Hanga
Ragora, from the series Ten Great Disciples of Shaka (Shaka jûdai deshi) by Shiko Munakata — Japanese Woodblock print, 1939

Ragora, from the series Ten Great Disciples of Shaka (Shaka jûdai deshi)

by Shiko Munakata

Date:
1939
Medium:
Woodblock print
Edition:
Self-printed

Description

Ragora — Rahula, the son of Shakyamuni Buddha who became his father's disciple and is counted among the Ten Great Disciples — appears in this 1939 print from the "Ten Great Disciples of Shaka" series. Rahula's identity as the Buddha's own son gave his discipleship a particular biographical weight: the man who might have inherited a kingdom instead inherited the Dharma, following his father into the homeless life of the wandering monk. This tension between worldly inheritance and spiritual inheritance would have resonated with Munakata, who understood his own artistic vocation as a kind of spiritual calling that superseded conventional expectations.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Ragora, from the series Ten Great Disciples of Shaka (Shaka jûdai deshi) was created by Shiko Munakata (棟方志功) in 1939.

Yes — Ragora, from the series Ten Great Disciples of Shaka (Shaka jûdai deshi) is part of the Ten Great Disciples of Shaka series by Shiko Munakata.

Ragora, from the series Ten Great Disciples of Shaka (Shaka jûdai deshi) depicts figures, religious, and mythology.