※This article was published at
July 2015.※
As you walk around the lush grounds of Miyajima’s Daishoin Temple, one interesting sight that you may come across is one that looks like this:
If you have ever wondered: “Who are these statues, and why are they wearing knitted hats?!”
Then this article is for you!
Firstly, it is important to explain who they are.
These statues are known as the 500 Rakan Statues.
The word Rakan is the short form of Arakan (阿羅漢) which comes from the Sanskrit term Arahant and means “one who is worthy” or “a perfected person”.
These people are known in Theravada Buddhism as the enlightened followers of Buddha.
While these types of people are hard to find amongst us in modern life, we are lucky that in Daishoin Temple, you will find 500 of them!
They line a secret pathway just to the left of the entrance of the temple.
A special characteristic of these Rakan statues is that they all have unique facial expressions.
In each of these facial expressions, the creator of the statue tried to express various human traits as best as he/she can.
I had a very good time going through all of them, trying to pick out who has the kindest facial expression.
Now, why are they wearing knitted hats?
It goes to say that Japan is a country that is very respectful of the holy deities and statues.
This picture was taken sometime in January, when it was cold.
Some people must have decided to knit these hats to keep the 500 Rakan’s warm.
Hence, the knitted hats!
Don’t you think they look like opposing teams in a football game?
Map:
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