Five Hundred Rakan
Main Image Five Hundred Rakan (group of Arhat images) Category Other
Impression TagsStillnessDepthMystery
DescriptionTono’s Five Hundred Rakan are a group of stone images said to have been carved by Gizan, the 19th head priest of Daijiji Temple, into natural stones of various sizes in the mountains to memorialize people who died in repeated crop failures and famines during the Edo period. During the severe crop failure of 1755, many people across the Nanbu domain died of starvation or disease, and the following year about 2,500 people are said to have starved to death in the Tono territory alone. In response to this tragedy, five hundred Rakan were carved during the Tenmei era as prayers for the repose of the victims. The figures are incised into the surfaces of natural stones; today many are covered with moss and have merged visually with the mountain landscape. This nationally unusual group of Rakan is recognized as a “Tono Heritage” site.
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