentient beings. (As such, they don't feature prominently in some branches of Buddhism.) There are about 1,200 rakan at Otagi Nembutsu-ji, most of which were carved by devotees. The temple itself has a 1,200-odd-year history, although it's been moved and rebuilt several times. Refreshingly, it's one of the few temples in the city that apparently was not burned down during the Ōnin War.

And if that weren't cool enough:
Rakan!!111onez

Yes, they really are the same, and yes, not everyone is going to get this.




That will be all.

Comments

[dark-waterlily.livejournal.com]

Rakan... *snif**snif*
La primera cosa que me vino a la mente fue "Un tipo genial" no se por que?

[bloody-american.livejournal.com]

That is so awesome. I love the faces and heads with the moss on it. It's lovely.


And you should know, I feel somewhat elated that I actually know what a bodhisattva is without having to Google it. lol

[nokiirat.livejournal.com]

Rakan!!!