Feb 13, 2015 - 1 min read

Miyajima's Impressive Rakan Statues

Seeing the island with fresh eyes - 2

By Larry Knipfing

Community writer

Four rakan disciples

Late November is the perfect time of the year if you want to capture these stunning colors

How impressive is this? The rays of the sun picking out this one special disciple

What a sad and beautiful scene

A disciple holding a child

The statues line the path up the hill to the main temple buildings

These momiji maple leaves combine with the statues to create beautiful art

Many of them look old and tired, as if they have experienced more than a lifetime of hardships

I am sure that this disciple was very strong

A few of the statues lining the path

A disciple deep in thought

A disciple being cared for and enjoying it immensely

It's easy to see that NOTHING bothers this happy soul

The blind disciple (perhaps)

If you love Buddhist statues, you're going to love Miyajima. Head straight for Daisho-in Temple, and be prepared to spend half a day. There are hundreds of statues here, mainly two types. There are cute small jizo statues that I will introduce in my next photo story, and there is also a collection of 500 rakan statues. They deeply impressed me. Why? Each statue represents a Buddhist monk who was an actual disciple of Shaka (Buddha). Look at their faces carefully. Each one is totally unique. In them, we can see every conceivable human trait and emotion: wisdom, pain, happiness, fulfillment, frustration, intelligence, and pride. I think there was also one who is blind, but I'm not absolutely sure about that one. See if you can find him when you visit..

More info

Find out more about Daishoin Temple.

Miyajima Island Series

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Larry Knipfing

By Larry Knipfing

Community writer

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