Japanese Arhat Painting

Ryōzen (ca. 1328-ca. 1360)

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Arhat (Bhadra), one of a set of sixteen

Artist: Ryōzen (ca. 1328-ca. 1360). Ink and color on silk. H x W (image): 115.9 x 59.9 cm (45 5/8 x 23 9/16 in). Nanbokucho period, mid-14th century. A Japanese hanging scroll painting of a Buddhist arhat.

Arhats, known in Japanese as rakan, were disciples of the Historical Buddha, Shakyamuni. In some temples in East Asia, they were worshiped along with the Historical Buddha at ceremonies held to honor the wisdom and truth of the Buddha’s teachings, which they helped to spread after his death. This painting depicts one of the sixteen arhats who were the Historical Buddha’s closest disciples. The halo signifies that he has achieved enlightenment and release from cycles of birth, rebirth, and attendant suffering. This set of sixteen paintings plus a central image of Shakyamuni are attributed to the artist Ryozen, a leader of the atelier at Tofukuji, a major Zen Buddhist monastery in Kyoto.

From the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art of Washington D.C.

• Author: en:User:PericlesofAthens
• Date: August 3, 2007