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Founded in the 10th century, Zenpō-ji, a Sōtō Zen monastery, is renowned for the protective prayers its resident priests chant each day. The temple is also famous for its remarkable collection of more than five hundred arhat statues, each carved with a distinct facial expression.
Arhats, the Awakened disciples of the Buddha, are regarded in East Asia as protectors of the Buddha’s teaching. Zenpō-ji, located near Tsuruoka in northeast Japan, has 531 unique arhat statues that were carved in the early 1850s.
The back of the mount bears a second photo of the Drum Bridge at Sumiyoshi in Osaka, suggesting this page was extracted from a tourist album of photographs. This hand-painted photo is attributed to Kusakabe Kimbei and dates to the 1890s; the photo of Zenpō-ji may also be a Kimbei print.
According to the temple, visitors are encouraged to look among the statues for one whose features resemble those of a deceased relative and to make offerings before it.
All 531 arhat statues were recently restored and repainted. For an informative introduction to Zenpō-ji and a behind-the-scenes look at the restoration process, see the temple’s video viewable here: https://tinyurl.com/4cefw6xp.
The Buddhas in the West Material Archive is a digital scholarship project that catalogues artifacts depicting Buddhist material culture for Western audiences. It’s comprised of prints, photos, and an assortment of ephemera and other objects. For a brief introduction to this archive, visit the main Buddhas in the West project page.
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