The creation of arhat painting reached culmination in the Two Sung Dynasties (960-1278). Unfortunately，most of these paintings in China have been lost，and thus it is impossible for us to know their styles completely. Japanese scholars, however, have devided the styles into the romantic and the worldly according to the paintings that have been preserved in their country. The romantic arhat paintings are characterized by light，simple，clear, fast lines, without constraint of form; they display the spirit of Ch'an buddhism. The worldly productions show rich colors and many objects for contrast with figures looking pretty similar to monks in reality.
This paper lists some representative works of the period that are kept in the various Japanese temples and museums, and analyzes the differences in their styles.
