Rakan: The Arhats

Rakan (羅漢), from the Sanskrit arhat, worthy one, are disciples of the Buddha who attained awakening. Legend tells that sixteen of them remain in the world to protect the teaching until Miroku arrives. Unlike the idealised buddhas, Rakan are shown as individual human beings, often old, gaunt or eccentric, and their portraits are some of the most characterful in Buddhist art.

Japanese 羅漢, rakan; 阿羅漢, arakan
Sanskrit Arhat
Recognise by Monks with shaven heads and individual, often exaggerated, faces; staffs, fly whisks, sutras, attendant animals
Sets Sixteen, Eighteen or Five Hundred

The Sixteen and the Five Hundred

Sets of Sixteen Rakan, Jūroku Rakan, were painted for Japanese temples from the Heian period, often after Chinese models. Some are grotesque and otherworldly, with long eyebrows and bulging foreheads, after the tenth-century Chinese painter-monk Guanxiu; others are serene and naturalistic. The Five Hundred Rakan, Gohyaku Rakan, said to have compiled the Buddha's teachings after his death, appear in vast sculpted sets.

Rakan in Japan

  • Rakanji, Tokyo. In the late seventeenth century the monk Shōun Genkei carved hundreds of wooden Rakan, of which around three hundred survive, each with a distinct expression.
  • Kitain, Kawagoe. More than five hundred stone Rakan of the Edo period, laughing, weeping, drinking and dozing, are a favourite of visitors.
  • The Ten Great Disciples. The dry-lacquer disciples at Kōfukuji, of the eighth century, are portraits of rare dignity.

Rakan and Zen

Rakan were honoured especially in Zen and Ōbaku temples, where the Sixteen or Eighteen line the upper floor of the gate or the main hall. Rakan sets in painting, with their individual characters and humour, sit comfortably beside Zen ink portraits.

Collecting notes

  • Single Rakan from sets of sculpture or painting are an appealing entry into Buddhist art, valued for expression rather than iconography.
  • Painted sets are often split. Matching mountings and seals can help to reunite a group.

In the collection

Search the collection for Rakan or browse Buddhist paintings. Our collector concierge can search Japan for Rakan figures and scrolls.

See also

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