Among the attractions
in Kawagoe Saitama prefecture, the 500 statues of Rakan at Kita-in temple are extremely
popular, and are indispensable stopover for visitors of not only temple’s but to
the Kawagoe area as well.
The Rakan figures,
one of the three largest in Japan, are statues representing the disciples of Buddha.
The 500 statues (actually 538) with no two alike, all in different position and
with different face expression: smiling, crying, angry, praying, at rest, and
many others, represent the various aspects of the Buddhist life.
Carved in
stone between 1782 and 1825, the statues are in a walled area, in front of the
Kita-in temple, hiding the statues to temple visitors, and thus often missed to
visitors with not prior knowledge of the statues.
According to
the tradition if you come in the middle of the night and feel the head of
rakans you will find one that is warm, if you come in the morning to see this
statue, this will be the one that most resembles you.
View Kita-in temple in a larger map
2 comments:
I loved the warm statue tradition... cool (but would you try?).
Also, loved the photos... some really nice ones there.
Thanks, this is a very nice place, unfortunately my photos don't really capture the vibe of the place. but in any case I think I will pass on an opportunity to come in the middle of the night to this place.
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