500 Rakan of Mount Shirataki

 

The top of 226-meter-high Mount Shirataki on Innoshima Island in the Inland Sea between Hiroshima and Shikoku is covered with 700 Buddhist statues.

500 of them are of the rakan, or arhats, said to be disciples of the historical Buddha.

With its rocky outcroppings, Mount Shirataki is believed to have been a site favored by Yamabushi, the shugendo ascetics who practised their austerities in the mountains.

Later, the Murakami Clan established a Kannon Hall on the mountaintop and is used it as a lookout over the surrounding waters.

The rakan, however, along with most of the other statues, were put here in the early 19th century.

A man named Hashiwabara Denroku founded a new religion based on elements of Buddhism, Shinto, Confucianism, and Christianity.

Betwen 1827 and 1830 he and a discile together with stonemasons from Onomichi carved 500 rakan statues.

The vast majority were not complete statues, rather relief carvings.

They were also fairly crude and lacking the refinement of many rakan.

Therefore the idea that you will be able to recognize the face of someone you know within the 500 figures is a little harder to realize.

There are about 200 other statues on the mountaintop and I will cover them in the next post, and also a little more detail on the unusual cult and its founder.

The previous post was on the 360 degree views from the viewpoint above the statuary.

Some posts on 500 rakan at other sites include Sennyoji Temple in Kyushu, and at RakanjiTemple at Iwami Ginzan.

Monjusenji Temple 4 Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage

 

Monjusenji is temple number 4 on the Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage.

Located high in the remote mountains of the Kunisaki Peninsula, it lies to the NE of the highest point, Mount Futago.

It is part of the ancient Shugendo cultic system known as Rokugo Manzan, a mix of Usa Hachiman and Tendai Buddhism. Monjusenji is number 25 on the ancient Kunisaki Shugendo Pilgrimage.

However, whereas most of the temples associated with Rokugo Manzan claim their origin in the early 8th century with a monk named Ninmon, Monjusenji is older and claims to have been founded in the mid 7th century by the legendary En no Gyoja.

This makes it the oldest of what are now known as the Rokugo Manzan temples.

Halfway up the steps is the first group of buildings, and here can be found the Fudo statue that is part of the Kyushu Fudo Pilgrimage.

There are several other statues and altars in this small group of buildings and in fron is a very tall, stone stupa, aboiut 8 meters high and possibly the tallest in all Japan.

Further up the steps is the main hall, the Monju-do, enshrining Monju Bosatsu. Monjusenji is considered one of the top 3 Monju temples in Japan.

Known as the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Monju is often prayed to for academic success.

Monju is often depicted riding a shishi or lion.

A sacred spring flows from the cave behind the main hall and the area around thetemple is filled with huge, ancient trees and towering rock formations.

6 Jizo statues.

A group of ema votive plaques, many asking for academic success. The second photo below an ema of Monju Bosatsu.

In a cave two statues of En no Gyoja, the legendary founder of the temple, is srrounded by numerous Fudo Myo statues.

Below is a statue of Gensan Daishi, a name of Ryogen the great Tendai priest of the 10th century. Also referred to as Tsuno Daishi and Oni Daishi, his likeness is commonly found on ofuda from temples to protect against misfortune.

Below is a statue of Monju Bosatsu, but this is not the honzon. The honzon is a "secret Buddha" and only opened every 12 years, in the Year of the Rabbit.

Below are examples of the unique style of masks found in the Kunisaki area.

Below is a goma ceremony being performed. Usually done on the 25th of each month, I was visiting on January 3rd, so I suspect special goma are performed for the new year.

Below a few of the rakan statues in the rock face near the main hall.

The previous post was on the Fudo cliff temple a little to the north, Itsutsuji Fudo.

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.