gohyaku rakan　五百羅漢

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

Ch: wubai luohan. Five hundred arhats *rakan 羅漢, a Buddhist art subject developed in China featuring large numbers of Indian wise men usually accompanied by servants. The origin of the grouping is unknown, although several Chinese texts mention rakan as protective saints, who guard the Buddhist law until the coming of *Miroku 弥勒 (Sk:Maitreya), the Buddha of the Future (see *juuroku rakan 十六羅漢). The Chinese belief that Five hundred arhats inhabited a peak beyond the Stone Bridge *Shakkyou 石橋 on Mt. Tiantai (Jp: Tendaisan 天台山) is probably an adaptation into popular Buddhism of Taoist legends about the locale as the home of immortals. Tang period Chinese were also familiar with Indian legends of five hundred arhats believed to live on Mt. Buddhavanagiri near Rajagrha. It is not clear whether the number "500" refers to 500 specific individuals or simply indicates a large number. Beginning in the 5c large groups of rakan were depicted as seated, a pose that was also used for portrayal of independent rakan images. By the 10c and 11c, rakan depictions were elaborated with landscape or domestic interior settings as the rakan cult became wide spread. The best-known painting of five hundred rakan is the set of 100 hanging scrolls (divided among Daitokuji 大徳寺, Kyoto; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and other collections) by Lin Tinggui (Jp: Rin Teikei 林庭珪; act.1174-89) and Zhou Jichang (Jp: Shuu Kijou 周季常; late 12c). The inscription of 1178 also states that the set was originally commissioned by a merchant family as a gift to a temple, and this type of popular patronage probably lies behind many of rakan paintings. The complete set of scrolls by Lin and Zhou was in Japan by the late 14c as copies were made by the Japanese painter-priest Minchou 明兆 (1351-1431) for Toufukuji 東福寺 (1386) in Kyoto and for Engakuji 円覚寺 in Kanagawa prefecture. Although all 500 of the rakan were occasionally painted on a single scroll, more frequently depictions were done on a series of scrolls or large wall surfaces. The subject was revived in Ming China and similarly found renewed interest in Edo period Japan. Ike no Taiga's 池大雅 (1723-76) screen, *fusuma 襖 painting of five hundred rakan at Manpukuji 萬福寺 is a well-known but unorthodox example. More typical are the 100 scrolls by Kanou Kazunobu 狩野一信 (1815-63) at Zoujouji 増上寺, Tokyo. Rock sculptures of the five hundred rakan were created at temples all over Japan, including Kita-in 喜多院 in Saitama prefecture, Rakanji 羅漢寺 in Ooita prefecture, and Sekihouji 石峰寺 in Kyoto.

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