Portraits of Rakan

 

This third post on Otagi Nembutsuji Temple in Arashiyama focuses on close-up portraits of some of the 1200 Rakan statues there.

Earlier posts looked at the temple and its history, and then at shots of the 1200 Rakan.

With Rakan, it is normal that every single figure is different, and it is said that you will not fail to find at least one that reminds you of someone you know.

The vast majority here at Otagi Nembutsuji were made by amateurs.

However, the head priest was himself a sculptor and so some instruction was certainkly given.

I did notice a certain stylistic similarity to most of the noses...

The previous two posts were on the temple and its history, and an overview of the hundreds and hundreds of statues...

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